Pointz Castle (The Gatehouse Record)

Pointz Castle

Also known as, or recorded in historical documents as;
Punch Castle; Poyntz; Castrum Poncii

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

OS Map Grid Reference: SM83022373
Latitude 51.86986° Longitude -5.15309°

Pointz Castle has been described as a certain Timber Castle.

There are earthwork remains.

This site is a scheduled monument protected by law.

Description

A ditched motte, 36m in diameter and 4.0m high, with no trace of further works. There are possible traces of a stonewalled structure upon the motte summit (Nprn30076). In C19 several unspecified bronze coins were found on the slopes of the mound, which has also produced a cross inscribed stone, hinting at an earlier origin for the mound. (Coflein)

This is doubtless the mound-castle of Punchard or Ponce, one of the Poitevin knightly tenants of bishop Peter de Leia (1176-1199), the manor being frequently referred to in royal and episcopal documents as Castrum or Villa Poncii. It was subsequently retained in the hands of the bishop, and became one of the principal granges in the extensive episcopal possessions. (RCAHMW)

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. The motte at Pointz Castle measures 35ft in diameter across the top and 18ft high. For the greater part it is surrounded by a ditch with a 5ft counterscarp and is eroded or has been dug into on the south side. (Scheduling Report)

Comments

There is no bailey but the RCAHMW felt if there was one it lay to the west of the mound. It is more likely the Ponce house and farm lay to the east of the mound, where the modern farm building are and was probably lightly protected with a fence. The mound, probably surmounted by a timber tower, having a mainly symbolic function showing the knightly status of the foreign tenants to pilgrims heading to nearby St David's.

Sources of information, references and further reading

The CADW scheduled monument record number is PE272.
The National Monument Record (Coflein) number(s) for this site is/are 305330; 30076.
The County Historic Environment Record (formerly Sites and Monuments Record) number(s) for this site is/are 2885.

Books
- Morgan, Gerald, 2008, Castles in Wales: A Handbook (Talybont: Y Lolfa Cyf.) p. 248 (listed)
  Hull, Lise, 2005, Castles and Bishops Palaces of Pembrokeshire (Logaston Press) p. 187
  Pettifer, Adrian, 2000, Welsh Castles, A Guide by Counties (Boydell Press) p. 173
  Davis, Paul, 2000, A Company of Forts. A Guide to the Medieval Castles of West Wales (Gomer Press) p. 40
  Reid, Alan, 1998, Castles of Wales (John Jones Publishing) p. 121
  Salter, Mike, 1996, The Castles of South West Wales (Malvern) p. 87 (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. 396
  RCAHMW, 1925, An inventory of the Ancient Monuments of Pembrokeshire (HMSO) p. 25-6 no. 63 online copy
  Laws, E. and Owen, H., 1908, Archaeological Survey of Pembrokeshire 1896-1907 (Tenby) p. 46
Periodical Articles
- 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.
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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 07/07/2016 09:30:28

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