Castles / GB / Wales
Llanvaches Castle
Which definitions does it satisfy?
This dataset does not record whether something “is a castle”. It records a verdict against each named definition, with the reasoning that produced it.
| Definition | Verdict | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| Fortified residence | no | The residence half is met — a hall or tower within a walled enclosure traditionally held to be the manor of John Martel (1271 Wentwood Survey) — but the surviving defensive fabric is merely a spread stony bank over a collapsed rubble wall with 'no sign of an external ditch' and no towers or gatehouse; the criterion's active-defence half ('not merely a wall') is not met. |
| Enclosure fortification | unassessed | No source consulted so far speaks to this definition. Unassessed is not the same as no. |
| State fortification | unassessed | No source consulted so far speaks to this definition. Unassessed is not the same as no. |
| Palatial seat | unassessed | No source consulted so far speaks to this definition. Unassessed is not the same as no. |
| Revival and folly | unassessed | No source consulted so far speaks to this definition. Unassessed is not the same as no. |
| Popularly a castle | unassessed | No source consulted so far speaks to this definition. Unassessed is not the same as no. |
Facts
| Tradition | european medieval |
|---|---|
| Location | Llanvaches, Newport, Wales, GB |
| Built | Medieval |
| Confidence | medium |
| First recorded | 2026-07-21 |
| Last updated | 2026-07-22 |
In the registers
Where this structure appears in official inventories. This is what turns an individual record into evidence about a count.
- Cof Cymru — National Historic Assets of Wales —
MM129· Scheduled Monument — SiteType: Castle · entry
Location
Approximate. © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Notes
Upgraded to an assessed record from Cadw's full report (MM129). fortified_residence assessed 'no' — a 'defended manor house' by tradition whose only defensive fabric is a low enclosure wall with no external ditch and no active-defence features. enclosure_fortification left unassessed: the enclosure has an identified lordly residence, which that band excludes. The report's framing as a 'small medieval castle' is tradition, not demonstrated defence.
Sources
- Scheduled Monument Full Report — Llanvaches Castle — Cadw, 2026-07-22
Full scheduled-monument report; the basis for the assessed verdict.
Signals
Raw per-source observations behind this record (2):
sig-20260721-cadw-mm129,
sig-20260722-report-mm129
Record file · dataset licensed CC BY 4.0 — see provenance.