Welshpool: Beginnings
Welshpool in 1836 (based on the 1st ed. Ordnance Survey map)
The current town is situated at a confluence of the Lledan brook with the Severn at a point above the floodplain. Roman finds indicate some activity in the area and there was a religious settlement founded by two brothers Llewelyn and Cynfelyn in the sixth century. The nature and exact location of this settlement is not known though a St Llewelyn’s chapel is recorded in a 16th century document which refers to a site to the south of St Mary’s church.
The Domen Castell motte-and-bailey castle (marked as Mount on the map here) was constructed in the 12th century and a settlement probably grew up around it. This site was replaced as a stronghold by Powis Castle or Y Castell Coch. Quite when the name Pool was first used is again unclear though it must have been in use in the 13th century as it became the tile of Gruffydd ap Gwenwynwyn, Prince of Upper Powys, when he was made Baron de la Pole by Edward I. The Pool in question may be an arc of the river or the pool marked Llyn Du on the map here. In the 1240s the burgesses of the town received a charter and this may represent the foundation of a borough in the English manor. By the 16th century the name Welsh Pool was beginning to be used to differentiate it from Poole in Dorset.
The Domen Castell motte-and-bailey castle (marked as Mount on the map here) was constructed in the 12th century and a settlement probably grew up around it. This site was replaced as a stronghold by Powis Castle or Y Castell Coch. Quite when the name Pool was first used is again unclear though it must have been in use in the 13th century as it became the tile of Gruffydd ap Gwenwynwyn, Prince of Upper Powys, when he was made Baron de la Pole by Edward I. The Pool in question may be an arc of the river or the pool marked Llyn Du on the map here. In the 1240s the burgesses of the town received a charter and this may represent the foundation of a borough in the English manor. By the 16th century the name Welsh Pool was beginning to be used to differentiate it from Poole in Dorset.
Welshpool: Old Town Hall
The photograph (right) shows the old town hall in Welshpool around 1865. The building was constructed in 1804 and was later enlarged in 1836. Even the enlarged building was thought to be too small, so it was replaced by the present Town Hall in 1873.
The simple design of the hall was very similar to many others all over the country, with open archways at street level to provide a covered space for markets and other events. The large upper floor was used for town business, court sessions and official meetings.
[Photograph courtesy of Powysland Museum]
The simple design of the hall was very similar to many others all over the country, with open archways at street level to provide a covered space for markets and other events. The large upper floor was used for town business, court sessions and official meetings.
[Photograph courtesy of Powysland Museum]
Welshpool: Powis Castle
Little is known of the castle's early origins. As well as the present site there are two early earthwork and timber castles in the town and opinions differ as to which of these the early medieval records refer to. The present sandstone castle, sometimes referred to as Y Castell Coch, may well have been the stronghold of Owain Cyfeiliog, Lord of Powys around 1170. The rectangular tower now embedded in the South Eastern angle of the castle may well have been built c.1200 by Owain's son Gwenwynwyn. The Hall of the castle may also date from this time. The family were on friendly terms with the English Crown and often in dispute with the Princes of Gwynedd. Gwenwynwyn's grandson took the Norman family name de la Pole and undertook further work on the castle after a sack in the late thirteenth century. By the time his daughter, the last of the dynasty, had married John de Charleton in 1309, the castle had evolved to the basic form of a stone outer bailey with an inner ward protected by a twin-towered gate and tall curtain walls with buildings up against it. After the medieval period the castle was gradually transformed from fortress to country house. It came into the possession of the Catholic Herbert family in the 16th Century and was captured from them by Parliamentarians in a night attack in 1644. After the restoration it was remodelled; a process which was to continue during the exile of the Herberts. It was home to the last Marquess of Powys who died in 1748, when estates were passed to the Herberts of Ludlow for whom the Earldom of Powys was immediately created. The State rooms have been preserved since 1770, amongst which is an Elizabethan drawing room and Long Gallery.
The ornamental terraced gardens were first begun by late 17th century Low Countries designers in a grand Italian manner, with much landscaping. Work was continued into the 18th century with the involvement of Capability Brown and William Emes creating waterways and ponds and planting avenues of ornamental trees.
[Haslam; MC 55,57,67,68 & 73; Country Life, 1987]
The ornamental terraced gardens were first begun by late 17th century Low Countries designers in a grand Italian manner, with much landscaping. Work was continued into the 18th century with the involvement of Capability Brown and William Emes creating waterways and ponds and planting avenues of ornamental trees.
[Haslam; MC 55,57,67,68 & 73; Country Life, 1987]
Welshpool: Sarn-y-bryn-caled archaeological site
Just south of Welshpool on the Severn flood plain lies a complex of ritual or funerary monuments from the Neolithic and Bronze Age, discovered through aerial photography. From the first photographs of the Cambridge University surveyors in 1969 to the later aerial surveys of the Clwyd-Powys Archaeological Trust a picture of this complex gradually emerged. The creation of a new bypass at Welshpool allowed excavation of several of these sites in advance of their destruction. The carbon dating suggested a date of around 3800 BC for a cursus which was discovered to be an extended avenue about ten metres wide with flanking banks and ditches. Perhaps the most important site excavated was that of the timber circle. This was revealed to have been a circle of twenty oak uprights about eighteen metres across with an inner circle of six larger posts which had been burned in position. At the very centre were two successive cremation burials and evidence of a possible altar. Carbon dating gave a date of around 2100 BC for the monument, around the time of the transition from the Neolithic period to the Bronze Age. The Clwyd-Powys Archaeological Trust erected a timber reconstruction of the site nearby after their excavations were completed in 1991.
To see a photo of the reconstruction on the CPAT website, click here.
[Musson]
To see a photo of the reconstruction on the CPAT website, click here.
[Musson]
Welshpool: Strata Marcella Abbey (Ystrad Marchell)
A small Cistercian monastic house on the banks of the Severn about two miles North East of Welshpool. It was founded by Owain Cyfeiliog, Lord of Powys, in 1170 with a group of monks from Whitland Abbey in Carmarthenshire. Despite endowment by 13th century princes it was never a wealthy foundation and was placed under the control of the abbey at Buildwas in Shropshire in the 14th century. The site was damaged during the wars of Glyndwr’s revolt and by the time of the Dissolution the monastery was in serious decline with only four monks in residence. The first known piece of printed material relating to Wales is from the Abbey. This is a Form of Indulgence printed for the Abbot in 1528. Sale of these indulgences would, it was hoped, bring in some much-needed revenue. By 1536 however the Abbey lands were in the hands of Edward Grey, Lord Powis. The abbey stonework appears to have been sold off as only earthworks remain on the site by the Severn. (To see an aerial photograph of the earthworks on the Gathering the Jewels website click here)
[MC 67 & 68; Haslam]
[MC 67 & 68; Haslam]
Welshpool & Llanfair Light Railway Company
See under Railways.