Castell y Waun Castle Mound

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 usually a 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. Chirk Motte is a circular flat-topped mound about 30m in diameter and 5.7m high, but with no trace of a ditch. This is identified as a castle mound, specifically the Castell-y-Waun mentioned in 1165 and 1212. It is located in the planned borough of Chirk, occupying a prominent corner plot facing the church. The borough received its first charter in 1324 and can be associated with the later, greater castle 2km to the west. The mound was the central feature of the ornamental garden to the rear of The Mount, a mid eighteenth century house. As depicted on the Ordnance Survey County series 1st edition (Denbigh. XL.10 1872) the mound was set within what appears to be a sub-rectangular enclosure or platform, roughly 50m across. Other than this there are no traces of other castle earthworks.

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.