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Powis Castle to Welshpool

Image: Powis Castle, Montgomeryshire. 

“The situation of the old castle is imposing, and the views which it commands are magnificently grand….Beneath are stretched the vales of Montgomery and Shrewsbury, though which the placid waters of the Severn most beautifully meander, apparently interrupted at intervals by green and fertile meadows….in the distance are seen the Wrekin, in a conical form, rising solitary amid the vale of Salop; to the south the extensive chain of the Frieden Hills, with the summit of Snowdon; and westward, the colossal Cader Idris terminating the sublime prospect.

At this time (1823) the entire building is undergoing a thorough repair, with extensive improvements on a tasteful and judicious plan, under the direction of its noble owner, Viscount Clive. The old castle, of red stone, forms the greatest part of his lordship’s mansion. The grand entrance, from the south, is through an ancient gateway, between two massy round turrets….These entrance turrets have, under the improvements which are now going forward have been Grecianized.

The park, containing spacious and verdant lawns, diversified with swelling hills, was, in ancient times, enriched with extensive and finely wooded plantations….For many years, the castle and grounds had been suffered to fall into a state of decay; the pride and ornament of the park had been felled for the value of the timber; and, but for the recent determination to restore its pristine glory, the beauty of Powis would, at no very remote period, exist only in the recollections of the past…

The neatly built town of Welchpool stands about a mile below Powis Castle….The town is large, and, although somewhat irregular in its plan, it is well built…The Montgomeryshire canal, which passes by the town, has caused many new houses, chiefly of brick and covered with slate to be erected in the last few years….The chief manufactures carried on here are those of flannel, called gwart, or webb, and coarse woollen goods, such as are used for soldiers clothing. These are purchased to a great extent, mostly for ready money, by the Liverpool and Shrewsbury dealers. With an increasing population of 3,500, the place has altogether an air of great opulence and comfort.”

Harral, vol.1, p 57-75.


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Image creators: Thomas Harral, Picturesque Views of the Severn, 1824
Image courtesy of: Shropshire Records and Research


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1532-0A Journey down the Severn from Thomas Harral’s Picturesque Views of the River (1824) 562-0Introduction: the Severn Waterway 517-0Poetry and Visions of the River Severn 514-0The Severn and its Origins in Wales 516-0Newtown to Montgomery 518-0Powis Castle to Welshpool 519-0Welshpool to Shrewsbury 520-0Shrewsbury 521-0The English Bridge, Shrewsbury 522-0The Welsh Bridge, Shrewsbury 524-0Atcham Bridge, Shropshire 525-0The Wrekin 526-0Buildwas Bridge and the Severn Earthquake of 1773 529-0Coalbrookdale and the Ironbridge 530-0Madeley, Broseley and Lilleshall 535-0Bridgnorth 536-0Bridgnorth’s Economy 537-0Bridgnorth Castle 538-0Quatford and the nearby Landscape 539-0Bewdley 540-0The Wyre Forest 542-0Stourport 543-0Stourport Bridge 545-0Worcester 546-0Worcester to Upton-on-Severn 547-0Tewkesbury 550-0Gloucester 551-0Gloucester’s Economy and the Severn Trade