Monument Type(s):

• RINGWORK (11th century to 12th century - 1066 AD to 1150 AD?)
• CASTLE (13th century - 1200 AD? to 1299 AD?)

Summary

Scheduled Monument: A strategically situated medieval border fortification, probably built in the late 11th or early 12th century, and refortified in the later 13th century.

Related records

Associated Finds: None recorded

Associated Events

• ESA1620 - 1963 excavation
• ESA1621 - 1977 field observation by Shropshire County Council
• ESA1622 - 1986 field observation by English Heritage

Description

Sited on rock spur jutting into bog. Strongly protected on all sides except the north. Oval mount 17ft high with rampart 6ft high on approachable side. The surrounding fosse 7ft deep with outer bank 12ft high. On NE ditch widens and deepens. Outside on the E side is a small rectangular earthwork, an area surrounded by a low vallum with a hollow on its S exterior which appears to be of later date than the other works, and was possibly constructed to strengthen the entrance here <1b>

Excavation in 1963 revealed six phases from C12 to C13 or early C14. Phase I. Oval ringwork of 125ft x 50ft internally with bank 12ft or more wide. Probable wooden palisade and tower. Phase II. Circular stone keep, 21ft internally with walls 8ft thick built at south end of ringwork, possibly overlooking gateway. Phase III. Stone revetment or curtain added to ring bank, butted up to keep. Phase IV. Two D shaped towers added on E and W of curtain. Phase V. Twin-towered gateway added with gate passage 6ft 6ins wide by 30ft long, flanked by drum towers 20ft in diameter. Phase VI Rebuild of gate after major collapse. No pottery or coins found. No documentary references. Position and long structural history suggest it was a border castle of the Lordship of Clun. The later phases may be associated with castle building by Llywelyn ap Grufudd in 1274 in the area <2a>

The remains are clearly those of a strongly fortified masonry castle with surrounding earthworks which may also have had stone walling. The inner area is a flat-topped platform probably partly artificial. On the N side are the remains of a mortared stone wall possibly including two shallow circular towers projecting northwards (gatehouse?). On the summit are earthworks indicative of buildings and the area immediately behind the masonry mentioned by the VCH is 1m above the general level and suggests a major building here. At the SW corner are the probable remains of a corner tower. The area between this inner area and the outer defence is occupied by a neatly cut sharp sided ditch for most of the circuit, but on the NE the space is wider and contains earthworks of at least two buildings and traces of a major wall blocking the approach from the gateway and it seems probable that some form of barbican defence to the inner area was present here. The entrance through the outer banks is staggered, with the southern arm turning in behind the northern, which has a massive rectangular earthwork on its exterior, E side as described by the VCH <5>

Scheduling revised in 2001. Scheduling description: ->

-> The monument includes the earthwork and buried remains of a ringwork and an enclosure castle. Traditionally known as Castell Bryn Amlwyg (castle on a prominent hill), it is situated at the south western end, and on the highest point, of a ridge overlooking the Nant Rhuddwr valley. It was strategically placed at the western extremity of the Marcher lordship of Clun, established in 1070. The castle lies just over 2km to the south of the Kerry Ridgeway, a long-established routeway which linked the medieval castle towns of Bishop's Castle and Clun, and which ran westwards into the heart of Wales. ->

-> The elevated ground on which the castle sits has been adapted in order to form the ringwork, which is oval in plan with overall dimensions of 88m east to west by 104m south west to north east. The oval-shaped internal mound, which measures approximately 30m by 48m across the top, is bounded by a steep-sided rock-cut ditch. The ditch is surrounded by a steep-sided rampart between 10m and 15m wide, which has been partly formed by deliberately accentuating the natural fall at the end of the ridge. To the north east, the rampart is set further away from the mound thereby increasing the width of the ditch. This -part of the defensive circuit has been modified by stone quarrying in the 19th and 20th centuries. A deep cut has been made through the bank, part of the ditch has been cut away and quarry spoil has been dumped over the outer defences to the north. Next to the outer side of the north eastern part of the rampart there are additional quarry hollows and spoil heaps, which are not included in the scheduling. To the north, corresponding with the gently rising spine of the ridge, is a break through the rampart, about 3.5m wider which appears to mark the position of the original entrance passage to the interior of the castle. The positions of structures within the interior are marked by embanked wall footings, piles of collapsed masonry and level building platforms. A mass of collapsed stonework also lies within the ditch, particularly to the south and the north west. ->

-> In 1963 a small-scale archaeological excavation was conducted in order to provide information about the structural history of the site. From this investigation it would appear that originally the interior of the ringwork had been defined by an inner rampart and that the contemporary structures were built of wood. At a later date a stone round tower or keep was built at the southern end of the interior of the ringwork. It measured about 6m in diameter internally, with a wall roughly 2.5m thick. A stone curtain wall, about 2m wide, was then constructed around the interior, abutting the tower and cutting into the remains of the earlier inner rampart. A D-shaped stone tower was added to eastern and western sides of the curtain wall, and a twin D-shaped towered gateway, also of stone, was constructed at the northern end of the interior. Following a major structural collapse, the gateway was rebuilt to form an enlarged gatehouse, and the adjoining part of the curtain wall to the west was also strengthened. A quantity of iron nails and animal bones, together with an iron arrowhead, was found in a deposit predating the curtain wall, and within the round tower large burnt timbers were discovered. It is considered that the ringwork was built in the late 11th or the early 12th century and would have been vital in securing the lordship boundary. The subsequent stone-built enclosure castle, comprising the round tower, curtain wall, D-shaped side and gate towers, is believed to have been built in the 13th century, during which time it served as a border outpost for the lordship. The rebuilding of the gateway and an adjoining portion of the curtain wall, probably in the later 13th century, emphasises the castle's continuing role as an important border fortification at this time <10>

Record of management issues and reccommendation made in c.1996 <12>

Photographed during aerial survey in 2010. <13>

Photographed from the air by Chris Musson in 1999. <14>

Documentary

Castle Cefn Fron (the name used locally (a)) occupies a knoll at 365m. above O.D. commanding a valley which runs from north-east to south-west (the boundary between England and Wales). A broad ridge extends to the north-east of the castle and to the north-west there are steep slopes down to the valley; to the south-west and southeast the ground is marshy.

Apart from a few fragments of walling on the face of the gateway, no masonry remains of the castle survive, but the probable line of the curtain wall, and the sites of the gateway and three towers, can be traced.

The site comprises a central mound surrounded by a ditch and outer bank, the ditch being rock cut on the south-east side. A modern quarry has broken through the bank on the east, and cut deeply into the ditch, destroying any evidence that there may have been for a possible entrance on this side. The earthworks outside the bank on the east are probably quarry spoil. There is a narrow gap in the rampart on the north-east side nearly opposite the gateway, and leading on to the ridge, which may be an original entrance. (See revised 1:2500 survey). <15>

Sources

Search results generated by the HBSMR Gateway from exeGesIS SDM Ltd.