Castell Dyffryn Mawr

Has been described as a Possible Timber Castle (Ringwork), and also as a Possible Masonry Castle

There are earthwork remains

NameCastell Dyffryn Mawr
Alternative NamesLlanfair Nant Gwyn; Parc y Domen
Historic CountryPembrokeshire
Modern AuthorityPembrokeshire
1974 AuthorityDyfed
CommunityCrymych

Ringwork, walled in stone slabs, probably laid in clay or poor mortar. No known history. (King)

A probable castle mound, subsequently modified as a landscape feature: a circular ditched mound, some 20m in diameter, rising 5.5m from base of the generally 3.0m deep ditch; the dished summit of the mound is defined by a roughly 1.6m wide stony bank: a recent bank, some 45m in diameter, surrounds the work, OS County series (Pembroke. XI.4 1889) portraying this bank as tree-planted, with a conifer(s?)on the mound. (Coflien)

This is a fine Norman mound ..., about 50 yards to the south-east of Dyffryn Mawr farm-house. It rises to a height of over 20 feet from the bottom of the surrounding ditch. The centre of the summit, which is 60 feet in diameter, has a saucer-like depression of some 10 feet. Around this basin are the stone foundations (5.5 feet wide) of what was probably the turret of an early manor house. The ditch is 8 feet wide and 10 feet deep ; the counterscarp is crowned with a thick quickset hedge. There are no signs of a bailey. The field on which the mound stands is still known as Pare y domen (Tithe Schedule, No. 357). In the spring of 1920 a narrow trench was driven into the west side of the mound, revealing two-post holes, each about one foot square, in the hard soil just outside the stone foundations. At the foot of each hole was a bed of decayed timber a foot thick. (RCAHMW)

Gatehouse Comments

The stone work may well be a drystone wall around the mound built to protect the trees recorded in Coflien when first planted, seems unlikely as a masonry castle and the isolated location may well put question on this being a castle site of any type. The presence of substantial timbers does mean some structure here and many authors have accepted this as a castle.

- 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 ReferenceSN174351
Latitude51.9848899841309
Longitude-4.65930986404419
Eastings217480
Northings235170
HyperLink HyperLink HyperLink
Copyright Dave Barlow of Abaroths World All Rights ReservedView full Sized Image
Copyright Dave Barlow of Abaroths World All Rights ReservedView full Sized Image

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Books

  • Morgan, Gerald, 2008, Castles in Wales: A Handbook (Talybont: Y Lolfa Cyf.) p. 248 (listed)
  • Hull, Lise, 2005, Castles and Bishops Palaces of Pembrokeshire (Logaston Press) p. 88
  • Pettifer, Adrian, 2000, Welsh Castles, A Guide by Counties (Boydell Press) p. 178
  • Davis, Paul, 2000, A Company of Forts. A Guide to the Medieval Castles of West Wales (Gomer Press) p. 32-3
  • Reid, Alan, 1998, Castles of Wales (John Jones Publishing) p. 52
  • Salter, Mike, 1996, The Castles of South West Wales (Malvern) p. 86 (slight)
  • Miles, Dillwyn, 1979 (Revised 1988), Castles of Pembrokeshire (Pembrokeshire Coast National Park) p. 5-7
  • King, D.J.C., 1983, Castellarium Anglicanum (London: Kraus) Vol. 2 p. 393
  • RCAHMW, 1925, An inventory of the Ancient Monuments of Pembrokeshire (HMSO) p. 163 no. 461 online copy

Journals

  • Hogg, A.H.A. and King, D.J.C., 1967, 'Masonry castles in Wales and the Marches: a list' Archaeologia Cambrensis Vol. 116 p. 71-132
  • King, D.J.C. and Alcock, L., 1969, 'Ringworks in England and Wales' Château Gaillard Vol. 3 p. 90-127
  • 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