# Llanthomas Castle Mound

Llanthomas Castle Mound was built by the Normans after the 1066 Norman conquest of England but before 1215. It is a first-generation motte and bailey castle design; the building materials were earth and timber.
The typical motte and bailey castle would have had a multi-storey wooden watchtower (i.e. the keep) on the summit of the motte, a wooden palisade fence around the bailey (i.e. the courtyard) and a deep ditch surrounding the bailey.
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. Traces of a possible site for a kitchen area within the bailey have been found to the south-east of the motte. Digeddi Brook (a tributary of the River Wye) runs along the base of the ditch.
After translation (from Latin and Tudor English) the Tudor antiquarian John Leyland described the role of Llanthomas Castle Mound as a defensive architecture. Cadw have described Llanthomas Castle Mound as an important relic of medieval architecture which might extend knowledge of medieval defensive practices.

## Toponymy

"Llan" is Welsh for the sacred land around a church. Llanthomas translates to Thomas church in English.
Motte and bailey castles without evidence of the original bailey are called castle mounds (or tumps or twts). Until recently the grazing meadow surrounding the motte was called Bailey court. The words bailey and court are of Norman origin.
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, Llanthomas, Llanthomas Mound, and Llanigon Castle. 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. Castleologist D. J. Cathcart King in his magnus opus aspired to list all UK castles. Hay Castle is named as Hay No. 1, Hay Tump as Hay No. 2 and Llanthomas Castle Mound as Hay No. 3. The Hay castles are numbered 6, 22 and 23 respectively in the index.
Some antiquarian sources indirectly reference Llanthomas Castle Mound e.g. "the tumulus on the brook below Llanthomas", "the mound at Llanigon Castle", and "the mound in Bailey Court".

## Location

Llanthomas Castle Mound is on a private property but is viewable from Llanthomas lane, opposite the walled Llanthomas garden, once part of the Llanthomas estate (c.f. below).
Llanthomas Castle Mound is near the village of Llanigon and less than 2 miles from the "town of books" i.e. Hay-on-Wye. It is on the same lane as the Hay Festival fields (dairy meadows).
Llanthomas Castle Mound is located in Powys, Wales but has a Herefordshire postcode. It is about 2 miles from the border with England, in the area known as the Welsh Marches. Llanthomas Castle Mound is in the foothills of Hay Bluff in the Brecon Beacons (Bannau Brycheiniog). It was in the historic county of Brecknockshire which became Powys in 1974.
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. Today there is no direct line of sight to the river due to trees, and buildings. The fording point Little Fford Fawr is located between Llanthomas Castle Mound 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. 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 e.g.
* 1.1 miles: Llowes Castle/Llowes Motte/Llowes Castle Tump,
* 1.5 miles: Hay-on-Wye the Castle and Tump,
* 2.0 miles: Clyro Castle,
* 2.2 miles: Glasbury Motte c.f. ("Glasbury Castle"),
* 2.5 miles: Cusop Castle (c.f. "Cusop Castle", "Mouse Castle"),
* 2.7 miles: Aberllynfi Castle/Great House Mound,
* 2.8 miles: Castle Kinsey,
* 3.9 miles: Clifford Castle,
* 4.5 miles: Painscastle Castle; Boughrood Motte,
* 5.0 miles: Bronllys Castle.

## 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 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) 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.
The Welsh archaeological trusts maintain regional historic environment records on behalf of the Welsh government. The Clwyd–Powys Archaeological Trust(CPAT) records for Llanthomas Castle Mound include past Cadw reports: PRN 443 (1986), 38278 (1988), 2586 (1995).
The Coflein online database, stores the National Monuments Record of Wales (NMRW). The archive is located in the National Library of Wales in Aberystwyth. The archive record for Llanthomas Castle Mound (PRN 306308) include a hundred years of reports: 6057064, 6054097, 6064626, 6140925, 6140927, 6359576, 6464877, 6140926, 6140924, 6054098, 6059886, 6519900.
In 1921, the Reverend William Edward Thomas Morgan vicar at the pre-conquest church of St. Eigon, Llanigon, an amateur archaeologist hosted a visit from the Woolhope club. The club study the natural history, geology, archaeology and the history of Herefordshire, England. William dug a small excavation trench on the summit of the motte, but no artefacts were found. There is no known record of any professional level archaeological excavation or geophysical survey of Llanthomas Castle Mound.
In 1988, a professional excavation 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 medieval cooking pot, and a charcoal filled pit. The archaeologist's report suggests that this may have been the kitchen area within the bailey. A private bungalow has since been built over the excavated site.

## Llanthomas and Llanthomas Castle Mound

When possible the Normans speeded up castle construction by building on existing Iron age or Bronze age hillforts, or Roman ruins or ditch, augmenting the castle's defensive architecture. Some antiquarian scholars believed that Llanthomas Castle Mound was built on an Iron Age tumulus.
The second Norman invasion of Wales was successful, unlike the first. It was led by the Norman lord Bernard de Neufmarché (c.1050–c.1125). Brycheiniog (now Wales) was conquered between 1088 and 1095. Brycheiniog was divided into lesser lordships, and gifted to the knights who contributed to the conquest.
Llanthomas Castle Mound was in the Llanthomas lordship. Motte and bailey castles were a vital Norman defensive architecture. Castle construction would have occurred soon after the lordship was allocated to a knight. 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.
The Llanthomas lordship was part of the Hay lordship owned by William Revel, one of Bernard's knights. Revel is thought to have built Hay Tump, near St Mary's Church, Hay-on-Wye. St. Marys was separated from the ancient parish of Llanigon (and St. Eigon) around 1115 A.D.
In 1340 Llanigon had a chapel of ease named Thomascherche(PRN 81681). 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. The manor included a proprietary church called Thomaschurch, possibly the same chapel of ease, as its name is a translation from the French. The proprietary church 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.
A local historian has suggested that one of the first lords of the manor may have been the English Earl,
* William de Ferre (c.1138- c.1189): Earl of Derby and a Knight Templar.
From the Norman era through to the Victorian era, the Llanthomas lordship has been owned by nobility, the wealthy and the infamous. Authoritative historical primary sources and secondary sources show that there were many high status owners including descendants of the Devereux family who fought with William the Conqueror at the Battle of Hastings. It is believed that the Devereux family had several estates in Herefordshire since the time of King John, if not earlier.
* Sir Walter Devereux (c.1361-1402) of Bodenham and Weobley. MP for Hereford.
* Sir Walter Devereux (1387–1419) of Bodenham.
* Walter Devereux (1488-1558): Earl Ferrers, 10th Baron Ferrers of Chartley,1st Viscount Hereford and a Knight of the Garter.
* William Thomas (c.1524-1554): MP for Downton, Wiltshire.
* Lettice Devereux, nee Knollys (1543–1634): Viscountess Hereford and Countess of Leicester.
* Walter Devereux (1541–1576), 1st Earl of Essex, 2nd Viscount Hereford, 11th Baron Ferrers of Chartley. He owned Bodenham, Pipton and Llanthomas/Llanigon. He was Lettice Devereux's first husband.
* William Watkins (died 1702): Officer in the Parliamentarian army.
* A Watkins descendent also called William Watkins, lived in Llanthomas in 1772.
* Thynne Howe Gwynne (c.1780-1855): Lieutenant in the Regiment of the Dragoon Guards and Sheriff for Breconshire.
* Sir William Pilkington (1775–1850): 8th Pilkington Baronet.
* William Jones Thomas (1811–1886): vicar at St. Eigon, Llanigon and JP for Hereford, Brecon and Radnor.
Over the last millennium Llanthomas lordship has been known as Llanthomas or Llanthomas estate, or Llanthomas manor. The main domicile was known as Llanthomas house or Llanthomas mansion or Llanthomas hall. Over recent centuries many geographical areas of the original lordship were sold including the land around Llanthomas Castle Mound which was sold for farming. Llanthomas Castle Mound is now part of a private residential property.

## Notable people

* William de Ferre Earl of Derby (c.1138–c.1189) was married to Sibyl de Braose (died c.1227), the daughter of William de Braose, 3rd Lord of Bramber (a Marcher lord) and Bertha of Hereford. William took part in the failed rebellion against Henry II.
* 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.
* 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.
* Walter Devereux (1488–1558) was an English courtier and parliamentarian. Walter was made a Knight of the Garter by Henry VIII of England. Walter inherited the Llanthomas lordship in 1509.
* William Thomas (c.1524-1554) was from Llanigon. He was a politician, a scholar, and a clerk of the Privy Council under Edward VI. He became MP for Downton, Wiltshire in 1553. An avowed Protestant, he was found guilty of treason for plotting to murder the Catholic Queen Mary I. He was committed to the Tower of London. From there he was drawn upon a sled to Tyburn, where he was hanged, beheaded, and quartered. His head was placed on London Bridge.
* Lettice Devereux, nee Knollys (1543–1634) was an English noblewomen. Lettice was married to Walter Devereux (1541–1576), on his death she married Elizabeth I’s favourite, Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester. In a fit of jealously the Queen permanently banished Lettice from the Royal court.
* William Watkins (died 1702) was married to Honor Watkins (died 1734). He was in the parliamentarian army 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.
* 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.
* Sir William Pilkington (1775–1850) sold Llanthomas estate to the Reverend William Jones-Thomas in 1858.
* Reverend William 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.
* Canon William Edward Thomas Morgan (1847-1940) succeeded William Thomas as vicar at St. Eigon, Llanigon. William Morgan was the best man at the wedding of Francis Kilvert to Elizabeth Rowland and he is mentioned in the Francis Kilvert's Diaries of 1870-1879.
* John Leyland (1503-1552) was a Tudor antiquarian, poet, archaeologist, and chaplain to King Henry VIII. He is known as the father of English local history and is a primary source for British history scholars. He visited Llanthomas Castle Mound around 1536-1539.

## Online sources

Llanthomas Castle Mound is included in many online lists of medieval period castles in Wales:
* List of tumps in England and Wales c.f. Llanthomas Castle Mound.
* List of Castles in Wales c.f. Llanthomas Castle Mound.
* List of the medieval fortified sites of the historic county of Brecknockshire c.f. Llanthomas Castle Mound.
* Welsh Castle Database c.f. Llanthomas Motte.
* Vanished Castles of Wales and the Marches c.f. Llanthomas Castle Mound.
* The Castle Guide – a selection of castles from around the UK c.f. Llanthomas Motte.
* Anglo-Norman Castles c.f. Llanthomas.
* Historical Britain - Mottes c.f. Llanthomas Motte.
* Where to Photograph Castles in Brecknockshire c.f. Llanthomas.
* Castlefacts c.f. Llanthomas Motte, Llanigon.
* Llangoed Hall, area information c.f. Llanthomas Motte.
Other online sites that reference Llanthomas Castle Mound include:
* Wiki Loves Monuments 2024 in Wales c.f. Llanigon, Llanthomas Castle Mound.
* Open Street Map.
* Landscape Britain has a radar map of the Llanthomas Castle Mound terrain.
* Llanigon War Memorial c.f. motte and bailey castle.
* Ancient OS maps for 1888 c.f. tumulus 370.
* Images of Llanthomas Castle Mound.
* Motte (Internet) weather station.

## Antiquarian sources

* Leyland, John (1906). The itinerary in Wales, 1536-1539 (Lucy Toulmin Smith ed.).
* Poole, Edwin (1886). The Illustrated History and Biography of Brecknockshire from the Earliest Times to the Present Day.
* Lewis, Samuel (1833). A topographical dictionary of Wales, Vol 1.
* Lewis, Samuel (1833). A topographical dictionary of Wales, Vol 2.

## Modern sources

* Remfry, Paul Martin (1999, p 122). Castles of Breconshire: No. 8. Herefordshire: Logaston Press.ISBN 978-1-873827-80-2.
* Salter, Mike (2001, p 29). The Castles of Mid Wales (2nd ed.). Folly Publications.ISBN 1-871731-48-8.
* Morgan, Gerald (2013, p 232). Castles in Wales - a Handbook (1st ed.). Y Lolfa. ISBM 978-1-84771-031-4.

## Selected journal sources

* D. J. Cathcart King |(1961). The Castles of Breconshire.
* D. J. Cathcart King (1984). Castellarium Anglicanum: An Index and Bibliography of the Castles in England, Wales, and the Islands: Vols 1-2.
* Dorling. P. (1988). Llanthomas Motte. Llanigon. Archaeology in Wales.
* Ministry of Works (1961). List Of Ancient Monuments In England And Wales.
* Lloyd, John Edward (1903). Historical memoranda of Breconshire; a collection of papers from various sources relating to the history of the County.