Castell Trefilan

Cadw's description

Summary description and reason for designation

The following provides a general description of the Scheduled Ancient Monument.

The monument comprises the remains of a motte and ditch, dating to the medieval period (c. 1066 -1540 AD). A motte is a large conical or pyramidal mound of soil and/or stone, usually surrounded by either a wet or dry ditch, and surmounted by a tower constructed of timber or stone. The mound is c.6m to 6.6m high and c.10.5m in diameter across the top. It is surrounded by a broad ditch c.5m wide and 1.8m deep, with an outer bank rising c.3.5m above the ditch and c.1m above the surrounding field. An old trench appears to have been dug across the top of the mound.Aerial reconnaissance of cropmarks has confirmed the presence of an outer bailey to the south-west. A ditch some 5m wide runs west in a shallow arc, with the terminals of a gateway visible just to the west of the present road some 75m south-west of the motte which gives a projected enclosure of some 87m wide x 123m long, with the motte standing at its north-east end.

Castell Trefilan reputedly established in 1233 can be associated with a princely house at Trefilan burnt in 1282 suggestive of a Llys site. The medieval church (now rebuilt) that belonged to belonging to the Deanery of Ultra-Aeron lay some 20 northeast of the motte and may have been contemporary with the foundation of a borough town at Trefilan in the thirteenth century, this post-dating a Welsh vill recorded at Trefilan in 1304.

The monument is of national importance for its potential to enhance our knowledge of medieval defensive practices. The monument is well-preserved and an important relic of the medieval landscape. It retains significant archaeological potential, with a strong probability of the presence of both structural evidence and intact associated deposits.

The scheduled area comprises the remains described and areas around them within which related evidence may be expected to survive.