id: sig-20260722-report-me023
site_id: gb-llanfihangel-pennant-bere
attribute: designation_report
value: 'Reference Number

  ME023

  Name

  Castell y Bere

  Date of Designation

  Status

  Designated

  Unitary Authority

  Gwynedd

  Community

  Llanfihangel-y-Pennant

  Easting

  266779

  Northing

  308550

  Broad Class

  Defence

  Site Type

  Castle

  Period

  Medieval

  The following provides a general description of the Scheduled Monument.

  The monument consists of the remains of a castle, dating to the medieval period.  It occupies
  a prominent rock outcrop near the head of the Dysynni valley, which at the time the castle
  was built carried an important route between the coast at Tywyn and Dolgellau.  The castle
  is thought to have been built by Llewelyn ab Iorwerth of Gwynedd in 1221, to defend the
  southern borders of his kingdom.  It was captured by Edward I in 1283, after which it was
  remodelled.  A charter was granted for a borough in 1284, but no more is heard of either
  castle or borough after a siege during the Welsh rebellion of 1294.  The ground plan displays
  features, in particular apsidal towers, in common with other Welsh-built castles in north
  Wales.  There have clearly been alterations to the fabric, in particular the apparent addition
  of the southern apsidal tower, but these are difficult to date.

  The ground plan of the castle is unusually long and narrow, constrained by the underlying
  rock.  The masonry remains, which vary considerably in surviving height across the site,
  consist of a large inner ward, measuring c.60m by 40m overall, reached by complex entrance
  works on the south-west, with a large apsidal tower (c.18m by 10m externally) at its northern
  end and a smaller rectangular one (c.15m by 11m externally) at its southern.  On its west,
  north of the entrance, are the footings of a small round tower (c.10m across externally),
  overlooking a tiny barbican, while a cistern or well lies immediately inside the entrance.  Traces
  of further non-defensive rectangular structures abut the inner face of the curtain wall
  around this ward.  To the south, beyond the rectangular tower, a possible extension to the
  initial plan includes the ‘ditch yard’ (c.18m by 15m), spanning a stretch of earlier rock-cut
  ditch, beyond which lies a further large apsidal tower, measuring c.24m by 13m externally.  At
  points around the outside of the walls, particularly at either end of the ridge, additional
  stretches of rock-cut ditch survive.

  The monument is of national importance for its potential to enhance our knowledge of medieval
  defensive practices.  The monument is well-preserved and an important relic of the medieval
  landscape.  It retains significant archaeological potential, with a strong probability of
  the presence of both structural evidence and intact associated deposits.

  The scheduled area comprises the remains described and areas around them within which related
  evidence may be expected to survive.'
source_url: http://cadwpublic-api.azurewebsites.net/reports/sam/FullReport?lang=en&id=2458
source_title: Scheduled Monument Full Report — Castell y Bere
publisher: Cadw
observed_date: '2026-07-22'
collected_by: scripts/build_assessment_batch.py
confidence: high
notes: The designation text. Assess the six bands against THIS evidence only; omit any band
  it does not speak to.