MM110

Llangibby Castle Mound  

 

Designated  

Monmouthshire  

Llangybi  

336955  

197353  

Defence  

Motte  

Medieval  

vThe following provides a general description of the Scheduled Ancient Monument. The monument comprises the remains of a substantial castle ringwork, dating to the medieval period (c. 1066 -1540 AD). It consists of a raised circular platform, 80m in diameter at the base, rising up to 6m above the bottom its broad ditch, with a flat summit, 40m in diameter enclosed by a low bank. The mound is surrounded by a broad steep-sided ditch some 20m wide and between 2 and 4m deep, and 1.5m high counterscarp bank. The ditch and outer bank are not present on the N side of the mound, and may have been backfilled and truncated during the construction of the adjacent farm track. On the NW side there is a gap in the bank surrounding the summit, while on the SE side there is a gap in the outer bank. This is thought to be the initial caput of the marcher lordship of Tregrug and the forerunner of the late 13th century Llangibby or Tregrug Castle (MM109), located 400m to the W and references to Clare expenditure on masonry structures in the 1260s may relate to this site. On 19th century maps the summit of the motte is described as a bowling green, indicating that the top of the mound was levelled as part of the landscaping scheme associated with the post medieval Llangibby Castle Mansion, demolished in the 20th century. The monument is of national importance for its potential to enhance our knowledge of medieval defensive and domestic practices. The monument is well-preserved and an important relic of the medieval landscape, forming part of a sequence of de Clare castles in the area, located within a medieval deer park away from the pre-Norman parish church. It retains significant archaeological potential, with a strong probability of the presence of buried structural remains, intact associated deposits and environmental evidence. The scheduled area comprises the remains described and areas around them within which related evidence may be expected to survive.