Tomen Bedd Ugre

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.

The castle structures on the mound located at the southern extremity of a ridge that faces south. The slopes of the ridge are towards west and south and on its east towards the Ithon Valley but are long gone, but the land still clearly bears the marks of a ditched motte. The motte has a diameter of 34 m and raises to a height of 6 m, with an oval embankment and ditched bailey; the ditch measuring 1 m. The ditched bailey measures 38 x. There are indications of a rectangular range surrounding the motte which measures 26 x in an eastern direction. The top of the mound is flat, over which it is conjectured that a structure made either of timber or stone had existed as a defensive measure. Also…