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Berriew ( cy, Aberriw) is a village and
community A community is a social unit (a group of living things) with commonality such as place, norms, religion, values, customs, or identity. Communities may share a sense of place situated in a given geographical area (e.g. a country, village, tow ...
in
Montgomeryshire Montgomeryshire, also known as ''Maldwyn'' ( cy, Sir Drefaldwyn meaning "the Shire of Baldwin's town"), is one of thirteen historic counties of Wales, historic counties and a former administrative county of Wales. It is named after its county tow ...
,
Powys Powys (; ) is a Local government in Wales#Principal areas, county and Preserved counties of Wales, preserved county in Wales. It is named after the Kingdom of Powys which was a Welsh succession of states, successor state, petty kingdom and princi ...
, Wales. It is on the
Montgomeryshire Canal The Montgomery Canal ( cy, Camlas Trefaldwyn), known colloquially as "The Monty", is a partially restored canal in eastern Powys and northwest Shropshire. The canal runs from the Llangollen Canal at Frankton Junction to Newtown via Llanymyn ...
and the Afon Rhiw, near the
confluence In geography, a confluence (also: ''conflux'') occurs where two or more flowing bodies of water join to form a single channel. A confluence can occur in several configurations: at the point where a tributary joins a larger river (main stem); o ...
(Welsh: ''aber'') with the
River Severn , name_etymology = , image = SevernFromCastleCB.JPG , image_size = 288 , image_caption = The river seen from Shrewsbury Castle , map = RiverSevernMap.jpg , map_size = 288 , map_c ...
(
Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...
: Afon Hafren) at , 79 miles (128 km) from
Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...
and 151 miles (243 km) from
London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
. The village itself had a population of 283. and the community also includes Garthmyl Hall and Refail.


Buildings and architecture

Berriew contains many architecturally important buildings. There are 103
Listed Buildings In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...
in Berriew of which 5 are
Grade II* In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...
. Nearly a quarter of the listed building are connected with the
Montgomeryshire Canal The Montgomery Canal ( cy, Camlas Trefaldwyn), known colloquially as "The Monty", is a partially restored canal in eastern Powys and northwest Shropshire. The canal runs from the Llangollen Canal at Frankton Junction to Newtown via Llanymyn ...
which runs across the parish to the S.E. of Berriew. The most important of the listed buildings are
Vaynor Vaynor (Welsh: ''Y Faenor'', meaning "The Manor") is a village and community (formerly a parish) in Merthyr Tydfil County Borough in Wales, United Kingdom. The population of the community at the 2011 census was 3,551. Location It is about fo ...
, which is probably the earliest brick built house of the mid-17th. century still standing in Montgomeryshire, and Glansevern, designed by the notable Shrewsbury architect
Joseph Bromfield Joseph Bromfield (1744–1824) was a notable English plasterer and architect working in the West Midlands and in Central and Northern Wales in the late Georgian period. He was Mayor of Shrewsbury in 1809. Early career He was born, probably ...
in the
Greek Revival The Greek Revival was an architectural movement which began in the middle of the 18th century but which particularly flourished in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, predominantly in northern Europe and the United States and Canada, but ...
style and probably the best example of his work. There are two important timber-framed houses, the Vicarage which is dated 1616 and Lower Cil Farmhouse. An illustration of the Vicarage was used to illustrate the dustwrapper of the 1st edition of Peter Smith's important book on Welsh
Vernacular Architecture Vernacular architecture is building done outside any academic tradition, and without professional guidance. This category encompasses a wide range and variety of building types, with differing methods of construction, from around the world, bo ...
‘'Houses of The Welsh Countryside'’. Another notable house is
Garthmyl Hall, Berriew Garthmyl Hall is a Grade II listed house in Berriew, in the historic county of Montgomeryshire, now Powys. The house stood close to the site of a large 17th-century large timber-framed house. Garthmyl Hall was rebuilt in 1859 by the architect Jame ...
, which is by a leading 19th century designer and architect
James Kellaway Colling James Kellaway Colling (1816–1905) or J. K. Colling was an English architect, watercolour artist and noted book illustrator. He was a pioneer of early Chromolithographic printing and his graphic work has been compared with that of William ...
. There are also a number of other larger houses in Berriew which include Brithdir, a timber-framed house which was considerably extended in the early 19th century; Pennant, a fine early brick house built in 1755; Rhiewport, a
Regency A regent (from Latin : ruling, governing) is a person appointed to govern a state '' pro tempore'' (Latin: 'for the time being') because the monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge the powers and duties of the monarchy ...
house that is also probably by Joseph Bromfield, and Trwstllwelyn, a house with much early 18th century brickwork. A sad loss was the fantasy Gothic villa of Bodheilin in Brithdir
township A township is a kind of human settlement or administrative subdivision, with its meaning varying in different countries. Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, that tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, Ca ...
, which was burnt down in 1906.


Timber framed and Cottage Ornée houses

Rather than the individual houses, Berriew is best remembered for its half timbered cottages which cluster around the churchyard and along the banks of the river Rhiew. There are further examples in the
township A township is a kind of human settlement or administrative subdivision, with its meaning varying in different countries. Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, that tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, Ca ...
of Refail. These can probably be attributed to the architect
Thomas Penson Thomas Penson, or Thomas Penson the younger (c. 1790 – 1859) was the county surveyor of Denbighshire and Montgomeryshire. An innovative architect and designer of a number of masonry arch bridges over the River Severn and elsewhere. He was th ...
. In the late 1830s, at the same time as Penson was working on remodelling
Vaynor Park Vaynor Park is a country house in a landscaped park, standing on high ground to the south-west of Berriew village, in the historic county of Montgomeryshire, now Powys. The origins of the house date from the mid-15th century, but the house was e ...
in Berriew for John Winder Lion-Winder, he was also remodelling and building houses in Berriew for the Vaynor estate. As a result of his work Berriew developed as a village with many attractive
Cottage Ornée A cottage, during Feudalism in England, England's feudal period, was the holding by a cottager (known as a cotter or ''bordar'') of a small house with enough garden to feed a family and in return for the cottage, the cottager had to provide ...
houses. Some of these were rebuilt from earlier
timber framed Timber framing (german: Holzfachwerk) and "post-and-beam" construction are traditional methods of building with heavy timbers, creating structures using squared-off and carefully fitted and joined timbers with joints secured by large wooden ...
buildings, while others were built in a
Tudor Revival style Tudor Revival architecture (also known as mock Tudor in the UK) first manifested itself in domestic architecture in the United Kingdom in the latter half of the 19th century. Based on revival of aspects that were perceived as Tudor architecture ...
and are some of the earliest examples of
Black-and-white Revival architecture The Black-and-white Revival was an architectural movement from the middle of the 19th century that re-used the vernacular elements of the past, using timber framing. The wooden framing is painted black and the panels between the frames are p ...
. Penson's work can be recognised by the massive brick chimney stacks which have been added to the houses, the ornamental
bargeboards Bargeboard (probably from Medieval Latin ''bargus'', or ''barcus'', a scaffold, and not from the now obsolete synonym "vergeboard") or rake fascia is a board fastened to each projecting gable of a roof to give it strength and protection, and to ...
to the
gable A gable is the generally triangular portion of a wall between the edges of intersecting roof pitches. The shape of the gable and how it is detailed depends on the structural system used, which reflects climate, material availability, and aesth ...
s and in some cases the black and white painting on the brick work to give the impression of timber framing.


Listed Buildings in Berriew

* Vaynor Park is the main estate in Berriew, lying to the west of the village. *Glansevern Hall and Gardens are adjacent to the village. Glansevern Hall was built between 1801 and 1807 for Sir Arthur Davies Owen, by
Joseph Bromfield Joseph Bromfield (1744–1824) was a notable English plasterer and architect working in the West Midlands and in Central and Northern Wales in the late Georgian period. He was Mayor of Shrewsbury in 1809. Early career He was born, probably ...
. * Garthmyl Hall is a Grade II listed house to the south of Berriew. Garthmyl Hall was completely rebuilt in 1859 by the architect James K Colling for Major-General William George Gold. * The Vicarage, which is the residence of the Archdeacon of Montgomery. It is dated 1616 with the initials of the vicar, Thomas Kyffin. Vertical studding with diagonal braces, the upper floor jettied on a moulded
bressumer A bressummer, breastsummer, summer beam (somier, sommier, sommer, somer, cross-somer, summer, summier, summer-tree, or dorman, dormant tree) is a load-bearing beam in a timber-framed building. The word ''summer'' derived from sumpter or French ...
. The porch with railed sides with quadrant decoration. In the late C18, the lobby-chimney was removed, and the vicarage was extended to the west with a brick range. *Lower Cil A well-preserved 16th-century timber-framed farmhouse of ''Severn Valley Lobby Entrance'' type. The timbers have been dated by tree-ring dating to 1583 for its original construction.


Other features of note

The Berriew section of The Montgomery Canal has a number of important features including a restored lock and the Grade II listed aqueduct which carries the canal over the River Rhiw. It has four segmental arches and is the second-largest masonry structure on the canal. First opened in 1797, it was largely rebuilt in the 19th century and fully restored in the 20th century.


Governance

Berriew Community Council represents the interests of the local community and has 11 elected or co-opted members. Berriew was also a county ward, electing one county councillor to sit on
Powys County Council Powys County Council ( cy, Cyngor Sir Powys) is the local authority for Powys, one of the administrative areas of Wales. The County Hall is in Llandrindod Wells. History The county of Powys was created on 1 April 1974 under the Local Governme ...
. Since 1995 the ward was represented by Independents, and by Cllr Dai Davies since 2008. Following a boundary review, Berriew ward became Berriew and Castle Caereinion, after the
Castle Caereinion Castle Caereinion ( Welsh: ''Castell Caereinion'') is a small village and community in Montgomeryshire, Powys, Wales upon the River Banwy, around 8 miles west of Welshpool, and 4 miles east of Llanfair Caereinion. In 2011 the ward had a populat ...
community was added to it, effective from the 2022 local elections.


Facilities

Berriew F.C. play in the
Mid Wales Football League The Central Wales Football League ''(formerly the Mid Wales Football League)'' is a football league in Wales at tier 4 of the Welsh Football pyramid, run by the Central Wales Football Association. The league consists of two regionally based divi ...
, the third level of the Welsh football league system. Mirror-artist and sculptor Andrew Logan bought the village squash courts and converted the building into a sculpture museum. There are two
pub A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and was ...
s in the village, The Talbot and the Lion Hotel. There is also The Horseshoes, a little way out of the village. The Berriew Show is a major attraction for the village and is held every August Bank Holiday Saturday. Attracting locals and people from miles around, it is a showcase for horticulture, agriculture and local craft and has thriving dog, horse and sheep shows.


Best kept village in Wales

Berriew has won this competition many times - although the scheme has now been discontinued. It was first won in 1970.


Notable people

Alex Carlile, Baron Carlile of Berriew Alexander Charles Carlile, Baron Carlile of Berriew, (born 12 February 1948) is a British barrister and crossbench member of the House of Lords. He was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Montgomeryshire from 1983 to 1997. Early life and caree ...
, former
Liberal Democrat Several political party, political parties from around the world have been called the Liberal Democratic Party or Liberal Democrats. These parties usually follow a liberal democracy, liberal democratic ideology. Active parties Former parties ...
M.P. for
Montgomeryshire Montgomeryshire, also known as ''Maldwyn'' ( cy, Sir Drefaldwyn meaning "the Shire of Baldwin's town"), is one of thirteen historic counties of Wales, historic counties and a former administrative county of Wales. It is named after its county tow ...
, took his life peerage title from the village.


Literature

* Gibson, A. (1995). ''The Carreg Beuno prehistoric landscape, Berriew.'' Montgomeryshire Collections 83 (1995), pp. 41–58 * Silvester, R. J. (1997), ''Luggy Moat, Berriew : recording and conservation.'' Montgomeryshire Collections 85, pp. 1–12 * Smith, D.. W. (1992), ''Aberriw to Berriew : the story of a community''. Berriew : D.W. Smith. 17p * Smith, D. W. (1991) ''Berriew and Trinity : Thomas Jones (1756-1807) and his contemporaries.'' Montgomeryshire Collections Vol 79, pp. 121–34 * Smith, D. W. (1989), ''The Berriew enclosures : Brithdir and the intercommoning districts''. Montgomeryshire Collections Vol. 77, pp. 81–105 * Smith, D. W. (1985), ''Berriew in Stuart times : 2. Paupers and yeomen, poverty and prosperity''. Montgomeryshire Collections Vol. 73, pp. 8–29 * Smith, D. W. (1990), ''Berriew maps : some comments.'' Montgomeryshire Collections Vol. 78, p. 162-3 * Scourfield R. and Haslam R. (2013), ''The Buildings of Wales: Powys; Montgomeryshire, Radnorshire and Breconshire'', Yale University Press. * Thomas, D.R.( 1908) ''History of the Diocese of Saint Asaph'', Vol 1, 128–135.


References


External links


Photos of Berriew and surrounding area on geograph.org.ukGlanservern Hall & Gardens website

Berriew Village & CommunityBerriew Show
{{authority control Historic Montgomeryshire Parishes Communities in Powys Villages in Powys Former wards of Powys