Craig Ruperra Motte

Also known as, or recorded in historical documents as; Castell Breiniog; Castell y ddraenen; Coed Craig Ruperra; Castell Breiniol; Remmi; Remni

In the community of Rudry.
In the historic county of Glamorgan (Modern authority of Caerphilly, preserved county of Mid Glamorgan).

Fine motte and bailey. A roughly circular mound 32m in diameter and 6m high surrounded by a ditch and counterscarp bank, well-defined on the N and W but apparently slighter on the S and E, though partly obscured here by masking vegetation. Located at the NE end of a hillfort. Motte re-used as a landscape feature, with a revetted spiral path (extant) leading to a summerhouse, built before 1785, not noted 1875, upon the summit. Suggested by Armitage as possible site of castle Remmi or Remni mentioned in Pipe Roll of 1184. Country Life records a letter of Rev. W. Watkins, c1762, recording the bizarre discovery of an erect skeleton in a room 2.5m square during the digging of the foundations of a summer-house at Ruperra (Owen, Edward (ed), 1922, Catalogue of MSS Relating to Wales in the British Museum Vol4 p847)

This site has been described as a;
Timber Castle.
The confidence that this site is a medieval fortification or palace is Certain.
Earthworks remains.

The Ordnance Survey Map Grid Reference is ST22338670

Modern Map from

Good for landscape form and features

Modern Map from

Good for general location

Air Photo from

1st edition OS Map from

Sources of information, references and further reading

National Monuments Record number; 91997

County Sites and Monuments Record number; 0167m, 00726m

Books

RCAHMW, 1991, An Inventory of the Ancient Monuments in Glamorgan Vol3 pt1a: The Early Castles (London: HMSO) MO4 p59-61
King, D.J.C., 1983, Castellarium Anglicanum (London: Kraus) Vol1 p169
Davis, Paul R., 1983, Castles of Glamorgan (Alun Books) p47
Hague, D.B., 1971, in Pugh, T.B. (ed), Glamorgan County History Vol3 The Middle Ages (Cardiff) p446
Armitage, Ella, 1912, The Early Norman Castles of the British Isles (London: John Murray) p297

Journal Articles

1986, Oct 23, Country Life p1277-9
Spurgeon, C.J. and Thomas, H.J., 1980, 'Craig Ruperra' Archaeology in Wales Vol20 p26-7
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
Clark, G.T., 1875, Archaeologia Cambrensis [ser4] Vol6 p68-9

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This record last updated on Saturday, January 20, 2007

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