A natural outcrop, resting on the Afon Alyn on the NW, forms the basis for a motte, c.54-58m in diameter and 7.1m high, with a summit diameter of 30-33m, ditched and countercsarped away from the river.
(source Os495card; SJ15NE5)
The name suggests a commotal centre, as does the proximity of St Garmon's church, across the river. It is thought that the entry in the Pipe Roll for 1212-13,
"For iron mallets for breaking the rocks in the ditch of the castle of Yale", refers to this site (Pratt 1978, 132).
J.Wiles 22.10.02