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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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Maes Celyn Motte, Crickhowell

Also known as, or recorded in historical documents as;
Maescelyn Castle

In the community of Crickhowell.
In the historic county of Brecknockshire.
Modern authority of Powys.
Preserved county of Powys.

OS Map Grid Reference: SO20671949
Latitude 51.86842° Longitude -3.15354°

Maes Celyn Motte, Crickhowell has been described as a certain Timber Castle, and also as a certain Masonry Castle.

There are earthwork remains.

This site is a scheduled monument protected by law.
Description

A steep-sided, flat-topped mound, thought to be a medieval castle motte: set on generally south-west facing slopes, the mound is generally rectangular, about 33m north-south by 25m, and between 2.5m & 6.0m high, depending on the fall of the ground, having a summit area some 20m north-south by 10m; the southern part of the summit, terraced 1.0m above the remainder, is thought to cover the remains of a rectangular(?) tower about 7.0m across: a prominent crescentic scarp to the east of the mound may represent a bailey enclosure, in the region of 48m east-west by 41m; St Mary's chapel (Nprn306243) is thought to have been located on the eastern fringe of this area. (Coflein–ref. Phillips 2004 (AW 43 2003), 149-50.)

Motte 2.5m high on north-east and 6m high on south-west. Topped by two platforms separated by 1m high scarp. Traces of masonry and possible bailey, represented only by crescentic scarp to south-east. Main Part of mound 16' high, top diameter 25', contains lowest courses of a circular stone building, outer faces of which are visible on the S and E sides. (Cadw 1989). (Clwyd Powys Archaeological Trust HER)

The monument comprises the remains of a motte and bailey castle, a military stronghold built during the medieval period. The motte is elongated in plan, 2.5m high on the NE side and 6m high on the SW side. The summit is separated in to two levels by a 1m high scarp. On the SE side coursed masonry from a circular stone building survives, together with two short stretches of walling runing to the east and appearing to follow the circumference of the summit. In the pasture to the east of the motte is a crescentic shaped scarped slope which could represent the area of the former bailey. (Scheduling Report)
Comments

The quality of remains may be judged by the difficulty in deciding the form of the ruined tower.
Links to archaeological and architectural databases, mapping and other online resources

Data >
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Sources of information, references and further reading
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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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This record last updated 05/07/2016 17:36:45
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