Castle Tump (Trecastle Motte) is an early 11th-century motte and bailey castle in

Trecastle Trecastle () ("the town of the castle") is a village in Powys, Wales, situated on the edge of the Brecon Beacons National Park () and in the community of Llywel. The village has a population of about 200. History Trecastle is named after Cast ...

Powys Powys ( , ) is a Principal areas of Wales, county and Preserved counties of Wales, preserved county in Wales. It borders Gwynedd, Denbighshire, and Wrexham County Borough, Wrexham to the north; the English Ceremonial counties of England, ceremo ...

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

History

This early 11th-century Norman

motte-and-bailey A motte-and-bailey castle is a European fortification with a wooden or stone keep situated on a raised area of ground called a motte, accompanied by a walled courtyard, or bailey, surrounded by a protective ditch and palisade. Relatively eas ...

fortification was built by Bernard de Neufmarche, the half-brother of

William the Conqueror William the Conqueror (Bates ''William the Conqueror'' p. 33– 9 September 1087), sometimes called William the Bastard, was the first Norman king of England (as William I), reigning from 1066 until his death. A descendant of Rollo, he was D ...

. It is thought to have fallen to a Welsh attack sometime between 1121 and 1136, and after short abandonment was possibly rebuilt by Walter Clifford in the 1150s, with

Edward I of England Edward I (17/18 June 1239 – 7 July 1307), also known as Edward Longshanks and the Hammer of the Scots (Latin: Malleus Scotorum), was King of England from 1272 to 1307. Concurrently, he was Lord of Ireland, and from 1254 ...

spending three days in

quelling a

revolt Rebellion is an uprising that resists and is organized against one's government. A rebel is a person who engages in a rebellion. A rebel group is a consciously coordinated group that seeks to gain political control over an entire state or a ...

in 1295. At 6.6 m high it is the largest

motte and bailey A motte-and-bailey castle is a European fortification with a wooden or stone keep situated on a raised area of ground called a motte, accompanied by a walled courtyard, or bailey, surrounded by a protective ditch and palisade. Relatively easy ...

the

Brecon Beacons National Park Brecon Beacons National Park, officially named Bannau Brycheiniog National Park (), is a National parks of the United Kingdom, national park in Wales. It is named after the Brecon Beacons (), the mountain range at its centre. The national park ...

(). The

motte A motte-and-bailey castle is a European fortification with a wooden or stone keep situated on a raised area of ground called a motte, accompanied by a walled courtyard, or Bailey (castle), bailey, surrounded by a protective Rampart (fortificati ...

is 50 m by 38 m, with a flat summit of 24 m by 16 m, and the bailey (to the south west side of the motte) is 56 m by 40 m. The original footprint of the bailey platform was 115 m long by 45 m wide. Originally both motte and bailey were ditched and counterscarped, similar to other 12th- and 13th-century castles in Wales; however, the absence of stonework indicated the castle did not retain importance beyond this period. Presently it is the best-preserved motte and bailey in

Breconshire Brecknockshire ( or ), also known as the County of Brecknock, Breconshire, or the County of Brecon, was one of the thirteen counties of Wales that existed from 1536 until their abolishment in 1974. It was created in 1536 under the Laws in Wales ...

, and the oval tree-clad motte dominates the east end of the village.

Village name

The village takes its name from the old motte and bailey, whose original name was 'una villa nostra de Lliwel', although to this day Llywel is the name of the neighbouring hamlet, local

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest#Christianity, priest, often termed a parish pries ...

and

electoral ward A ward is a local authority area, typically used for electoral purposes. In some countries, wards are usually named after neighbourhoods, thoroughfares, parishes, landmarks, geographical features and in some cases historical figures connected t ...

. The local name

emerged by the end of the Medieval period, meaning "the town of the castle".coflein website: Trecastle motte
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References

''Some of the information contained in this article has been adapted from th

s website'' Castles in Powys