Tredustan Motte

Tredustan Motte stands on a low hill in farmland near Talgarth in Powys. It is the last trace of a castle built soon after the Norman conquest of Brycheiniog. Sir Humphrey Sollers raised the earthen mound in 1094 or 1095 on orders from Bernard de Neufmarché. The motte once supported a wooden tower and a bailey wall. Its purpose was to watch the valley and keep the local Welsh population under Norman control. Today the mound is grassed over and about six metres high. The site is worth visiting for anyone interested in early Norman power in Wales. It shows how quickly castles could be thrown up after a victory like the Battle of Brecon. The motte is one of the few places where you can stand on a genuine 11th-century castle foundation. Archaeologists have found traces of the timber buildings that once stood here. The view from the top still takes in the same rolling hills the Normans wanted to control. Visitors find a simple grassy mound with no modern structures. A path winds up the side to the flat summit. From there the countryside stretches away in every direction. The motte is quiet, with only sheep and skylarks for company. It is easy to imagine the wooden tower and armed men that once stood on this spot. The place feels remote, yet it lies only a few miles from Talgarth’s main road.