Castell Cynon, Lampeter Velfrey (The Gatehouse Record)

Castell Cynon, Lampeter Velfrey

Also known as, or recorded in historical documents as;
Lampeter Velfry; Castell Cynen

In the community of Lampeter Velfrey.
In the historic county of Pembrokeshire.
Modern authority of Pembrokeshire.
Preserved county of Dyfed.

OS Map Grid Reference: SN15501461
Latitude 51.79963° Longitude -4.67712°

Castell Cynon, Lampeter Velfrey has been described as a probable Timber Castle.

There are earthwork remains.

This site is a scheduled monument protected by law.

Description

Earthworks thought to represent the remains of a medieval castle: a rather subcircular banked and ditched enclosure, about 26m in diameter, crowning the butt-end of an east-facing ridge, showing a north-facing entrance. (Coflein)

This mound castle is situated about 180 yards north of the parish church; it shows no sign of a bailey. The mound rises to a height of 12 feet. The summit is 120 feet in diameter, and has a depression in the centre. The surrounding ditch is now considerably filled in; it is seen at its best on the west, where the counter- scarp has a height of 6 feet. The whole structure is densely covered with vegetation. Lieut.-Colonel W. LI. Morgan, R.E., an ex-Commissioner, suggests that this motte has probably been cut down, and the squat appearance, as well as the unusual summit- breadth, makes the suggestion probable. The farm is locally called Castell Cynen or Cynon. (RCAHMW, 1925)

The monument comprises the remains of a well preserved castle-ringwork, which dates to the early part of the medieval period (c. AD 1066 - 1485). It is cirular in plan and defended by a bank and ditch. The internal diameter is 90ft. (Scheduling Report)

Sources of information, references and further reading

The CADW scheduled monument record number is PE177.
The National Monument Record (Coflein) number(s) for this site is/are 304253.
The County Historic Environment Record (formerly Sites and Monuments Record) number(s) for this site is/are 3787.

Books
- Morgan, Gerald, 2008, Castles in Wales: A Handbook (Talybont: Y Lolfa Cyf.) p. 247 (listed)
  Hull, Lise, 2005, Castles and Bishops Palaces of Pembrokeshire (Logaston Press) p. 112
  Pettifer, Adrian, 2000, Welsh Castles, A Guide by Counties (Boydell Press) p. 178
  Davis, Paul, 2000, A Company of Forts. A Guide to the Medieval Castles of West Wales (Gomer Press) p. 34
  Salter, Mike, 1996, The Castles of South West Wales (Malvern) p. 86 (slight)
  Miles, Dillwyn, 1979 (Revised 1988), Castles of Pembrokeshire (Pembrokeshire Coast National Park) p. 5-7
  King, D.J.C., 1983, Castellarium Anglicanum (London: Kraus) Vol. 2 p. 393
  RCAHMW, 1925, An inventory of the Ancient Monuments of Pembrokeshire (HMSO) p. 151 no. 407 online copy
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 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.
The author and compiler of Gatehouse does not receive any income from the site and funds it himself. The information within this site is provided freely for educational purposes only.

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 03/07/2016 20:11:59

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