Hen Domen Welsh, meaning "old mound", is the site of a

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with the fall of the West ...

timber

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 ...

castle A castle is a type of fortification, fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by Military order (monastic society), military orders. Scholars usually consider a ''castle'' to be the private ...

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 ...

. It is the site of the original

Montgomery Castle Montgomery Castle () is a stone castle looking over the town of Montgomery in Powys, Mid Wales. It is one of many Norman castles on the border between Wales and England. Its strategic importance in the Welsh Marches meant that it was destroy ...

, and was built by

Roger de Montgomery Roger de Montgomery (died 1094), also known as Roger the Great, was the first Earl of Shrewsbury, and Earl of Arundel, in Sussex. His father was Roger de Montgomery, seigneur of Montgomery, a member of the House of Montgomery, and was probab ...

in 1070. From 1105 the castle was the home of the de Boulers ( Bowdler) family, and it is from Baldwin de Boulers that Montgomery gets its Welsh name, Trefaldwyn "The Town of Baldwin". When the castle was rebuilt in stone (1223–1234), it was decided to rebuild it on a rocky promontory a mile to the southeast—the location of the current town of

Montgomery, Powys Montgomery ( ; translates as ''the town of Baldwin'') is a town and Community (Wales), community in Powys, Wales. It is the traditional county town of the Historic counties of Wales, historic county of Montgomeryshire to which it gives its name, ...

. The Hen Domen site has been extensively excavated. There are permanent exhibitions relating to both the medieval Hen Domen and Norman

s and their archaeological excavations (with scale models of both castles) in The Old Bell Museum in Montgomery.

Location

Hen Domen lies on the western edge of the small village of Hendomen roughly northwest of the town of Montgomery, and west of

Offa's Dyke Offa's Dyke () is a large linear Earthworks (Archaeology), earthwork that roughly follows the England–Wales border, border between England and Wales. The structure is named after Offa of Mercia, Offa, the Anglo-Saxons, Anglo-Saxon king of Mer ...

. The castle was built on a low hill, only east of the Ford of Rhydwhymanan (an important shallow crossing of the

River Severn The River Severn (, ), at long, is the longest river in Great Britain. It is also the river with the most voluminous flow of water by far in all of England and Wales, with an average flow rate of at Apperley, Gloucestershire. It rises in t ...

), and offered good views of the Severn Valley to the north and west, and of the Vale of Montgomery to the east.

Description

The site of the Hen Domen motte and bailey castle comprises a roughly oval area of by lying in a south-west to north-east direction. The site is surrounded by a roughly oval ditch with a depth of . The motte is in the south west corner and is high, and steeply sided with a flat summit with a diameter of . The bailey occupies an area of roughly . Excavations from the 1960s until the 1990s have revealed traces of a series of grand and complex buildings including a towering timber building on the motte, connected by a bridge to the bailey with a large hall, by . Other evidence and remains include a wooden palisade which stood on the bailey defences, a wooden tower, a gatehouse, a granary and a possible chapel.

History

Hen Domen was built sometime soon after 1071 when

, the first Earl of Shrewsbury, was given extensive areas of Shropshire by William the Conqueror. Archaeological evidence suggests that it was completed before 1100. Roger de Montgomery named the castle Montgomery after the town in Normandy where he came from. By 1093, it was captured by Prince Cadwgan ap Bleddyn and his brothers during a rebellion.A History of Wales
John Davies, Grangetown, Cardiff, 14 May, 2006

Access

The site can be viewed from a nearby lane off the B4385, but the site itself is on private land and can only be visited with the permission of the owner.

References

External links

"Montgomery" at Genealogy and History of the Bowdler Family

The Old Bell Museum, Montgomery, Powys

Photos of reconstructive model of Hen Domen
Old Bell Museum via People's Collection Wales {{Authority control Castles in Powys Castle ruins in Wales Scheduled monuments in Powys Montgomery, Powys