Banc y Betws

Banc y Betws or Betws Castle, is a motte and scheduled ancient monument in Wales. It is located in Llangyndeyrn, in the Gwendraith Valley in Carmarthenshire, Wales. All that is visible of the structure nowadays is a mound capped with trees and the remains of the ditch that surrounded it.

History

The Normans introduced motte-and-bailey castles from France to countries such as Britain, where the technology was adopted by the Welsh people. The largest clustering of these in Britain are in the Welsh Marches: namely Shropshire, Cheshire, Herefordshire, Powys and Flintshire.[1] The greatest numbers of these castle were built in Wales between the 11th century and the second half the 12th century, built out of soil and stone, usually surrounded by a ditch and topped with a wooden or stone structure known as a keep. The history of this particular castle is not known.[2]

The site

Betws Castle is a mound approximately 40 metres by 35 metres, and roughly 9 metres high.[3] The top of the mound is concave, with the centre about 1 metre (3 ft) lower than the rim.[4] A dry ditch, approximately 5 metres wide and two metres deep, surrounds the site except on the north side, where it has been filled in.[2] The eastern face of the mound was damaged by quarrying in the mid-twentieth century. The Historic Environment Record for the castles indicates that the site has not been archaeologically excavated and does not mention any recorded history.[5]

The castle is registered with Cadw, number CM124.[6] Some of the ditch to the north has been incorporated into the adjoining field and the motte itself is clad in large trees.[2]

References
  1. English Heritage; accessed 22/10/2010 Archived 2012-11-06 at the Wayback Machine
  2. Davis, Philip. "Banc y Bettws, Llangyndeyrn (The Gatehouse Record)". www.gatehouse-gazetteer.info. Retrieved 7 August 2015.
  3. "Banc-y-Bettws, Motte (303922)". Coflein. RCAHMW. Retrieved 7 August 2015.
  4. The Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments and Constructions in Wales and Monmouthsire (1917). An Inventory of the Ancient Monuments in Wales and Monmouthshire: V - County of Carmarthen. His Majesty's Stationery Office. p. 166.
  5. "Banc y Bettws". Dyfed Historic Environment Record. Dyfed Archaeological Trust. Retrieved 7 August 2015.
  6. "Scheduled Ancient Monuments". What Do They Know. Retrieved 7 August 2015.

51°48′59″N 4°14′16″W

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