Aberafan Castle

Also known as, or recorded in historical documents as; Aber Afan; Aberavon; Beili y Castell; Bailey Castle; Baily'r castell

In the community of Aberavon.
In the historic county of Glamorgan (Modern authority of Neath Port Talbot, preserved county of West Glamorgan).

Terraced housing built, in1895 on site castle plundered by welsh in 1153. Davis writes "Unfortunately there are no detailed antiquarian descriptions of the castle, and the 1875 Ordance Survey map provides more questions than answers. The map shows a small mound on an oblong moated platform measuring approximately 160ft y 180ft. The mound seems too small to have been a motte, and may have marked the remains of a central keep."

This site has been described as a;
Masonry Castle
Timber Castle.
The confidence that this site is a medieval fortification or palace is Certain.
Nothing visible remains.

The Ordnance Survey Map Grid Reference is SS762901

Sources of information, references and further reading

Books

RCAHMW, 1991, An Inventory of the Ancient Monuments in Glamorgan Vol3 pt1a: The Early Castles (London: HMSO) VE1 p154-6
Salter, Mike, 1991, The Castles of Gwent, Glamorgan and Gower (Malvern) p38
Davis, Paul R., 1988, Castles of the Welsh Princes (Swansea)
King, D.J.C., 1983, Castellarium Anglicanum (London: Kraus) Vol1 p171
Fry, P.S., 1980, Castles of the British Isles (David and Charles) p322
Renn, D.F., 1973 (2edn), Norman Castles of Britain (John Baker)
Hague, D.B., 1971, in Pugh, T.B. (ed), Glamorgan County History Vol3 The Middle Ages (Cardiff) p437
Randall, Henry John, 1961, The Vale of Glamorgan, Studies in Landscape and History (Newport: R.H.Johns Ltd) p78
Armitage, Ella, 1912, The Early Norman Castles of the British Isles (London: John Murray) p296

Journal Articles

Spurgeon, C.J. and Thomas, H.J..,1980, 'Aberafan Castle', Archaeology in Wales Vol20 p69
Spurgeon, C.J. and Thomas, H.J., 1978, 'Medieval Glamorgan' Morgannwg Vol22 p25
Hogg, A.H.A. and King, D.J.C., 1963, 'Early castles in Wales and the Marches: a preliminary list' Archaeologia Cambrensis Vol112 p77-124

Most of the sites or buildings recorded in this web site are NOT open to the public and permission to visit a site must always be sought from the landowner or tenant

The information on this web page may be derived from information compiled by and/or copyright of the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historic Monuments of Wales, the four welsh archaeological trusts and other indivduals and organisations.

It is an offence to disturb a Scheduled Ancient Monument without consent. It is a destruction of everyone's heritage to remove archaeological evidence from any site without proper recording and reporting. Don't use metal detectors on historic sites without authorisation.

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