id: sig-20260722-report-mm129
site_id: gb-llanvaches-llanvaches
attribute: designation_report
value: 'Reference Number

  MM129

  Name

  Llanvaches Castle

  Date of Designation

  Status

  Designated

  Unitary Authority

  Newport

  Community

  Llanvaches

  Easting

  343368

  Northing

  192053

  Broad Class

  Defence

  Site Type

  Castle

  Period

  Medieval

  The monument consists of the earthworks and buried lower walls of a long rectangular hall
  or tower at the eastern side of a faceted walled enclosure, traditionally held to be a small
  medieval castle or defended manor house of John Martel mentioned in the 1271 Wentwood Survey.
  It occupies a low limestone knoll c250m to the north of the parish church and village. The
  enclosure is sub-rectangular and measures c54m E/W by 42m N/S. It is defined by a spread
  stony bank between 0.5 and 1.3m high covering a collapsed limestone rubble wall but there
  is no sign of an external ditch. There is a large, levelled opening in the bank on the NW
  side that may indicate later disturbance; a break at the SE corner towards the aproach from
  the villlage along the possible earthworks of a former lane may represent the original entrance.
  The lack of any antiquarian descriptions, cartographic or pictoral evidence suggests that
  the site has long been ruinous.

  The monument is of national importance for its potential to enhance our knowledge of medieval
  defensive and domestic architecture. It forms an important relic of the medieval landscape
  and shares group value with a series of other minor castles, fortified houses and small
  manors documented in the 1271 Wentwood Survey. 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=2373
source_title: Scheduled Monument Full Report — Llanvaches Castle
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.