Buddugre Castle (sometimes referred to as Tomen Bedd-Ugre, Castell Cwm Aran, Tomen Bedd Turc and Bedd-y-gre) was a
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 (castle), bailey, surrounded by a protective Rampart (fortification ...
defensive fortification overlooking the
River Ithon
A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of wate ...
, located in the community of
Llanddewi Ystradenny
Llanddewi Ystradenni is a community in Radnorshire, Powys, Wales. The population of the Community at the 2011 census was 310.
Centred on the village of Llanddewi, it also includes the hamlet of Heartsease.
The motte and bailey fortification of ...
, in
Radnorshire
, HQ = Presteigne
, Government = Radnorshire County Council (1889–1974) Radnorshire District Council (1974–1996)
, Origin =
, Status = historic county, administrative county
, Start ...
(modern-day
Powys
Powys (; ) is a Local government in Wales#Principal areas, county and Preserved counties of Wales, preserved county in Wales. It is named after the Kingdom of Powys which was a Welsh succession of states, successor state, petty kingdom and princi ...
),
Wales
Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...
.
It is believed to have been built as a defensive measure in the medieval period, during the 12th century, as a
timber castle.
History
Owain, King of Gwynedd is credited with building the castle in Budugre in 1149 as a defense measure for the
vale of Clwyd
The Vale of Clwyd ( cy, Dyffryn Clwyd) is a tract of low-lying ground in the county of Denbighshire in north-east Wales. The Vale extends south-southwestwards from the coast of the Irish Sea for some 20 miles (about 30 km) forming a triangl ...
. This brought Owain close to conflict with
Madog ap Maredudd
Madog ap Maredudd ( wlm, Madawg mab Maredud, ; died 1160) was the last prince of the entire Kingdom of Powys, Wales and for a time held the Fitzalan Lordship of Oswestry.
Madog was the son of King Maredudd ap Bleddyn and grandson of King Bleddy ...
, the ruler of Powys who was opposed to any encroachment of his powers.
It is also said that it could have been built by
Cadwallon, set high on top of a hill instead of in a valley akin to Norman castles of this period.
Features
The castle structures on the mound located at the southern extremity of a ridge that faces south. The slopes of the ridge are towards west and south and on its east towards the
Ithon Valley[ but are long gone, but the land still clearly bears the marks of a ditched motte. The motte has a diameter of and raises to a height of , with an oval embankment and ditched bailey; the ditch measuring . The ditched bailey measures . There are indications of a rectangular range surrounding the motte which measures in an eastern direction. The top of the mound is flat, over which it is conjectured that a structure made either of timber or stone had existed as a defensive measure. Also seen close to the mound are "crop marks" which could have been a court, the llys.][ Y The ditch that surrounds the motte has two 2 causeways over it running from the south and south-west. There is entry to the bailey from the south. A hut platform inside the bailey facing the south-west causeway over the ditch is made of earth and measures about .][
]
References
* John Edward Lloyd,
A History of Wales: From the Norman Invasion to the Edwardian Conquest
', p. 96.
;Bibliography
*
External links
Aerial views of the site
{{Authority control
Castles in Powys
Castle ruins in Wales
Motte-and-bailey castles