Trefecca Motte

Trefecca Motte stands on the north-west edge of the small village of Trefecca in the community of Talgarth, Powys. It is an old medieval mound without the usual surrounding defensive wall known as a bailey. The mound was built mostly between the late 11th and the second half of the 12th centuries from earth and stone, with a ditch around it as was common at the time. The Normans brought this type of fortification from France to Britain, and the Welsh adopted the technology. The site is now listed by Cadw, the historic environment service of the Welsh Government, under reference SAM BR083. The largest cluster of such mottes in Britain is found in the borderlands known as the Marches, which today includes areas like Shropshire, Cheshire, Herefordshire, Powys and Flintshire. The motte offers a quiet view over the surrounding countryside and a sense of the medieval landscape that once shaped this part of Wales.