Simons Castle, Churchstoke

Also known as, or recorded in historical documents as; Symons; Simonds; Symondes; Symonds; Sneth; Snead; Sned; Snet

In the community of Churchstoke.
In the historic county of Montgomeryshire (Modern authority of Powys, preserved county of Powys).

An embanked motte, 40m by c.50m, 4.5m high, with a summit, 22m by 30m, truncated to the SW by quarrying, seperated from a bailey platform to the NE, 28m by15m, by a ditch It overlooks and completely controls the road (leading onto the Ceri Ridgeway). The castle would have been an ideal garrison point for controlling passage into and out of the local area. A stone curtain wall was added to the earlier motte (1.8m thick), and enclosed a court 21m across. King writes "This castle is commonly identified with Sneth, but the name may belong to Hyssington"

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

This site is a scheduled monument protected by law.

The Ordnance Survey Map Grid Reference is SO28599332

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; 94940

• Web site links
  • http://www.castlewales.com/symons.html
    http://www.gla.ac.uk/Acad/Archaeology/projects/symon/index.html
    Huggett and Chen, 2000, 3D Interpretative Modelling of Archaeological Sites/ A Computer Reconstruction of a Medieval Timber and Earthwork Castle Internet Archaeology 8, (http://intarch.ac.uk/journal/issue8/huggett_index.html)
• Books
  • Salter, Mike, 2001, The Castles of Mid Wales (Malvern) p52
    Pettifer, Adrian, 2000, Welsh Castles, A Guide by Counties (Boydell Press) p152
    Arnold, C.J. and Huggett, J.W., 1992, Symon's Castle (Churchstoke. Powys)
    King, D.J.C., 1983, Castellarium Anglicanum (London: Kraus) Vol1 p295
    RCAHMW, 1911, An Inventory of Ancient Monuments in Montgomeryshire (HMSO) p24 No118
• Journal Articles
  • Arnold, C.J. and Huggett, J.W., 1988. 'Symon's Castle. Church Stoke’. Archaeology in Wales Vol28 p74
    Arnold, C.J. and Huggett, J.W., 1987. 'Symon's Castle. Churchstoke’. Archaeology in Wales Vol27 p62
    Youngs, S.M., Clark, J. and Barry, T., 1986, ‘Medieval Britain and Ireland in 1985’, Medieval Archaeology Vol30 p198
    Huggett, J.W. and Arnold, C.J., 1986. ‘Symon's Castle. Churchstoke’. Archaeology in Wales Vol26 p56
    Arnold, C.J. and Huggett, J.W., 1985. 'Symon's Castle. Churchstoke’. Archaeology in Wales Vol25 p43
    Hogg, A.H.A. and King, D.J.C., 1967, 'Masonry castles in Wales and the Marches: a list' Archaeologia Cambrensis Vol116 p71-132
    Spurgeon, C.J., 1966, ‘The castles of Montgomeryshire’ Montgomeryshire Collections Vol58 p36-7, 55-6
    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
    Jones, M.C. and Lloyd, W.V., 1880. ‘Simons Castle’. Montgomeryshire Collections Vol13 169-76 [history only]