The motte and bailey castle at Painscastle is 164m by 106m overall and set within a larger, possibly subrectangular enclosure, roughly 210m by 185m. The castle was rebuilt in 1231 and the traces of a stone tower upon the motte probably date from this period. A tesselated, "fairy" pavement (nprn 411612) was uncovered here in the nineteenth century.
(source OS495 card; SO14NE2)
In 1198, Painscastle was the site of one of the bloodiest battles in Welsh history (nprn 402326).
J.Wiles, RCAHMW, 21 August 2002.