Buddugre Castle

Features

The motte-and-bailey fortification known as Buddugre Castle sits at the southern tip of a south-facing ridge. The ridge’s western and southern slopes, along with its eastern side overlooking the Ithon Valley, have eroded away, but the land still shows clear evidence of a ditched motte. This motte is 34 meters in diameter and 6 meters high, surrounded by an oval embankment and a ditched bailey. The ditch itself is 1 meter wide, while the bailey measures 38 by 56 meters.

Traces of a rectangular structure, 26 by 10 meters, run eastward around the motte. The mound’s flat top likely once held a timber or stone defensive building. Nearby, crop marks suggest the presence of a court, known as a llys. Two causeways cross the motte’s ditch, one from the south and one from the south-west, and the bailey is entered from the south. Inside the bailey, facing the south-west causeway, lies an earthen hut platform measuring about 12 by 5 meters.

Lore

Owain, King of Gwynedd is credited with building the castle in Budugre in 1149 as a defense measure for the vale of Clwyd. This brought Owain close to conflict with Madog ap Maredudd, the ruler of Powys who was opposed to any encroachment of his powers. It is also said that it could have been built by Cadwallon, set high on top of a hill instead of in a valley akin to Norman castles of this period.