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The comprehensive gazetteer and bibliography of the medieval castles, fortifications and palaces of England, Wales, the Islands.
 
 
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Castell Nos, Aberdare

Also known as, or recorded in historical documents as;
Castelle Nose

In the community of Aberdare.
In the historic county of Glamorgan.
Modern authority of Rhondda Cynon Taff.
Preserved county of Mid Glamorgan.

OS Map Grid Reference: SN96500017
Latitude 51.69045° Longitude -3.49843°

Castell Nos, Aberdare has been described as a probable Timber Castle.

There are earthwork remains.

This site is a scheduled monument protected by law.
Description

The SE end of an isolated eminence 35m (N-S) by 12m, an entirely natural hillock, rocky except for the small oval flat top which has been scarped and ditched on the N and W. Traces of a possible bailey lie to the NW. There is no historical record of the motte which is possibly a medieval Welsh attempt to construct a motte-like fortress from this naturally strong position. (Coflein–ref. RCAHMW, 1991)

Medieval Welsh motte & bailey on a natural hillock. Bailey is incompletely fortified but the motte defences are probably complete. (Glamorgan-Gwent Archaeological Trust HER)

The monument consists of the remains of a defensive motte probably dating to the medieval period. It is unusual in that instead of creating an earthen mound (motte) to defend, a natural pennant sandstone outcrop has been artificially scarped and steepened. The outcrop is set above the precipitous eastern slope of the head of the Rhondda Fach Valley. It commands the Glamorgan side of the watershed between the Rhondda area and Brecon. It thus controls one of the major routes into the Glamorgan uplands from the north. At the northern end of the outcrop there is a ditch approx. 3m below the break of scarp which curves round in a 'half moon' shape and this protects the less steep northern approach. In the centre of the ditch is a masonry foundation 3m square, possibly connected with a drawbridge abutment. There is a second slight ditch, running concentric to the first, 27m beyond it. It is an usual site and may have been used as a castle mound built in the period following the seizure of Glyn Rhondda by de Clare in 1246. (Scheduling Report)
Comments

It is also suggested as a early Medieval (Dark Ages) fortress. A possible gatetower was a drystone construction. Mentioned by Leland as 'Castelle Nose is but a high Stony Creg in the Top of an Hille'.
Links to archaeological and architectural databases, mapping and other online resources

Data >
Coflein   County HER   Scheduling        
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Sources of information, references and further reading
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The information on this web page may be derived from information compiled by and/or copyright of the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historic Monuments of Wales, the four welsh archaeological trusts and other individuals and organisations. It may also contain Designated Historic Asset Descriptive Information from The Welsh Historic Environment Service (Cadw), licensed under the Open Government Licence. All the sources given should be consulted to identify the original copyright holder and permission obtained from them before use of the information on this site for commercial purposes.
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The bibliography owes much to various bibliographies produced by John Kenyon for the Council for British Archaeology, the Castle Studies Group and others.
Suggestions for finding online and/or hard copies of bibliographical sources can be seen at this link.
Minor archaeological investigations, such as watching brief reports, and some other 'grey' literature is most likely to be held by H.E.R.s but is often poorly referenced and is unlikely to be recorded here, or elsewhere, but some suggestions can be found here.
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Locations derived from OS grid references and from latitude longitiude may differ by a small distance.
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This record last updated 06/07/2016 17:14:08
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