Cilwhybert Motte

Tomen Cilwhybert stands on a low mound in Glyn Tarell, Powys, a simple earth-and-stone motte built without the usual surrounding bailey. It belongs to the cluster of small Norman mottes scattered along the Welsh border after the Conquest. Most were raised between the 1070s and the 1170s, dug from local soil and rock and ringed by a ditch. The Normans brought this style of defence from France and Welsh lords soon copied it. Cadw recognises the site as a scheduled ancient monument under number BR127. The borderlands of Shropshire, Cheshire, Herefordshire, Powys and Flintshire hold the greatest concentration of these mottes anywhere in Britain. Visitors find a quiet grassy knoll beside the A470, its ditch still faintly visible around the base. The summit is level and small, offering a clear view over the valley. No stonework remains above ground, only the earthen rise and the hollow of the old ditch. The spot is peaceful, with sheep grazing nearby and the hills of the Brecon Beacons close by.