Dolbedwin Motte (The Gatehouse Record)

Dolbedwin Motte

Also known as, or recorded in historical documents as;
Talybedwyn Tump; Dolybedwyn; Newchurch; Llys Ifor; Dolbedwyn

In the community of Gladestry.
In the historic county of Radnorshire.
Modern authority of Powys.
Preserved county of Powys.

OS Map Grid Reference: SO20554908
Latitude 52.13439° Longitude -3.16208°

Dolbedwin Motte has been described as a probable Timber Castle.

There are earthwork remains.

This site is a scheduled monument protected by law.

Description

Tree covered, roughly circular, square topped, mound, some 38m diameter 6m high. Base mutilated on NW by digging. Encircling ditch noted by Williams in 1858 no longer visible. (Clwyd Powys Archaeological Trust HER)

A mound, 38m in diameter and 6.0m high, reputedly ditched in the 19th c., from which a Middle Bronze Age dirk came in 1835. (Coflein)

The monument comprises the remains of a possible motte, 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. This feature occupies a north-west facing spur above the confluence of the Cwmila Brook with a minor stream. It is roughly circular with a square top, and is c.38m in diameter and up to c.6m high. It was described as having an encircling ditch in 1858 but this is no longer in evidence. There has been some damage on the north-west. (Scheduling Report)

Comments

King writes may have been a barrow originally.

Sources of information, references and further reading

The CADW scheduled monument record number is RD099.
The National Monument Record (Coflein) number(s) for this site is/are 306304.
The County Historic Environment Record (formerly Sites and Monuments Record) number(s) for this site is/are 417.

Books
- Remfry, P., 2008, The Castles and History of Radnorshire (SCS Publishing)
  Morgan, Gerald, 2008, Castles in Wales: A Handbook (Talybont: Y Lolfa Cyf.) p. 250 (listed)
  Salter, Mike, 2001, The Castles of Mid Wales (Malvern) p. 61
  Pettifer, Adrian, 2000, Welsh Castles, A Guide by Counties (Boydell Press) p. 181
  Remfry, P., 1996, Castles of Radnorshire (Logaston Press) p. 135
  King, D.J.C., 1983, Castellarium Anglicanum (London: Kraus) Vol. 2 p. 410
  RCAHMW, 1913, An inventory of the Ancient Monuments of Radnorshire (HMSO) p. 128 no. 537 online copy
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
  Burgess, C.B., 1962, 'The Bronze Age in Radnorshire: a re-appraisal' Transactions of the Radnorshire Society Vol. 32 p. 7-24 online copy
  Banks, R.W., 1875, 'On Prehistoric Remains in the Edwy Valley' Archaeologia Cambrensis Vol. 30 p. 246-55 online copy
  Williams, J., 1858, 'History of Radnorshire' Archaeologia Cambrensis Vol. 13 p. 469-616 esp p. 523-4 online copy

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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 10:00:50

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