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Twmpath Castle
Twmpath Motte
Twmpath Castle; Twmpath Motte;
Native name; Caer Cynwrig (Welsh)
	Twmpath Castle
Type	Motte-and-bailey castle
Location	Rhiwbina, Cardiff, Wales
Coordinates	51°31′56″N 3°13′17″W / 51.532355°N 3.221363°W
	Twmpath Castle Location in Cardiff
Scheduled monument
Official name	Twmpath, Rhiwbina
Designated	23 July 1930; 94 years ago
Reference no.	GM017

Twmpath Castle,^[4]^[2] also known as Twmpath Motte (Welsh: Caer Cynwrig),^[1]^[2] is a medieval motte on the southern slope of Wenallt Hill near Rhiwbina in Cardiff, Wales, which is a scheduled monument.^[5]^[3]

Toponymy

Twmpath is a Welsh word literally meaning a hump.^[6] Caer Cynwrig are both Welsh words. Caer (Old Welsh: cair or kair) is a placename element meaning a fortification, a camp, an inclosure, a wall or mound of defence,^[7] while Cynwrig in Old Welsh means high hill.^[2]

History

The motte-and-bailey castle dates back to the middle Ages from about 1066 to 1540.^[3] Originally Twmpath Castle was a Welsh camp called Caer Cynwrig, which was captured and occupied by the Normans and became the third largest motte in the Lordship of Glamorgan.^[8] Robert Fitzhamon founded Cardiff Castle and used the old Cardiff Roman Fort to construct it.^[9] Cardiff Castle was the capital of the Lordship of Glamorgan and Twmpath Castle formed one of a string of fortifications used to defend the newly conquered town of Cardiff with a ring of eight smaller earth and timber castles, Caerau Hillfort, Morganstown Castle Mound, Castell Coch and Whitchurch (known as Treoda), Cae’r Castell, near St Mellons and Rumney Castle.^[9]

Present day

Today the site is overgrown and stands approximately 25 ft (7.6 m) high and 130 ft (40 m) around.^[8] The top is 16 m (52 ft) in diameter. The motte is surrounded by a ditch, which varies in depth between 1 m (3.3 ft) to 1.2 m (3.9 ft) and width between 4 m (13 ft) and 5 m (16 ft).^[3]

Cadw has described the monument as being of "National importance for its potential to enhance our knowledge of medieval defensive practices.^[3] The monument is well-preserved and an important relic of the medieval landscape.^[3] It retains significant archaeological potential, with a strong probability of the presence of both structural evidence and intact associated deposits."^[3] It was designated as a scheduled monument on 23 July 1930.^[3]

Legends

Legend has it that it is a burial mound erected about 1089 for Iestyn ap Gwrgan, Lord of Glamorgan.^[10] The other legend says that the Devil piled up some earth in the form of a mound.^[10]