While historians debate its precise origins, with Orpen suggesting it was built by Hugh de Lacy before his death in 1186 and Graham proposing a date closer to 1192, the fortress clearly played a significant role in the Anglo-Norman colonisation of the region. The castle’s turbulent early history saw it confiscated by King John in 1210 during his conflict with the de Lacy family, only to be restored five years later in 1215. After this restoration, the historical record falls largely silent, leaving us with little more than a list of subsequent owners whilst the site remained the administrative centre of a substantial manor.

The castle occupies a strategic position on a ridge that commands excellent views to the south and west, though the surrounding hills block sightlines to the north and east. The motte itself is an impressive earthwork; an oval mound that rises from a base measuring 42 metres by 24 metres to a flattened summit of 26.2 metres by 16.8 metres. A square bailey, 18 metres on each side, sits to the south-west, separated from the motte by a shallow ditch some 3.5 metres wide. The entire complex is protected on three sides by a formidable defensive ditch, 7 metres wide with steep sides, accompanied by a counterscarp bank between 8 and 10 metres wide.

Archaeological evidence reveals additional features that hint at the site’s complexity. The bailey’s south-eastern front retains stone facing, with traces of a causeway that once connected it to the ridge beyond. At the north-eastern end of the ridge, grass-covered earthworks mark the foundations of a rectangular structure with three rooms, stretching 17 metres in length, whilst a circular depression 6.7 metres across at its western end may indicate a tower or similar feature. Various banks and ditches running up nearby Gallow’s Hill could represent medieval field boundaries, though their exact date and purpose remain uncertain.