Banc y Betws

Last updated

Banc y Betws or Betws Castle, is a motte and scheduled ancient monument in Wales. It is located in Llangyndeyrn, in the Gwendraith Valley in Carmarthenshire, Wales; map grid SN458154. All that is visible of the structure nowadays is a mound capped with trees and the remains of the ditch that surrounded it.

Contents

History

The Normans introduced motte-and-bailey castles from France to countries such as Britain, where the technology was adopted by the Welsh people. The largest clustering of these in Britain are in the Welsh Marches: namely Shropshire, Cheshire, Herefordshire, Powys and Flintshire. [1] The greatest numbers of these castle were built in Wales between the 11th century and the second half the 12th century, built out of soil and stone, usually surrounded by a ditch and topped with a wooden or stone structure known as a keep. The history of this particular castle is not known. [2]

The site

Betws Castle is a mound approximately 40 metres by 35 metres, and roughly 9 metres high. [3] The top of the mound is concave, with the centre about 1 metre (3 ft) lower than the rim. [4] A dry ditch, approximately 5 metres wide and two metres deep, surrounds the site except on the north side, where it has been filled in. [2] The eastern face of the mound was damaged by quarrying in the mid-twentieth century. The Historic Environment Record for the castles indicates that the site has not been archaeologically excavated and does not mention any recorded history. [5]

The castle is registered with Cadw, number CM124. [6] Some of the ditch to the north has been incorporated into the adjoining field and the motte itself is clad in large trees. [2]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bedd Arthur</span>

Bedd Arthur is a possibly Neolithic hengiform monument megalithic site in the Preseli Hills in the Welsh county of Pembrokeshire. Thirteen upright stones and at least 2 fallen ones, each around 0.6 metres (2.0 ft) high form an oval horseshoe with similarities to the earliest form of Stonehenge.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bettws Cedewain</span> Human settlement in Wales

Bettws Cedewain, also known as Bettws Cedewen, is a small village and community in Montgomeryshire, Powys, Wales. It lies in a sheltered valley on the banks of the River Bechan, some 3 miles (5 km) north of Newtown, on the B4389 road. The community is known as just Bettws, and includes the hamlets of Highgate and Brooks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Llangyndeyrn</span> Village and community in Carmarthenshire, Wales

Llangyndeyrn is a village, community and electoral ward in the River Gwendraeth valley, Carmarthenshire, in Dyfed region of West Wales, United Kingdom. The village name is often spelt as Llangendeirne.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ascot d'Oilly Castle</span>

Ascot d'Oilly Castle is situated north of the village of Ascott-under-Wychwood in the north west region of Oxfordshire. It is a scheduled ancient monument. A fragment of the castle remains and is a Grade II listed building. It was named after Roger d'Oilly who was granted it by William the Conqueror and whose brother built Oxford Castle. It is thought that the castle was built around 1129 and it was demolished soon after 1175. There are fragmentary remains of a stone tower. The remains consist of raised ground surrounded by broad ditching.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hen Domen</span> Motte-and-bailey in Powys, Wales

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bettws Newydd</span> Village in Monmouthshire, Wales

Bettws Newydd is a small village in Monmouthshire, in southeast Wales located about 3+1⁄2 miles (5.6 km) north of Usk, a few miles south of Clytha near Raglan, Monmouthshire.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thetford Castle</span> 11th-century castle in Thetford, England

Thetford Castle is a medieval motte and bailey castle in the market town of Thetford in the Breckland area of Norfolk, England. The first castle in Thetford, a probable 11th-century Norman ringwork called Red Castle, was replaced in the 12th century by a much larger motte and bailey castle on the other side of the town. This new castle was largely destroyed in 1173 by Henry II, although the huge motte, the second largest man-made mound in England, remained intact. The motte, recognised as a scheduled monument, now forms part of a local park, and the remains are known variously as Castle Hill, Castle Mound and Military Parade.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dunham Castle</span> Building in Greater Manchester, England

Dunham Castle is an early medieval castle in Dunham Massey, Greater Manchester, England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carmarthen Castle</span> Castle in Carmarthen, Wales

Carmarthen Castle is a ruined castle in Carmarthen, West Wales, UK. First built by Walter, Sheriff of Gloucester in the early 1100s, the castle was captured and destroyed on several occasions before being rebuilt in stone during the 1190s. The castle was captured by Owain Glyndŵr in 1405. Henry VII's father died at Carmarthen Castle in 1456. During the Wars of the Roses the castle fell to William Herbert and, during the Civil War, was captured by Parliamentary forces. It was dismantled by order of Oliver Cromwell in the mid 1600s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ystrad Peithyll</span> Remains of a small 12th-century castle in Wales

Ystrad Peithyll is the remains of a small 12th-century motte-and-bailey castle on the River Peithyll, near Penrhyn-coch in northern Ceredigion, Wales. The castle was attacked and destroyed by followers of Gruffydd ap Rhys in the early 12th century.

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.

Buddugre Castle was a motte and bailey defensive fortification overlooking the River Ithon, located in the community of Llanddewi Ystradenny, in Radnorshire, Wales. It is believed to have been built as a defensive measure in the medieval period, during the 12th century, as a timber castle.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Monmouth town walls and defences</span>

The Monmouth town walls and defences comprise the defensive system of town walls and gates built in Monmouth, Wales between 1297 and the early part of the following century. Wye Bridge Gate, East Gate, Monk's Gate, and Monnow Bridge Gate were access points to the town. West Gate, across Monnow Street, also provided access. Only the Monnow Bridge Gatehouse survives intact, albeit in a substantially modified version from the original.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scheduled monuments in Ceredigion</span>

Ceredigion is a large rural county in West Wales. It has a long coastline of Cardigan Bay to the west and the remote moorland of the Cambrian Mountains in the east, with the mountainous terrain of Plynlimon in the northeast. Ceredigion has a total of 264 scheduled monuments. That is too many to have on a single list page, so for convenience the list is divided into two, 163 prehistoric sites and 101 Roman, Medieval and Post Medieval sites.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tomen yr Allt</span>

Tomen yr Allt was a Medieval motte and bailey defensive castle near Llanfyllin in Powys, Wales. "Tomen ar hallt" is modern Welsh for "mound on the wooded hillside."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tregrug Castle</span> Medieval castle in Monmouthshire, Wales

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Twmpath Castle</span> Motte-and-bailey castle in Cardiff, Wales

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Morganstown Castle Mound</span> Motte-and-bailey castle in Cardiff, Wales

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.

References

  1. ↑ English Heritage; accessed 22/10/2010 Archived 2012-11-06 at the Wayback Machine
  2. 1 2 3 Davis, Philip. "Banc y Bettws, Llangyndeyrn (The Gatehouse Record)". www.gatehouse-gazetteer.info. Retrieved 7 August 2015.
  3. ↑ "Banc-y-Bettws, Motte (303922)". Coflein. RCAHMW . Retrieved 7 August 2015.
  4. ↑ The Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments and Constructions in Wales and Monmouthsire (1917). An Inventory of the Ancient Monuments in Wales and Monmouthshire: V - County of Carmarthen. His Majesty's Stationery Office. p. 166.
  5. ↑ "Banc y Bettws". Dyfed Historic Environment Record. Dyfed Archaeological Trust. Retrieved 7 August 2015.
  6. ↑ "Scheduled Ancient Monuments". What Do They Know. Retrieved 7 August 2015.

Coordinates: 51°48′59″N4°14′16″W / 51.81639°N 4.23778°W / 51.81639; -4.23778

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.