CM157

Allt-y-Ferin Mound and Bailey Castle  

05/02/1952  

Designated  

Carmarthenshire  

Llanegwad  

252192  

223279  

Defence  

Hillfort  

Prehistoric  

The following provides a general description of the Scheduled Ancient Monument. The monument comprises the remains of a motte and bailey castle, a military stronghold built during the medieval period .The motte measures c 28m in diameter at the base and rises c 6m in height to a summit of c 10m diameter. A summer house associated with the nearby mansion Plas Alltyferin formerly stood on the summit. The motte has a surrounding narrow ditch with a 2m counterscarp bank and is set into the eastern angle of a subrectangular bailey that measures c 52m north-east to south-west defined by steep natural scarps except on the north east where a rampart & ditch 3m high on the exterior, 1m high on the interior re-uses the earthworks of an earlier prehistoric promontory enclosure. A second slighter ditch and bank measuring c 25m in length cuts off the tip of the promontory. The monument is of national importance for its potential to enhance our knowledge of medieval defensive organisation. The well-preserved monument forms an important element within the wider medieval context and the structure itself may be expected to contain archaeological information relating to chronology, building techniques and functional detail. The scheduled area comprises the remains described and areas around them within which related evidence may be expected to survive.