St Illtyd's Motte

St Illtyd's Motte
Llanhilleth, Blaenau Gwent, Wales
St Illtyd's Motte is located in Wales
St Illtyd's Motte
St Illtyd's Motte
Coordinates51°42′38″N 3°08′03″W / 51.71050°N 3.13426°W / 51.71050; -3.13426
TypeMotte-and-bailey castle
Site information
OwnerPrivate
ConditionRuins
Official nameSt Illtyd Castle Mound[1]
Designated14 May 1952; 72 years ago (1952-05-14)[1]
Reference no.MM141[1]

St Illtyd's Motte, also known as St Illtyd Castle Mound, is the remains of a motte-and-bailey castle in the village of Llanhilleth, Blaenau Gwent, Wales. It was probably destroyed by Llywelyn the Great in the early thirteenth century and not rebuilt. The remnants are a Scheduled Ancient Monument.[2]

The surviving motte is a roughly circular steep-sided, flat-topped mound about 36 metres (118 ft)[3] in diameter and 6.16 metres (20.2 ft) high. It is surrounded by a partially filled-in ditch that is 4–5 metres (13–16 ft) wide and 0.8 metres (2 ft 7 in) deep.[2]

  1. ^ a b c Cadw. "St Illtyd Castle Mound (MM141)". National Historic Assets of Wales. Retrieved 2022-06-20.
  2. ^ a b "St. Illtyd's Motte". www.cofiadurcahcymru.org.uk. The Glamorgan-Gwent Archaeological Trust. Retrieved 2 May 2016.
  3. ^ "St Illtyd's Castle Mound, or Twyn Motte (306241)". Coflein. RCAHMW. Retrieved 3 October 2022.