Scheduled MonumentsWalesCilwhybert Castle Mound
Medieval · Motte

Cilwhybert Castle Mound

Breconshire, Wales
Cadw SAM BR127
Period
Medieval
Site type
Motte
Broad class
Defence
Nation
Wales
Boundary

Scheduled area

© Mapbox · © OpenStreetMap contributors · Boundary data © Cadw

Overview

History & significance

Cilwhybert Castle Mound is a medieval motte situated in Wales and protected as a scheduled ancient monument under Cadw reference BR127. The earthwork rises from bedrock composed of Lower Devonian rocks—mudstone, siltstone and sandstone laid down during the Early Devonian period—which would have provided a firm foundation for the mound's construction and subsequent settlement.

Motted sites of this type were typically established during the Norman period and the High Middle Ages as military strongholds and administrative centres. The motte would originally have supported a timber or stone tower serving as both refuge and residence for a local lord or garrison commander. The natural slope and solid geological foundation at Cilwhybert would have made the site suitable for excavation and mounding, enabling the construction of defensive earthworks.

Today the mound survives as an upstanding earthwork, its form shaped by medieval engineering and subsequent centuries of weathering and agricultural use. The solid Devonian bedrock beneath continues to anchor this monument to its place in the Welsh medieval landscape, preserving evidence of power and settlement that shaped the region during the Middle Ages.

Cilwhybert Castle Mound is a scheduled monument protected by Cadw under reference BR127. View the official record →

About this monument

Questions & answers

What is Cilwhybert Castle Mound?

Cilwhybert Castle Mound is a medieval motte situated in Wales and protected as a scheduled ancient monument under Cadw reference BR127.

What period does Cilwhybert Castle Mound date from?

Cilwhybert Castle Mound dates from the medieval period, and is classified as a motte. It is one of over 32,000 scheduled monuments protected across the UK.

Who is responsible for protecting Cilwhybert Castle Mound?

Cilwhybert Castle Mound is a Scheduled Ancient Monument, legally protected by Cadw — the body responsible for designating and safeguarding heritage sites in Wales. The official designation reference is BR127.

What other scheduled monuments are near Cilwhybert Castle Mound?

Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Y Gyrn longhuts (5.1 km), Y Gyrn hut platforms (5.2 km), Y Gyrn Hut Platform (S) (5.3 km).

Unlimited access

Everything a full report reveals about Cilwhybert Castle Mound

This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 13 strands of Cilwhybert Castle Mound's history, each drawn from the record and mapped to the exact spot:

Overview
An interactive map of the location with every monument and battle plotted, and a plain-language history built only from what the record holds.
Monuments
The legally protected scheduled monuments around the location, each with its period, type and significance.
Battlefields
The battles and sieges fought on this ground, mapped and set on a timeline of the wider conflict.
Roman Britain
The Roman roads, forts and towns near here, and the Iron Age people who held the land before Rome arrived.
Civil War
The Civil War fighting, garrisons and recorded militaria in this area, woven into the arc of 1642 to 1651.
Geology
The bedrock beneath the site, its age and rock type, reaching back hundreds of millions of years.
Local Names
What the street and field names around here actually mean, and the history buried inside them.
Historical Maps
Ordnance Survey maps from the 1800s, layered over the location as it stands today.
Literature
The books, county histories, charters and archives that mention this place, quoted with their sources.
Legal
The protected sites nearby and the metal-detecting, access and treasure laws that apply to this ground.
Spotlight
A deep dive into the most remarkable, lesser-known history of the place, traced back to the record.
Target Zones
For detectorists: the most promising ground to search nearby, ranked by confidence, with what to expect.
Timeline
The whole story of the location told era by era, from prehistory to the present day.
First month just £4.99, then £9.99 a month. Unlimited locations, cancel anytime.

Every location is different. Not every section appears for every place, only what the historical record actually holds turns up in a report.

Start your Cilwhybert Castle Mound report
Or see a real report first
The ground beneath

The bedrock under Cilwhybert Castle Mound

Cilwhybert Castle Mound stands on Lower Devonian Rocks (Undifferentiated), bedrock that formed in the Early Devonian. The rock here is mudstone, siltstone and sandstone.