Ruperra Motte Craig Ruperra Motte | |
---|---|
Native name Castell Breiniol or Castell y Ddraenen (Welsh) | |
Type | Motte-and-bailey castle [1] |
Location | Rudry, Caerphilly, Wales [1] |
Nearest city | Newport |
Coordinates | 51°34′25″N3°07′19″W / 51.57374°N 3.12208°W |
Location in the Caerphilly County Borough | |
Official name | Ruperra Hillfort and Motte [1] |
Designated | 3 December 1997 [1] |
Reference no. | GM511 [1] |
Ruperra Motte, also known as Craig Ruperra Motte, (Welsh : Castell Breiniol, or Castell y Ddraenen) is a medieval motte and bailey castle in the community of Rudry close to the village of Draethen in the Caerphilly County Borough on the border with Newport in south west Wales. [2] [3] It is a Scheduled Monument within the Grade II listed Registered Historic Park & Garden, which also includes Ruperra Castle.
Ruperra Motte is a medieval motte and bailey castle which sits on an earlier Iron Age hillfort, called Craig Ruperra Hillfort. It was built about 1100 as a Norman type motte or castle. On the top of the motte stood a wooden castle. Ruperra Motte lies on the top of the Coed Craig Ruperra ridge, and was built in that location because of the view of the surrounding area. It is thought to have been part of the Norman invasion of south east Wales. However, it fell into disuse when the larger Caerphilly Castle was built in 1274. [4]
From Coed Craig Ruperra to Tongwynlais lies three castles, Morgraig Castle, the early motte at Castell Coch,and Ruperra Motte. [5]
Since 2000, Coed Craig Ruperra, which includes the Ruperra Motte, has been owned by Ruperra Conservation Trust. [6] Nothing now remains above ground of the castle's original wooden buildings. [4] The motte today stands 6 metres high with a diameter of 12 metres at the top. [1] Cadw, which works to protect the historic buildings and structures in Wales, says that "The site is of national importance as a multi-period defensive site, with well preserved remains of a hillfort, motte and 18th century garden features. The site is well preserved and retains considerable archaeological potential" [1] The motte is a Scheduled Monument within the Grade II listed Registered Historic Park & Garden, which also includes Ruperra Castle. [1] [7] [5]
Castell Coch is a 19th-century Gothic Revival castle built above the village of Tongwynlais, Cardiff in Wales. The first castle on the site was built by the Normans after 1081 to protect the newly conquered town of Cardiff and control the route along the Taff Gorge. Abandoned shortly afterwards, the castle's earth motte was reused by Gilbert de Clare as the basis for a new stone fortification, which he built between 1267 and 1277 to control his freshly annexed Welsh lands. This castle may have been destroyed in the native Welsh rebellion of 1314. In 1760, the castle ruins were acquired by John Stuart, 3rd Earl of Bute, as part of a marriage settlement that brought the family vast estates in South Wales.
Margam Country Park is a country park estate in Wales, of around 850 acres (3.4 km2). It is situated in Margam, about 2 miles (3 km) from Port Talbot in south Wales. It was once owned by the Mansel Talbot family and is now owned and administered by the local council, Neath Port Talbot County Borough Council. Situated within the park are three notable buildings: Margam Abbey, a Cistercian monastery; Margam Castle, a neo-Gothic country house that was once the seat of the Mansel Talbot family; and the 18th-century Orangery. The park is designated Grade I on the Cadw/ICOMOS Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in Wales.
Ruperra Castle or Rhiwperra Castle is a Grade II* Listed building and Scheduled Ancient Monument, situated in Lower Machen in the county borough of Caerphilly, Wales. Built in 1626, the castle is in a ruinous condition as at 2023. Its grounds are listed on the Cadw/ICOMOS Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in Wales.
St Fagans Castle is an Elizabethan mansion in St Fagans, Cardiff, Wales, dating from the late 16th century. The house and remaining medieval fortifications are Grade I listed. The grounds of St Fagans Castle now contain St Fagans National Museum of History. The castle estate is designated Grade I on the Cadw/ICOMOS Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in Wales.
Twmbarlwm, also known as Twm Barlwm, Twyn Barlwm or locally known as "the Twmp", the Nipple or the Pimple because of the mound that lies at its summit, is a hill situated 2 km (1.2 mi) to the northeast of Risca in South Wales. It is often mistakenly referred to as a mountain but is actually a hill due to being under 600 m (2,000 ft). It is 419 m (1,375 ft) high and is a well-known landmark throughout the region. It commands extensive views across what is now the M4 corridor, over Newport and Cwmbran - with part of it coming into Cwmbran - and out over the Bristol Channel.
Pen y Clawdd Castle is a ditched mound with a double moat, roughly circular in shape, with a diameter of approximately 28m to 30m and about 2.4m high. The castle is in Llanvihangel Crucorney, about five miles to the north of Abergavenny, Monmouthshire, in south east Wales and lies between the Usk and Monnow rivers. The mound was designated a scheduled monument in 1950 and described as a defensive medieval motte.
Llandyssil is a village in the community of Abermule with Llandyssil, in Powys, Wales, in the traditional county of Montgomeryshire. It is about two miles from the town of Montgomery.
Tregrug Castle or Llangibby Castle is a ruin in Monmouthshire, Wales, located about 1 mile (1.5 km) to the north of the village of Llangybi, close to the settlement of Tregrug.
St Illtyd's Motte, also known as St Illtyd Castle Mound, is the remains of a motte-and-bailey castle in the village of Llanhilleth, Blaenau Gwent, Wales. It was probably destroyed by Llywelyn the Great in the early thirteenth century and not rebuilt. The remnants are a Scheduled Ancient Monument.
Twmpath Castle, also known as Twmpath Motte, is a medieval motte on the southern slope of Wenallt Hill near Rhiwbina in Cardiff, Wales, which is a scheduled monument.
Morganstown Castle Mound, also known as Morganstown Motte, is a medieval motte in the community of Morganstown in Cardiff, Wales, which is a scheduled monument.
Caer Castell Camp, also known as Caer Castell Ring Motte, is a medieval motte and ditch in Rumney in Cardiff, Wales, which is a scheduled monument.
Caerphilly County Borough is a county borough in south-east Wales. It covers an area of 227 km2 (88 sq mi). In 2021 the population was approximately 176,000.