Stormy Castle, Cynnig

Has been described as a Possible Timber Castle (Motte)

There are earthwork remains

NameStormy Castle, Cynnig
Alternative NamesTythegston Higher; Sturmieston; villa sturmi
Historic CountryGlamorgan
Modern AuthorityBridgend
1974 AuthorityMid Glamorgan
CommunityCynnig

A degraded circular mound, 35m in diameter and 3.0m high, with a summit diameter of 15-18m. Thought to be the castle of the Sturmis. Geffrey Sturmi founded a vill here, after 1115, on previously uncultivated land. The site was in the possession of Margam abbey by 1166. (Coflein)

Building remains are a mutilated motte with no trace of a bailey. The sheepfold on the N. side has lately been destroyed. (Glamorgan-Gwent Archaeological Trust HER)

The monument comprises the remains of a motte dating to the medieval period together with an area to the south containing the remains of later settlement with indications of medieval origins. A motte is a large conical or pyramidal mound of soil and/or stone, often surrounded by either a wet or dry ditch and surmounted by a tower constructed of timber or stone. Stormy Castle consists of an eroded circular mound approximately 3.0 m high, 35 m in diameter with a summit height diameter of between 15m and 18m. No trace remains of any ditch. The motte has been disturbed by a hedge bank and by two pits cut into its sides to the north and west. In the area to the south are scarps and grass-grown banks indicating former buildings; finds of pottery indicate occupation during the 18th to 19th centuries. A stone east gable to the southernmost building survives within a later field boundary and appears to be medieval. The motte is believed to represent the land-holding of the Norman lord Geoffrey Sturmi established before 1154 and eventually disposed of to Margam Abbey about 1175. (Scheduling Report)

Gatehouse Comments

Fairly remote now but was site of DMV.

- Philip Davis

This site is a scheduled monument protected by law

Not Listed

The National Monument Record (Coflein) number(s)
County Historic Environment Record
OS Map Grid ReferenceSS845815
Latitude51.5209007263184
Longitude-3.66489005088806
Eastings284580
Northings181530
HyperLink HyperLink HyperLink

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Books

  • Morgan, Gerald, 2008, Castles in Wales: A Handbook (Talybont: Y Lolfa Cyf.) p. 240 (listed)
  • < >RCAHMW, 1991, An Inventory of the Ancient Monuments in Glamorgan Vol. 3 Part 1a: The Early Castles (London: HMSO) < > MO5 p. 61-3
  • Salter, Mike, 1991, The Castles of Gwent, Glamorgan and Gower (Malvern) p. 75 (slight)
  • King, D.J.C., 1983, Castellarium Anglicanum (London: Kraus) Vol. 1
  • Hague, D.B., 1971, in Pugh, T.B. (ed), Glamorgan County History Vol. 3 The Middle Ages (Cardiff) p. 446
  • Randall, Henry John, 1961, The Vale of Glamorgan, Studies in Landscape and History (Newport: R.H.Johns Ltd) p. 77

Journals

  • 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