Clyro Castle

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. Clyro Castle is a very large mound with a summit measuring c.60m north-east to south-west by c.50m, formed from a scarped and flattened natural knoll, sited at the west end of a north-east to south-west ridge. The motte stands c.4 to 5m above the present base of the silted ditch, which is c.2.5 to 3m wide. This ditch runs all the way around it apart from on the south-west, where there is a causewayed entrance. A slight counterscarp bank is present outside the ditch on all sides except the north-east, where it may have been damaged by later activity. The whole area is heavily wooded, making detailed survey difficult. No obvious masonry structures survive standing above ground, but a continuous heap of fallen stone with smaller attached heaps suggests that the whole area was enclosed by a curtain wall running round the edge of the mound with towers or buildings adjoining its inner side.

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.