Surviving motte, ditch and possible footing for the bailey fencing
A millennium later the above ground wood has rotted away. The remains of Llanthomas Castle Mound consists of the motte, the ditch and buried masonry underpinning part of the wooden fence surrounding the bailey.[1] Traces of a possible site for a kitchen area within the bailey have been found to the south-east of the motte.[3] Digeddi Brook (a tributary of the River Wye) runs along the base of the ditch.[4]
Motte and bailey castles without evidence of the original bailey are called castle mounds (or tumps or twts).[8] Until recently the grazing meadow surrounding the motte was called Bailey court.[6] The words bailey and court are of Norman origin.[9]
Antiquarian, Tudor, Edwardian, Victorian and modern sources identify Llanthomas Castle Mound with names reflecting its close proximity to Llanigon and Hay-on-Wye. It has been referred to as Llanthomas Motte,[5][10][11]Llanthomas,[12]Llanthomas Mound,[13] and Llanigon Castle.[14] The Ministry of Works published a list of UK monuments whose preservation was considered to be of “national importance”. Llanthomas Castle Mound is associated with Hay Rural and Hay Tump with Hay Urban, referencing the post-1894 civil parishes.[15][16] Castleologist D. J. Cathcart King in his magnus opus aspired to list all UK castles. Hay Castle[17] is named as Hay No. 1, Hay Tump[18] as Hay No. 2 and Llanthomas Castle Mound[19] as Hay No. 3. The Hay castles are numbered 6, 22 and 23 respectively in the index.[20]
Some antiquarian sources indirectly reference Llanthomas Castle Mound e.g. "the tumulus on the brook below Llanthomas",[21][22] "the mound at Llanigon Castle",[23] and "the mound in Bailey Court".[6]
The location of Llanthomas Castle Mound may have been chosen because it occupies a high point that once overlooked the River Wye less than a mile away. William Camden suggests that there was a watch tower to guard the road leading down to the Wye.[32] Today there is no direct line of sight to the river due to trees, and buildings. The fording point Little Fford Fawr[33] is located between Llanthomas Castle Mound[24] and the south bank of the river. Mottes often had a direct line of sight with a nearby motte as is the case with Llanthomas Castle Mound and Llowes Castle Tump on the north bank of the river.[34] Other surviving Norman castles near Llanthomas Castle Mound, suggest a collective defensive military and trading roles for all the castles along the Middle Wye Valley[35][23] e.g.
Welsh Government records for Llanthomas Castle Mound
Cadw are the Welsh government funded regulatory body for the scheduling of historical assets in Wales. Scheduled monuments receive legal protection under the Historic Environment (Wales) Act 2016[39] and the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979. Cadw provide an initial scheduling report and assign a field monument warden, a professional archaeologist, to keep a watching brief on the scheduled site. The Cadw scheduled report for Llanthomas Castle Mound (BR078[1]) states that there is a strong possibility that Llanthomas Castle Mound and the scheduled area have both structural evidence and intact associated deposits. The report concludes that Llanthomas Castle Mound is an important relic of the medieval landscape.[1]
In 1988, a professionalexcavation of a possible site for the bailey courtyard revealed activity associated with the motte. A number of artefacts were found including a sherd from the base of a medievalcooking pot, and a charcoal filled pit. The archaeologist's report suggests that this may have been the kitchen area within the bailey.[3] A private bungalow has since been built over the excavated site.[47]
Llanthomas Castle Mound was in the Llanthomas lordship.[14][42] Motte and bailey castles were a vital Norman defensive architecture. Castle construction would have occurred soon after the lordship was allocated to a knight.[51] Llanthomas Castle Mound is likely to have been built in the late 11th or early 12th century. It is not known who built Llanthomas Castle Mound but it is known to have existed from the early days of the Norman conquest.[2][30][52]
The Llanthomas lordship was part of the Hay lordship owned by William Revel, one of Bernard's knights.[14] Revel is thought to have built Hay Tump, near St Mary's Church, Hay-on-Wye.[53][54][55][56][57] St. Marys was separated from the ancient parish of Llanigon (and St. Eigon) around 1115 A.D.[58]
In 1340 Llanigon had a chapel of ease named Thomascherche(PRN 81681).[59][60] By the 14th century Llanthomas lordship became known as Llanthomas manor. It included the domicile of the lord of the manor and considerable land including Llanthomas Castle Mound, farmland, orchards(PRN 78372, 2586, 139277) etc.[61][62][63] The manor included a proprietary church called Thomaschurch, possibly the same chapel of ease, as its name is a translation from the French.[52] The proprietarychurch was funded by the lord of the manor, who provided its vicar with a stipend making the chapel financially independent of the diocese in the Church in Wales. Documented references to the proprietary church disappeared by the 18th century.[52]
Over the last millennium Llanthomas lordship has been known as Llanthomas[27] or Llanthomas estate, or Llanthomas manor.[77][73][78] The main domicile was known as Llanthomas house[76][79] or Llanthomas mansion[80] or Llanthomas hall.[81] Over recent centuries many geographical areas of the original lordship were sold[82] including the land around Llanthomas Castle Mound which was sold for farming. Llanthomas Castle Mound is now part of a private residential property.
Sir Walter Devereux (c.1361-1402) was a knight during the reigns of Richard II and Henry IV. He married Agnes de Crophull. Records in 1402 show that Walter held the manors of Brilley, Pipton, St. Thomascherche i.e. Llanthomas/Llanigon and part of La Hay i.e. Hay-on-Wye.[65][60]
Sir Walter Devereux (1387–1419) of Bodenham was a knight during the reigns of Henry IV and Henry V. He married Elizabeth Bromwich. He inherited only part of the lands of his father when he came of age. His mother, Agnes de Crophull held the majority of his estates in dower during Walter's lifetime. It is not known whether Agnes or Walter owned Llanthomas.[65][60]
William Watkins (died 1702) was married to Honor Watkins (died 1734). He was in the parliamentarianarmy against Charles I. In 1672 an act of parliament allowed non-conformist groups to meet in their own homes. The Llanigon Dissenters held meetings at Penyrwyrlodd, his other mansion in Llanigon. Their son John was wounded in a duel, leading to his opponent's death. Fearing capture, he hid in Hay Castle but died whilst searching for a safer hiding place.[44][74][32]
Thynne Howe Gwynne (c.1780-1855) was married to Hon. Georgianna Marianna Devereux, daughter of George the 13th Viscount Hereford of Tregoyd. He bought Llanthomas estate in 1814.
ReverendWilliam Jones Thomas (1811–1886) was vicar at St. Eigon, Llanigon. He is remembered for his rejection of Francis Kilvert as a suitor for one of his five daughters. There are many references to the Thomas family in the Francis Kilvert's Diaries of 1870-1879. William and his descendants were to be the last owners of the Llanthomas estate and hall. They sold the estate land and the contents of the hall to pay off accumulated debts. The hall was demolished in 1954.[75][76]
Lloyd, John Edward (1903). Historical memoranda of Breconshire; a collection of papers from various sources relating to the history of the County.[101]
^Lewis, Samuel (1834). A topographical dictionary of Wales. David O. McKay Library Brigham Young University-Idaho (Vol. 1 ed.). London, S. Lewis and co.
