Welshpool ( ) is a market town and

community A community is a social unit (a group of people) with a shared socially-significant characteristic, such as place, set of norms, culture, religion, values, customs, or identity. Communities may share a sense of place situated in a given g ...

Powys Powys ( , ) is a Principal areas of Wales, county and Preserved counties of Wales, preserved county in Wales. It borders Gwynedd, Denbighshire, and Wrexham County Borough, Wrexham to the north; the English Ceremonial counties of England, ceremo ...

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

, historically in the

county A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

Montgomeryshire Montgomeryshire ( ) was Historic counties of Wales, one of the thirteen counties of Wales that existed from 1536 until their abolishment in 1974. It was named after its county town, Montgomery, Powys, Montgomery, which in turn was named after ...

. The town is from the Wales–England border and low-lying on the

River Severn The River Severn (, ), at long, is the longest river in Great Britain. It is also the river with the most voluminous flow of water by far in all of England and Wales, with an average flow rate of at Apperley, Gloucestershire. It rises in t ...

. The community, which also includes Cloddiau and Pool Quay, has a population of 6,664 (as of the

2011 United Kingdom census A Census in the United Kingdom, census of the population of the United Kingdom is taken every ten years. The 2011 census was held in all countries of the UK on 27 March 2011. It was the first UK census which could be completed online via the Inter ...

), with the town having 5,948. There are many examples of

Georgian architecture Georgian architecture is the name given in most English-speaking countries to the set of architectural styles current between 1714 and 1830. It is named after the first four Monarchy of the United Kingdom, British monarchs of the House of Han ...

within the town.

Powis Castle Powis Castle () is a medieval castle, fortress and grand country house near Welshpool, in Powys, Wales. The seat of the Herbert family, Herbert family, earls of Powis, the castle is known for its formal gardens and for its interiors, the former ...

is located to the north.

Toponym

''Y Trallwng'' is the

Welsh language Welsh ( or ) is a Celtic languages, Celtic language of the Brittonic languages, Brittonic subgroup that is native to the Welsh people. Welsh is spoken natively in Wales by about 18% of the population, by some in England, and in (the Welsh c ...

name of the town. It means "the marshy or sinking land". In English it was initially known as Pool but its name was changed to Welshpool in 1835 to distinguish it from the English town of

Poole Poole () is a coastal town and seaport on the south coast of England in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole unitary authority area in Dorset, England. The town is east of Dorchester, Dorset, Dorchester and adjoins Bournemouth to the east ...

in Dorset.

History

St Cynfelin is reputed to be the founder of two churches in the town, St Mary's and St Cynfelin's, during the Age of the Saints in the 5th and 6th centuries. The parish of Welshpool roughly coincides with the medieval commote of Ystrad Marchell in the

cantref A cantref ( ; ; plural cantrefi or cantrefs; also rendered as ''cantred'') was a Wales in the Early Middle Ages, medieval Welsh land division, particularly important in the administration of Welsh law. Description Land in medieval Wales was divid ...

of Ystlyg in the Kingdom of Powys. The Long Mountain, which plays as a backdrop to most of Welshpool, once served as the ultimate grounds for defence for fortresses in the times when the town was just a swampy marsh. Welshpool served briefly as the capital of Powys Wenwynwyn or South Powys after its prince was forced to flee the traditional Welsh royal site at Mathrafal in 1212, by the prince of

Gwynedd Gwynedd () is a county in the north-west of Wales. It borders Anglesey across the Menai Strait to the north, Conwy, Denbighshire, and Powys to the east, Ceredigion over the Dyfi estuary to the south, and the Irish Sea to the west. The ci ...

; assistance from the English crown (enemies of the Gwynedd prince) restored the Wenwynwyn dynasty to their lands. Further disputes with Gwynedd again brought in the English; in 1284, the family strengthened their hold on Powys Wenwynwyn by converting it into a marcher lordship (via ''surrender and re-grant'') - the Lordship of Powys. Owain, the heir to the former principality, called himself Owen de la Pole, after the town. The town was devastated by the forces of

Owain Glyndŵr Owain ap Gruffydd (28 May 135420 September 1415), commonly known as Owain Glyndŵr (Glyn Dŵr, , anglicised as Owen Glendower) was a Welsh people, Welsh leader, soldier and military commander in the Wales in the late Middle Ages, late Middle ...

(heir to Powys Fadog - North Powys) in 1400 at the start of his rebellion against the English king Henry IV. Today, the waymarked, 135-mile long-distance footpath and

National Trail National Trails are long distance footpaths and bridleways in England and Wales. They are administered by Natural England, an agency of the Government of the United Kingdom, UK government, and Natural Resources Wales, a Welsh Government, Welsh ...

, Glyndŵr's Way, ends in Pont Howell Park, alongside the

Montgomery Canal The Montgomery Canal (), 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, Powys, Newtown via Llanymynech and ...

. In 1411 the

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deity, deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in parti ...

at the church St Mary's was Adam of Usk.

Population

The

population Population is a set of humans or other organisms in a given region or area. Governments conduct a census to quantify the resident population size within a given jurisdiction. The term is also applied to non-human animals, microorganisms, and pl ...

of Welshpool has risen since 2001.

Villages

* Gungrog

Historic buildings

St Mary's Church is a Grade I

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

. The original church dated from about 1250, there are remains of this church in the lower courses of the church tower. The nave was rebuilt in the 16th century, and the whole building was substantially restored in 1871. The 15th century chancel ceiling may have come from

Strata Marcella The Abbey of Strata Marcella () was a medieval Cistercian monastery situated at Ystrad Marchell (''Strata Marcella'' being the Latinised form of the Welsh name) on the west bank of the River Severn near Welshpool, Powys, Wales. Founding The ab ...

Abbey, about away, and a stone in the churchyard is said to have been part of the abbot's throne. A memorial in the church commemorates Bishop William Morgan, translator of the Bible into Welsh, who was the vicar from 1575 to 1579. The Mermaid Inn, 28 High Street, was very probably an early 16th-century merchant's house, placed on a burgage plot between the High Street and Alfred Jones Court. The timber-framed building has long storehouse or wing to the rear. The frontage was remodelled 1890, by Frank H. Shayler, architect, of Shrewsbury. Early illustrations of the building show that prior to this it had a thatched roof and that the timbering was not exposed. There is a passage to side with heavy box-framing in square panels, with brick infill exposed in side elevation and in rear wing. The frontage was exposed by Shayler to show decorative timber work on the upper storey. An Inn by the 19th century when it was owned by a family named Sparrow. There is an octagonal brick cockpit in New Street, which was built in the early 18th century and was in continual use for cockfighting until the practice was outlawed by the

Cruelty to Animals Act 1849 The Cruelty to Animals Act 1849The citation of this Act by this short title was authorised by the Short Titles Act 1896, section 1 and the first schedule. Due to the repeal of those provisions it is now authorised by section 19(2) of the Interpr ...

. , it is the home of the town's Women's Institute.

Welshpool Town Hall Welshpool Town Hall () is a municipal building in Broad Street, Welshpool, Powys, Wales. The structure, which is the meeting place of Welshpool Town Council, is a Grade II listed building. History The first municipal building on the site was ...

, which was completed in 1874, is a Grade II listed building.

Governance

There are two tiers of local government covering Welshpool, at

(town) and

level: Welshpool Town Council and Powys County Council. The Town Council has 15 elected members serving five-year terms, and employs a staff of about 13. It deals with a wide range of green spaces and public facilities, and as a representative voice for Welshpool. The Council Chair or Town Mayor, elected by the councillors, has been Councillor Phil Owen since May 2024. The community is represented on Powys County Council by three county councillors, each representing a ward: Welshpool Llanerchyddol, Welshpool Gungrog and Welshpool Castle.

Transport

Welshpool railway station is on the

Cambrian Line The Cambrian Line (), sometimes split into the Cambrian Main Line () and Cambrian Coast Line () for its branches, is a railway line that runs from Shrewsbury in England, westwards to Aberystwyth and Pwllheli in Wales. Passenger train services ...

and is served by Transport for Wales. The town is also the starting point of the Welshpool and Llanfair Light Railway, a narrow-gauge

heritage railway A heritage railway or heritage railroad (U.S. usage) is a railway operated as living history to re-create or preserve railway scenes of the past. Heritage railways are often old railway lines preserved in a state depicting a period (or periods) ...

popular with tourists, with its terminus station at Raven Square. The light railway once ran through the town to the Cambrian Line railway station, but today Raven Square, located on the western edge of the town, is the eastern terminus of the line. A small network of bus services link surrounding towns and villages, mainly operated by Tanat Valley Coaches. Notable is service No X75, serving

Shrewsbury Shrewsbury ( , ) is a market town and civil parish in Shropshire (district), Shropshire, England. It is sited on the River Severn, northwest of Wolverhampton, west of Telford, southeast of Wrexham and north of Hereford. At the 2021 United ...

to the east and Newtown and Llanidloes to the south west, also service No D71 to Oswestry via Guilsfield and

Llanymynech Llanymynech is a village and former civil parish straddling the Wales-England border, border between Powys, Wales, and Shropshire, England, about north of the Welsh town of Welshpool. The name is Welsh language, Welsh for "Llan (placename), L ...

. In addition there is a local town service operated by Owen's Coaches. The semi-disused

also runs through Welshpool. To the south of the town is Welshpool Airport which is also known as the Mid Wales Airport. Three major trunk roads pass through Welshpool: the A458,

A483 The A483, officially described as the Swansea to Manchester Trunk Road, although now ending in Chester, is a major road in the United Kingdom. It runs from Swansea in Wales to Chester in England via Llandovery, Llandrindod Wells, Oswestry and W ...

and the A490.

Economy

The local economy is primarily based upon agriculture and local industry. The Smithfield Livestock Market is the largest one-day sheep market in Europe. Market days are on Mondays. The town's industrial estates are home to numerous different types of small industry, ranging from metal to food production. Due to the town's small size and population the attraction of high street stores and stores that cut keys is limited, meaning that many of the residents prefer to shop in neighbouring towns like

. However Welshpool remains an important hub serving its agricultural hinterland. The town is home to the headquarters of the Montgomeryshire Wildlife Trust and the Clwyd-Powys Archaeological Trust.

Education

The town is the home of Ardwyn Nursery and Infants School, Oldford Nursery and Infants School, Gungrog Nursery and Infants School, Maes-y-dre Primary School. Welshpool High School is a

secondary school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., b ...

which teaches a range of pupils from ages 11–18 and has a good standard of education throughout Key Stage 3 and 4 and

GCSE The General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) is an academic qualification in a range of subjects taken in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, having been introduced in September 1986 and its first exams taken in 1988. State schools ...

studies.

Sport

Welshpool has a

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

club ( Welshpool Town F.C.) and a

rugby union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...

club ( Welshpool Rugby Football Club). The football club was jointly managed for a period in the late 2010s by Chris Roberts and Neil Pryce but with little success. The town also has hockey and

cricket Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...

clubs. The Montgomeryshire Marauders Rugby League Club are also nominally based in Welshpool, as this is where the majority of their home fixtures take place.

Notable people

* William Morgan (1545-1604), Bible translator, Vicar of Welshpool 1575–79, became Bishop of St Asaph in 1601 * Sampson Lloyd (1664–1724), iron manufacturer in early Birmingham, founder of the Lloyd family of Birmingham * Lieutenant-General Sir Percy Egerton Herbert (1822 in Powis Castle – 1876), Army officer and politician. *Sir William Boyd Dawkins (1837 in Buttington – 1929), geologist and archaeologist. * William Rupert Davies (1879-1967), Canadian

Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or Legislative chamber, chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the Ancient Rome, ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior ...

, politician, newspaper publisher, born at Welshpool, later returned to Wales and lived latterly at Leighton Hall. * William Herbert Waring (1885-1918),

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious decoration of the Orders, decorations, and medals of the United Kingdom, British decorations system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British ...

recipient in World War I. * Roderick Urwick Sayce (1890–1970), social anthropologist and geographer * Ann Mercy Hunt (1938–2014), medical researcher and campaigner; co-founded the Tuberous Sclerosis Association * Glyn Davies (born 1944), a former politician and MP for

from 2010 to 2019. * Michael Jones (born 28 January 1952), is a Welsh-French singer, guitarist, and songwriter who lives in

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. * Craig Williams (born 1985), politician, MP for Cardiff North, 2015 to 2017 and for

from 2019. PPS to PM.

Sport

* Jack Roscamp (1901-1939). footballer notably for Blackburn Rovers, was a publican in his latter years when he kept The Boot Inn in the town. * George Bennett (1913 in Forden – 1970), a rugby union and professional rugby league footballer with 383 caps * Ian Hutchinson (born 1964), county cricketer for

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, former county in South East England, now mainly within Greater London. Its boundaries largely followed three rivers: the River Thames, Thames in the south, the River Lea, Le ...

and

Shropshire Shropshire (; abbreviated SalopAlso used officially as the name of the county from 1974–1980. The demonym for inhabitants of the county "Salopian" derives from this name.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West M ...

. 27 first class caps

Gallery

File:Mermaid Inn, Welshpool.jpg, Mermaid Inn, Welshpool File:Montgomeryshire War Weapons Week (1511246) 1.jpg, Troops in Welshpool during Montgomeryshire War Weapons Week, 1941 File:Welch Pool, 1794.jpg, Welshpool, 1794

Notes

External links

Photos of Welshpool and surrounding area on geograph.org.uk
* * Welshpool Seven Stars Halt railway station Welshpool's Seven Stars Halt. {{Authority control Populated places on the River Severn Towns in Powys Towns of the Welsh Marches Communities in Powys