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Old Castle Camp is a medieval ringwork situated in Wales. The monument consists of a defensive earthwork comprising a substantial bank and ditch, characteristic of the ringwork form that became prevalent in Wales and the Marches during the 11th and 12th centuries. Built upon bedrock of the Millstone Grit Group—a Namurian-age sequence of mudstone, siltstone and sandstone—the site exploits the natural topography of this harder geology to create an elevated and defensible position.
Ringworks such as Old Castle Camp served as fortified residences and strongholds for Norman and Welsh lords during the medieval period. They required less investment in stone construction than castles, yet provided effective protection through their encircling earthworks. The underlying geology of the site would have influenced both the choice of location and the constructional methods employed by those who built the ringwork.
Old Castle Camp is now protected as a scheduled ancient monument under Cadw, the Welsh heritage organisation, and is registered under reference GM154. The site remains an important record of medieval settlement and territorial control in Wales, its earthworks preserving evidence of defensive strategies adapted to the landscape and geology of the Welsh countryside.
Old Castle Camp is a scheduled monument protected by Cadw under reference GM154. View the official record →
Old Castle Camp is a medieval ringwork situated in Wales. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Cadw under reference GM154.
Old Castle Camp dates from the medieval period, and is classified as a ringwork. It is one of over 32,000 scheduled monuments protected across the UK.
Old Castle Camp 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 GM154.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including St Peter's Chapel & Well, Caswell Bay (1.9 km), Chantry Acre medieval chapel (2 km), Caswell Cliff Fort (2.5 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 13 strands of Old Castle Camp'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.
Old Castle Camp stands on Millstone Grit Group [See Also Migr], bedrock that formed in the Namurian. The rock here is mudstone, siltstone and sandstone.