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Ystradowen Motte

Also known as, or recorded in historical documents as;
Ystrdd Owen; Druids Grove

In the community of Penllyn.
In the historic county of Glamorgan.
Modern authority of Vale of Glamorgan.
Preserved county of South Glamorgan.

OS Map Grid Reference: ST01077765
Latitude 51.48915° Longitude -3.42614°

Ystradowen Motte has been described as a certain Timber Castle.

There are earthwork remains.

This site is a scheduled monument protected by law.

Description

A disturbed, sub-circular, ditched mound, c.41.5-46m in diameter and up to 4.0m high, apparently formed by cutting off the end of a natural bank. A walled plantation about the mound is called "Druids's Grove". Thought to be an unfinished motte, however damage by treasure seekers / early archaeologists, makes interpretation difficult. (Coflein)

Ystradowen Castle Mound is a rare example of an unfinished motte. The NW side is unditched but on the other sides the ditch was left uncompleted. It may have been superceeded by nearby Talyfan Castle. (Glamorgan-Gwent Archaeological Trust HER)

Medium-sized motte just west of the church with a quarry hole in the middle. There is a ditch on the north and south sides, stopping abruptly at the west end, suggesting that the castle was unfinished. The masonry castle of Tal y Fan is 1km to the east. However, it is suggested that the abortive motte was the intended caput of a Norman lordship of 'Charlton' rather than a precursor site to Tal y Fan (RCAHMW, 1991, p. 77)
Links to mapping and other online resources

Data >
Coflein   County HER        
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Sources of information, references and further reading

Most of the sites or buildings recorded in this web site are NOT open to the public and permission to visit a site must always be sought from the landowner or tenant.
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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. 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.
I do not receive any income from this site and I fund it myself. The information within this site is provided freely by me 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 on Monday, June 17, 2013


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