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Penarth Mount Castle Mound is a medieval motte, a fortified earthwork of the type built extensively across Wales and the border counties from the eleventh century onwards. The mound stands upon bedrock formed from Ludlow Rocks, an undifferentiated sequence of mudstone, siltstone and sandstone that would have provided a naturally stable foundation for the steep-sided artificial mound characteristic of motte construction. The underlying geology has weathered to produce fertile soils typical of the Vale of Glamorgan landscape.
The monument's form reflects the military architecture of the early medieval period, when motte-and-bailey castles served as symbols of Norman control and bases for local lordship. The mound itself would originally have been crowned with a timber palisade and structures now largely vanished, whilst the associated bailey—a defended courtyard—may have occupied adjoining ground. Such castles were rapid to construct and effective for dominating the surrounding countryside.
Penarth Mount Castle Mound is protected under Cadw's heritage register as site reference RD076, ensuring its preservation as a record of medieval Wales. The surviving earthwork remains one of numerous motte sites scattered across South Wales, each testimony to the period of consolidation that followed the initial Norman incursions into the region.
Penarth Mount Castle Mound is a scheduled monument protected by Cadw under reference RD076. View the official record →
Penarth Mount Castle Mound is a medieval motte, a fortified earthwork of the type built extensively across Wales and the border counties from the eleventh century onwards. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Cadw under reference RD076.
Penarth Mount 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.
Penarth Mount 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 RD076.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Aberedw Castle (7 km), Aberedw Castle Mound (7 km), Blaenhenllan round cairn (7.3 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 13 strands of Penarth Mount Castle Mound'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.
Penarth Mount Castle Mound stands on Ludlow Rocks (Undifferentiated), bedrock that formed in the Ludlow. The rock here is mudstone, siltstone and sandstone.