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Llanmaes Castle, also known as Malefant Castle, is a medieval manor house situated in Wales on bedrock belonging to the Lias Group. The underlying geology comprises mudstone, siltstone, limestone and sandstone formed during the Aalenian period, which would have provided local building stone for medieval construction. The site is protected as a scheduled monument under Cadw reference GM626.
The castle represents the residential architecture of the medieval Welsh gentry, a class that occupied the borderlands between English and Welsh control. Such manor houses typically served as the domestic and administrative centres of territorial holdings, combining defensive features with the requirements of seigneurial living. The building materials available from the Lias bedrock—particularly the sandstone and limestone—would have been quarried locally and shaped for the walls and structural elements typical of such establishments.
The monument survives as an important archaeological record of medieval occupation and settlement patterns in Wales. Its preservation as a scheduled monument reflects the historical significance of the site within the broader landscape of medieval Welsh settlement and the continued use of this location as a focus of authority and residence across centuries.
Llanmaes Castle (Malefant Castle) is a scheduled monument protected by Cadw under reference GM626. View the official record →
Llanmaes Castle, also known as Malefant Castle, is a medieval manor house situated in Wales on bedrock belonging to the Lias Group. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Cadw under reference GM626.
Llanmaes Castle (Malefant Castle) dates from the medieval period, and is classified as a manor. It is one of over 32,000 scheduled monuments protected across the UK.
Llanmaes Castle (Malefant Castle) 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 GM626.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including West Orchard Manor House (2.9 km), Castle Ditches Camp (3 km), Summerhouse Camp (3.3 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 13 strands of Llanmaes Castle (Malefant Castle)'s history, each drawn from the record and mapped to the exact spot:
Every location is different. Not every section appears for every place, only what the historical record actually holds turns up in a report.
Llanmaes Castle (Malefant Castle) stands on Lias Group, bedrock that formed in the Aalenian. The rock here is mudstone, siltstone, limestone and sandstone.