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Trecastle Mound and Bailey Castle is a medieval motte and bailey castle occupying a commanding position in Wales. The castle consists of a substantial earthen mound with an attached bailey enclosure, a characteristic fortress design adopted across Britain and Normandy from the 11th century onwards. The monument's strategic location reflects the importance of controlling the local landscape during the medieval period.
The castle is founded upon Lower Devonian rocks of mudstone, siltstone and sandstone, bedrock formed during the Early Devonian period. These local geological materials would have influenced both the construction methods employed and the stability of the earthworks, which remain largely preserved as prominent landscape features. The underlying geology is typical of this region of Wales.
Trecastle Mound and Bailey Castle is protected as a scheduled ancient monument under Cadw, the Welsh heritage monuments authority, with the reference BR026. This statutory protection recognises its significance as evidence of medieval military architecture and settlement patterns. The earthworks continue to provide valuable information about defensive strategies and land use during the medieval period.
Trecastle Mound and Bailey Castle is a scheduled monument protected by Cadw under reference BR026. View the official record →
Trecastle Mound and Bailey Castle is a medieval motte and bailey castle occupying a commanding position in Wales. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Cadw under reference BR026.
Trecastle Mound and 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.
Trecastle Mound and 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 BR026.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Waunewydd standing stone (5.8 km), Garn Las ring cairn (6.8 km), Garn Las platform cairn (7 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 13 strands of Trecastle Mound and 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.
Trecastle Mound and Bailey Castle stands on Lower Devonian Rocks (Undifferentiated), bedrock that formed in the Early Devonian. The rock here is mudstone, siltstone and sandstone.