Castell y Blaidd, Llanbadarn Fynydd

Description

Horse-shoe shaped enclosure with open end on north-west (downslope). Measures 55m NE-SW by 35m internally. single bank and outer ditch with counterscarp (prominent on north-east). (Clwyd Powys Archaeological Trust HER as Iron Age hillfort)

Castell-y-Blaidd is an oval ramparted, ditched and counterscarped enclosure, 35m by 55m, defined by a bank, ditch and counterscarp, having a wide entrance gap to the W. (Coflein as Iron Age defended enclosure)

Castell y Blaidd (Wolf's Castle) is a strong ringwork, presumably of Norman date, although no reference to it survives. It sits unusually high on the hills near a pass leading eastwards where several tracks still meet, and has wide views apart from to the east and north-east. The ringwork is horseshoe-shaped, with a gap on the north-west, suggesting that it was unfinished, or has been destroyed, either by enemy action or during agricultural drainage. The bank stands 3-4m high above the base of the external ditch, which has traces of a counterscarp outside it; the site is more strongly defended on the north-east than on the south-west. The very short length of bank and ditch on the north-east may also be unfinished. The interior is domed and undulating, with no obvious sign of structures. Traces of a settlement with small enclosures are visible on the hillside below the path, looking back towards the parking place. The date of these remains is uncertain, but they are high on the mountain in an area not enclosed until relatively recently. They could be the remains of a medieval shepherding site, or might be still earlier. (Burnham, 1995)

The monument comprises the remains of an earthwork/stone-built enclosure. The date or precise nature of the enclosure is unknown, but it is likely to be later prehistoric or medieval and is located at the south-west end of a locally prominent knoll, with the ground dropping away to the south. The enclosure, which measures c.45m north-west to south-east by c.30m internally, is defended by bank, ditch and counterscarp, which today form a horseshoe shaped enclosure. The defences as seen on the ground are absent for a distance of c.17m on the north-west, though air photography suggests that they may originally have existed here. The bank rises between c.0.35m and c.1.5m high above the interior and up to c.4m above the base of the ditch, which is c.1 to1.5m deep. The counterscarp is most marked around the north-eastern side where it stands c.0.4m above the surrounding ground level. (Scheduling Report)

Comments

Scheduled as Prehistoric Enclosure. Remfry writes this a most debateable site but is of opinion that it is an early C13 castle that was abandoned, incomplete, for the better site at Tinboeth.