Tomen yr Allt

Last updated
Tomen yr Allt
Wales relief location map.jpg
Archaeological site icon (red).svg
Tomen yr Allt within Wales
LocationNear Llanfyllin
RegionPowys, Wales
Coordinates 52°46′49.33″N3°17′45.71″W / 52.7803694°N 3.2960306°W / 52.7803694; -3.2960306 Coordinates: 52°46′49.33″N3°17′45.71″W / 52.7803694°N 3.2960306°W / 52.7803694; -3.2960306
TypeMotte and Bailey Castle
Part ofKingdom of Powys until 1160, then Principality of Powys Wenwynwyn.
Length40 m
Width40 m
History
MaterialEarthwork and timber
FoundedPossibly 10th century
Abandoned1257 (keep destroyed)
PeriodsMedieval
Satellite ofCantref of Mechain
Associated withLords of commote of Mechain Uwch Coed
EventsPut under siege by Llywelyn ap Gruffudd in 1257
Site notes
Excavation dates1978
ArchaeologistsClwyd-Powys Archaeological Trust
ConditionRuin - only earthworks remaining and very overgrown
DesignationCadw scheduled monument

Tomen yr Allt (or Domen yr Allt) was a Medieval motte and bailey defensive castle near Llanfyllin in Powys, Wales. [1] [2] "Tomen ar hallt" is modern Welsh for "mound on the wooded hillside."

Contents

Motte and Bailey castle Motte Strichzeichnung.png
Motte and Bailey castle

Description

The site is over 40 m (130 ft) in diameter; the central man-made earthwork mound (motte) is about 13 by 10 m (43 by 33 ft) and nearly 10 m (33 ft) high. There is a continuous stony ditch, which is doubled on the north-east side, away from the natural slope of the hill. [3] [4] The bank is flattened where it joins fields on the south-east side and no bailey is apparent in that section. Most of the earthworks remain and the keep of the castle was probably timber, as CPAT (Clwyd-Powys Archaeological Trust) found a piece of daub and the remains of a burnt layer in 1978. [1] [3] [5] The site is a Cadw scheduled monument. [2]

History

Parkland at Bodfach Hall - geograph.org.uk - 559379.jpg
Tomen↓
Parkland at Bodfach Hall - geograph.org.uk - 559379.jpg
View from Bodfach Hall towards Tomen yr Allt (peak one third of the way across the skyline from the left)

Tomen yr Allt was the caput of the commote of Mechain Uwch Coed in the cantref of Mechain. [6]

In 1160, when the Kingdom of Powys was divided, Mechain became part of the principality which later came to be known as Powys Wenwynwyn. By 1208, the region was controlled by Llywelyn the Great. After his death in 1241, his heir had to come to terms with Henry III of England, which resulted in Powys Wenwynwyn passing to the rule of Gruffydd ap Gwenwynwyn who was allied to Henry III.

Llywelyn ap Gruffudd, the grandson of Llywelyn the Great and the Prince of Gwynedd, began to expand his territory after 1255. In May 1257, Llywelyn ap Gruffudd was reported to have put the "castle of Bodyddon" under siege (Tomen yr Allt is less than 1 km east of Bodyddon and overlooks it). The intention was likely to bring the lords of Mechain to submission, and by 1258 they were indeed allied to Llywelyn. [7] Presumably Tomen yr Allt is the "castle of Bodyddon" to which the reports refer, which was destroyed in 1257. [1] [3] [4]

The site overlooks Bodfach Hall approximately 1 km south-east in the hamlet of Bodfach near Llanfyllin. Tomen yr Allt and the wooded area around it, known as Coed yr Allt, is on land which belonged to the historical estate of the hall. [8] The original building on the site of the hall may have been constructed to replace the castle. [9]

Related Research Articles

Meifod Human settlement in Wales

Meifod, formerly also written Meivod, is a small village, community and electoral ward 7 miles north-west of Welshpool in Montgomeryshire, Powys, Wales, on the A495 road and located in the valley of the River Vyrnwy. The River Banwy has a confluence with the Vyrnwy approximately two miles to the west of the village. The village itself had a population of 317. The community includes the village of Bwlch-y-cibau and the hamlet of Allt-y-Main.

Llansantffraid-ym-Mechain Human settlement in Wales

Llansantffraid-ym-Mechain is a large village in Powys, mid Wales, close to the border with Shropshire in England, about 7 miles (11 km) south west of Oswestry and 8 miles (13 km) north of Welshpool. It is on the A495 road and is at the confluence of the River Vyrnwy and the Afon Cain. The population as of the 2011 UK Census was 1,415. The community includes the village of Deuddwr and several hamlets.

Llanfyllin Human settlement in Wales

Llanfyllin is a market town, community and electoral ward in a sparsely populated area in Montgomeryshire, Powys, Wales. Llanfyllin's community population in 2011 was 1,532, of whom 34.1% could speak Welsh. Llanfyllin means church or parish (llan) of St Myllin. The community includes the tiny settlements of Bodfach, Ty Crwyn, Abernaint and several farms.

Hen Domen

Hen Domen Welsh, meaning "old mound", is the site of a medieval timber motte-and-bailey castle in Powys, Wales. It is the site of the original Montgomery Castle, and was built by Roger de Montgomery in 1070. From 1105 the castle was the home of the de Boulers (Bowdler) family, and it is from Baldwin de Boulers that Montgomery gets its Welsh name, Trefaldwyn "The Town of Baldwin". When the castle was rebuilt in stone (1223–1234), it was decided to rebuild it on a rocky promontory a mile to the south-east – the location of the current town of Montgomery, Powys. The Hen Domen site has been extensively excavated.

Mechain

Mechain was a medieval cantref in the Kingdom of Powys. This cantref has also been referred to as Y Fyrnwy (Vyrnwy). Mechain may owe its name to the River Cain which flows through it on its way to join the River Vyrnwy; 'Me' or 'Mach' may signify meadows or plain, in which case Mechain would mean "Meadows of the Cain". It corresponds to the later hundred of Llanfyllin.

Llanfechain Village in northern Powys, Wales

Llanfechain is a village and community in Powys, Wales, on the B4393 road between Llanfyllin and Llansantffraid-ym-Mechain. Historically it belonged to Montgomeryshire. The Afon Cain runs through. The population of 465 at the 2011 Census was estimated at 476 in 2019.

Pipton Human settlement in Wales

Pipton is a small settlement and former civil parish in Powys, Wales on the Afon Llynfi near its confluence with the River Wye. It was formerly in the county of Brecknockshire and is now part of the community of Bronllys. The nearest town is Hay-on-Wye some 5 miles (8.0 km) to the east.

Arwystli medieval Welsh cantref

Arwystli was a cantref in mid Wales in the Middle Ages, located in the headland of the River Severn. It was chiefly associated with the Kingdom of Powys, but was heavily disputed between Powys, Gwynedd, and the Norman Marcher Lords for hundreds of years, and was the scene of many skirmishes between those groups. Like many other cantrefs and subdivisions, it was divided up by the Laws in Wales Acts in the 16th century.

Llandyssil Human settlement in Wales

Llandyssil is a village in Powys, Wales, about two miles from the town of Montgomery.

Bodfach Human settlement in Wales

Bodfach is a hamlet in the community of Llanfyllin, Powys, Wales, which is 89 miles (144 km) from Cardiff and 160 miles (257 km) from London.

Castle Caereinion Human settlement in Wales

Castle Caereinion is a small village and community in Montgomeryshire, Powys, Wales upon the River Banwy, around 8 miles west of Welshpool, and 4 miles east of Llanfair Caereinion.

Llanerchydol Human settlement in Wales

Llanerchydol is a settlement on the A458 about 2 km west of the centre of Welshpool in the county of Powys in Wales. It is part of the community of Welshpool and also lends its name to an electoral ward.

Rhayader Castle Ruined castle in Powts, Wales

Rhayader Castle is the remains of a motte-and-bailey castle in the town of Rhayader, Powys, Wales. The available documentary sources are not clear enough to distinguish between this site and the castle mound across the river and one or the other was probably built by Rhys ap Gruffydd, Prince of Deheubarth, in 1177. At that time the river formed the border between Gwrtheyrnion and the independent state of Buellt; the town of Rhayader is on the Gwrtheyrnion side of the river.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Tomen yr Allt Motte, Llanfyllin". Gatehouse. Retrieved 23 April 2015.
  2. 1 2 "Scheduled Ancient Monuments". Excel spreadsheet: SAMs by UA.xls: SAM MG027
  3. 1 2 3 "Tomen Yr Allt Motte". CPAT. See also PDF file linked on this summary page
  4. 1 2 "DOMEN-YR-ALLT/TOMEN-YR-ALLT". Coflein. Coflein.
  5. ↑ "POWYS Archaeological Record Site No. 1476". CPAT. 1976.
  6. ↑ Richards, Robert (1949). "Y domen Gastell". Montgomeryshire Collections Relating to Montgomeryshire and Its Borders. 51: 72. Retrieved 15 April 2015.
  7. ↑ Smith, J Beverley (2014). Llywelyn Ap Gruffudd: Prince of Wales. University of Wales Press. p. 99. ISBN   9781783160075.
  8. ↑ An Inventory of the Ancient Monuments in Wales and Monmouthshire: I - County of Montgomery. Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales. 1913.
  9. ↑ "BODFACH HALL". Coflein. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 22 April 2015.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.