Llanvaches Castle

Cadw's description

Summary description and reason for designation

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

The monument consists of the earthworks and buried lower walls of a long rectangular hall or tower at the eastern side of a faceted walled enclosure, traditionally held to be a small medieval castle or defended manor house of John Martel mentioned in the 1271 Wentwood Survey. It occupies a low limestone knoll c250m to the north of the parish church and village. The enclosure is sub-rectangular and measures c54m E/W by 42m N/S. It is defined by a spread stony bank between 0.5 and 1.3m high covering a collapsed limestone rubble wall but there is no sign of an external ditch. There is a large, levelled opening in the bank on the NW side that may indicate later disturbance; a break at the SE corner towards the aproach from the villlage along the possible earthworks of a former lane may represent the original entrance. The lack of any antiquarian descriptions, cartographic or pictoral evidence suggests that the site has long been ruinous.

The monument is of national importance for its potential to enhance our knowledge of medieval defensive and domestic architecture. It forms an important relic of the medieval landscape and shares group value with a series of other minor castles, fortified houses and small manors documented in the 1271 Wentwood Survey. 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.