Llanilid Castle (The Gatehouse Record)

Llanilid Castle

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

OS Map Grid Reference: SS97778132
Latitude 51.52154° Longitude -3.47473°

Llanilid Castle has been described as a certain Timber Castle.

There are earthwork remains.

This site is a scheduled monument protected by law.

Description

A well-preserved ringwork defined by a bank measuring internally 30m (E-W), slightly more N-S, counterscarp bank to W. The interior is 4m higher than external level (1.3m above N and S). Located on the highest point of a glacial hillock needing only scarping, levelling and the addition of the ring-bank. (Coflein)

Steeply scarped mound with a peripheral bank, a fragmentary ditch & counterscarp. There is no trace of an associated bailey, or any stonework. (Glamorgan-Gwent Archaeological Trust HER)

Llanilid Castle, two miles east of Pencoed, is a good example of a 'raised' ringwork. The surrounding ditch is crossed by an entrance causeway facing the old parish church. The Norman castle was probably raised by the St Quintin family, who held the manor until 1245. No stone walls ever replaced the wooden palisades, and the Siwards moved to a moated site nearby. (Pettifer, 2000)

The monument comprises the remains of a motte dating to the medieval period (c. 1066 -1540 AD). It follows the standard pattern of a steep-sided circular mound, with a ditch around it on all but the east side. A causeway across the ditch on the south side may indicate an entrance. The top of the mound is flat, and the bank around its rim 1-2m high. The bailey is though to lie to the south, possibly including the ground that the church and churchyard now stand on. The castle was in the Norman sublordship of Ruthin, the overlords of which, from the 12th century to 1245, were the Siwards of Llanblethian and Talyfan. At some time after 1245 it was probably replaced as an administrative centre by the moated site of Gadlys south of the church. (Scheduling Report)

Sources of information, references and further reading

The CADW scheduled monument record number is GM080.
The National Monument Record (Coflein) number(s) for this site is/are 300098.
The County Historic Environment Record (formerly Sites and Monuments Record) number(s) for this site is/are 00388m.

Websites (Gatehouse is not responsible for the content of external websites.)
- Jeff Thomas's Castles of Wales
Books
- Morgan, Gerald, 2008, Castles in Wales: A Handbook (Talybont: Y Lolfa Cyf.) p. 239 (listed)
  Pettifer, Adrian, 2000, Welsh Castles, A Guide by Counties (Boydell Press) p. 98
  Salter, Mike, 1991, The Castles of Gwent, Glamorgan and Gower (Malvern) p. 75 (slight)
  RCAHMW, 1991, An Inventory of the Ancient Monuments in Glamorgan Vol. 3 Part 1a: The Early Castles (London: HMSO) CR12 p. 107-10
  King, D.J.C., 1983, Castellarium Anglicanum (London: Kraus) Vol. 1 p. 165
  Hague, D.B., 1971, in Pugh, T.B. (ed), Glamorgan County History Vol. 3 The Middle Ages (Cardiff) p. 442
  Randall, Henry John, 1961, The Vale of Glamorgan, Studies in Landscape and History (Newport: R.H.Johns Ltd) p. 77
Periodical Articles
- King, D.J.C. and Alcock, L., 1969, 'Ringworks in England and Wales' Château Gaillard Vol. 3 p. 90-127
  Hogg, A.H.A. and King, D.J.C., 1963, 'Early castles in Wales and the Marches: a preliminary list' Archaeologia Cambrensis Vol. 112 p. 77-124

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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.

The possible site or monument is represented on maps as a point location. This is a guide only. It should be noted that OS grid references defines an area, not a point location. In practice this means the actual center of the site or monument may often, but not always, be to the North East of the point shown.
Locations derived from OS grid references and from latitude longitiude may differ by a small distance.
Further information on mapping and location can be seen at this link.

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This record last updated 06/07/2016 17:32:26

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