Details

The monument includes Castell Brogyntyn ringwork castle, and the tunnel
beneath it. The ringwork is situated in Brogyntyn Park (an area of landscaped
parkland associated with Brogyntyn Hall). It is sited in a strategically
strong position on the northern tip of a spur of high ground overlooking land
falling to the north, west and east. The castle is traditionally thought to
have been constructed by Brogyntyn, the son of the Welsh Prince Owen Madre.
The site has exceptional defensive strength achieved through both its siting
and through the scale of its artificial defences.

It includes a well defined outer ditch 6m wide and averaging 2m deep which
has been cut around the end of the spur to form a circular enclosure with an
overall diameter of 80m. Around the south east side of the site there are
traces of an outer bank up to 5m wide and 0.4m high flanking the outer edge of
the ditch. The ditch is interrupted for approximately 5m in the north east
quarter of its circuit by what is probably an entrance to the castle. At this
point the outer edge of the ditch curves outwards on both sides of the gap
towards the north, running for approximately 30m as a shallow sunken way. A
lowering of the inner rampart corresponding with this feature suggests that it
represents an approach to the interior of the ringwork. This entrance may be
associated with the medieval occupation of the castle or with its modern
period of use as a bowling green. Rising from the base of the ditch is a steep
sided rampart up to 5.2m high on its outer face and 1.6m high on its inner
face, enclosing a circular area 47m in diameter.

The interior of the ringwork has been levelled and used as a bowling green.
In the north west quarter of the interior, built partly into the inner face of
the medieval rampart, are the remains of a small circular, or semicircular
building with an internal diameter of 5m. The stone and brick walls stand to a
height of 1.5m around the west side, where it is set into the rampart.
Scattered broken slates in the immediate vicinity indicate that it originally
had a slate roof. It is believed to relate to the period when the interior was
used as a bowling green, and is included in the scheduling.

A striking feature of the site is a rock cut tunnel which has been cut
diagonally north west to south east through the natural strata beneath the
ringwork. The tunnel entrances lie in the ringwork ditch, it is some 80m long,
averages 2m high and 1.5m wide and curves slightly towards its centre so that
it is not possible to see directly from one end to the other. It is however
possible to walk its full length. At both ends of the tunnel the outer face of
the ringwork ditch has gaps cut through it directly opposite the tunnel. The
tunnel was either built as part of an elaborate landscape walk through the
parkland or it was part of a water distribution system, perhaps associated
with the ornamental lakes below the castle to the north west. The tunnel is
included in the scheduling.

MAP EXTRACT
The site of the monument is shown on the attached map extract.
It includes a 2 metre boundary around the archaeological features,
considered to be essential for the monument's support and preservation.

Source: Historic England

Reasons for Scheduling

Ringworks are medieval fortifications built and occupied from the late
Anglo-Saxon period to the later 12th century. They comprised a small defended
area containing buildings which was surrounded or partly surrounded by a
substantial ditch and a bank surmounted by a timber palisade or, rarely, a
stone wall. Occasionally a more lightly defended embanked enclosure, the
bailey, adjoined the ringwork. Ringworks acted as strongholds for military
operations and in some cases as defended aristocratic or manorial settlements.
They are rare nationally with only 200 recorded examples and less than 60
with baileys. As such, and as one of a limited number and very restricted
range of Anglo-Saxon and Norman fortifications, ringworks are of particular
significance to our understanding of the period.

Castell Brogyntyn ringwork castle remains in good condition and is an
exceptionally fine example of its class. The castle will retain valuable
archaeological information relating to its construction and to the character
of its occupation both within the interior of the site and incorporated within
the defensive earthworks. Environmental evidence relating to the landscape in
which it was constructed will survive beneath the rampart and in the sediments
of the ditch. Such castle sites, when considered either as a single site or as
a part of a broader medieval landscape, contribute important information
concerning the settlement pattern, economy and social structure of the
countryside during the medieval period. The later works, including the bowling
green, semicircular building and the tunnel beneath the ringwork, although
relating to a later period of parkland use, are also regarded as important
parts of the monument. They illustrate exceptionally well how visually
spectacular archaeological sites were incorporated into ornamental landscapes
at later periods.

Source: Historic England

Sources

Books and journals
The Victoria History of the County of Castell Brogyntyn , (1908), 387
King, , Alcock, (ed Taylor, Chateau Gaillard III, (1969)

Source: Historic England