Langstone Court Motte

Langstone Court Motte stands in Langstone, a small village in Newport, Wales. It is a medieval earthwork castle known as a motte-and-bailey, built between 1000 and 1153. The site consists of a large mound with a defensive ditch and a lower enclosed area. This type of fortification was common in the Welsh Marches during the Middle Ages. The motte is one of the best-preserved examples of its kind in Britain. It has been protected and recognised by Cadw, the Welsh historic environment service, with the reference number SAM MM059. The area around the Welsh Marches—including Shropshire, Cheshire, Herefordshire, Powys and Flintshire—contains the greatest concentration of such mottes. Visitors find a grassy mound rising above the surrounding fields, with clear traces of the defensive ditch and bailey. The site offers a quiet spot to walk and imagine the castle that once stood there. Views stretch across the countryside, giving a sense of the strategic position it once held. The landscape remains largely unchanged since medieval times, making it a tangible link to the past.