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Penrhos Mound and Bailey Castle is a medieval motte and bailey castle situated in Wales and protected by Cadw under reference MM097. The monument stands upon bedrock of Pridoli age, composed of undifferentiated mudstone, siltstone and sandstone that would have presented a moderately firm foundation for the earthwork's construction. The castle's design follows the characteristic Norman pattern of a raised mound, or motte, accompanied by an adjacent defended enclosure, or bailey, a layout widespread across Wales and the Marches during the medieval period as a means of controlling territory and suppressing local resistance.
The site exploits its local geology to good advantage; the Pridoli rocks provided stable ground for the substantial earthworks required, whilst the composition of local stone would have supplied materials for any later fortification or domestic structures. Such castles typically served administrative, military and residential functions for Norman lords, often built soon after the Norman conquest and maintained or modified through subsequent centuries.
Penrhos Mound and Bailey Castle represents an important example of early medieval military architecture in Wales, demonstrating the strategic occupation methods employed by Anglo-Norman settlers across the principality during the centuries following 1066.
Penrhos Mound & Bailey Castle is a scheduled monument protected by Cadw under reference MM097. View the official record →
Penrhos Mound and Bailey Castle is a medieval motte and bailey castle situated in Wales and protected by Cadw under reference MM097.
Penrhos Mound & Bailey Castle dates from the medieval period, and is classified as a motte and bailey. It is one of over 32,000 scheduled monuments protected across the UK.
Penrhos Mound & Bailey 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 MM097.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Raglan Churchyard Cross (5.5 km), Cross on Croes Lwyd Farm (6.3 km), St. Martin's Churchyard Cross, Pen y Clawdd (6.9 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 13 strands of Penrhos Mound & Bailey 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.
Penrhos Mound & Bailey Castle stands on Pridoli Rocks (Undifferentiated), bedrock that formed in the Pridoli. The rock here is mudstone, siltstone and sandstone.