Montgomeryshire
- Eleanor Conlon
- 19 hours ago
- 8 min read
Where is Montgomeryshire?
In our episode about Montgomeryshire, we mentioned a few interesting places and things, so here are some pictures and links to find out more.
Shrine Church of Saint Melangell
The Shrine Church of Saint Melangell is one of the loveliest small churches in Britain and one of the most remote. The Church is a Grade 1 listed building and there has been a Christian Church here for over 1200 years. Set in a place of great beauty deep in the Berwyn Mountains, the church stands in a round churchyard, once a Bronze Age site, ringed by ancient yew trees estimated to be two thousand years old. Parts of the building date from the 12th Century though the most recent, a rebuilding of the apse on its original foundations, was completed only in 1990. The impression is still that of a simple Norman church, well loved and beautified over the years.
Saint Melangell’s Church is found in Pennant Melangell, (Pennant means ‘head of the stream’). The Church is surrounded by the Berwyn mountain range and sits near to the end of the deep bowl of the valley, with the waterfall and valley end beyond.
Originally, the medieval Parish of Melangell was vast, covering much of the upper Tanat valley to the North and the area towards Llanwddyn and Llanrhaeadr-ym-Mochnant in the South. At that time, the village was larger and included two inns. Today, there are only three houses remaining near the church and a further handful scattered around the valley.
Montgomery Castle
Montgomery is one of those castles that, even in ruin, retain a powerful atmosphere and presence that transcend its state of preservation. Perhaps it’s something to do with its location, on a steep crag above a pretty Georgian town with all-seeing views across the Welsh border.
Commenced around 1223 on the orders of Henry III in response to the growing power of Welsh native prince Llywelyn ap Iorwerth (Llywelyn the Great), Montgomery’s stone castle replaced a nearby wooden fort known as Hen Domen. Perched on its rocky ridge, this new fortress was significantly sturdier and more sophisticated, with a stone inner ward, well, deep defensive ditches crossed by drawbridges and walled town.
The castle remained in use for centuries, surviving attacks by Llywelyn in 1228 and 1231 and Llywelyn’s son Dafydd in 1245. The castle’s ultimate end came during the Civil War, when it fell to the Parliamentarians and was demolished in 1649, leaving just the crumbling towers and low walls that stand today.
Carreghofa Castle
Carreghofa Castle (Welsh: Castell Carreghwfa) was a Norman timber and masonry castle located in the Welsh village of Carreghofa, Powys.Between its construction in 1101 and destruction in 1236, it was the site of many battles between rival Welsh and English forces.Archaeological remains of the castle's perimeter, uncovered in the late 19th century, are all that remains of the structure.
Carreghofa Castle was built in 1101 by Robert de Bellême in the North Wales border regions, without the permission of the newly crowned King Henry I.In the following years the castle, among others like Bridgenorth Castle, was captured by Henry I and transformed into a military base for English forces.Carreghofa Castle was built on land which was heavily disputed, largely due to its location in the Welsh Marches.
This was a politically tumultuous region in the medieval Kingdom of Powys, founded in the 5th century, which began experiencing increased threats from the east following the Norman Conquest of England in 1066. In building Carreghofa Castle, de Bellême was directly allying himself with the princes of Powys, the sons of Bleddyn ap Cynfyn, against the English monarchy.
Tanat Valley
The Tanat Valley (Welsh: Dyffryn Tanat) is a large valley in northern Powys, Wales, formed by the course of the River Tanat and its tributaries. Situated south of the Berwyn range, the valley forms from at Llangynog from the merger of two narrow valleys, the Cwm Pennant and Cwm Rhiwarth.
Various historic sites, including the Iron Age hillfort Llwyn Bryn-Dinas and the medieval St Melangell's Church are located along the valley. Largely agrarian, sheep farming has formed a major industry in the region for several centuries. Large-scale slate and lead mining in the region lasted from the 16th to late 20th century, although earlier mines possibly existed during the Iron Age.
The alluvial valley is primarily composed of Ordovician sedimentary rocks such as mudstone and shale, with smaller amounts of tuff and calcareous rocks. Mineral deposits in the valley include galena, sphalerite, chalcopyrite, barite, and witherite. The soils are podzolic and rich in clay.
Berwyn Mountains
The Berwyn range (Welsh: Y Berwyn or Mynydd y Berwyn) is an isolated and sparsely populated area of moorland in the northeast of Wales, roughly bounded by Llangollen in the northeast, Corwen in the northwest, Bala in the southwest, and Oswestry in the southeast.
The area is wild and largely vegetated by heather about one metre thick, with some acidic grassland and bracken. It is not very popular for hill-walking or scrambling since the peaks are lower than those in nearby Snowdonia. However, the topmost peaks are rugged and have a distinctive character. Nearby towns include Llangollen and Corwen, which are popular tourist destinations.
The main summits are Cadair Berwyn at 832 metres (2,730 ft) above sea level, Moel Sych at 827 metres (2,713 ft) and Cadair Bronwen at 783 metres (2,569 ft) above sea level. The Berwyn range is crossed to the southwest by the B4391 Milltir Cerrig mountain pass at an elevation of 486 metres (1,594 ft).
Cadair Berwyn is the highest point in the Berwyn range, and the highest point in Wales outside the National Parks. Cadair Bronwen and Foel Cedig to the west are the two Marilyns that form the Berwyn range.
The mountain lies on main ridge of the Berwyn range which runs north–south. The eastern side of the ridge is characterised by steep drops and crags including Craig Berwyn north of the summit and Craig y Llyn to the south. Craig y Llyn forms the headwall of a cwm, and it is to this that the word cadair (chair in Welsh) presumably refers. Further north along the ridge is Cadair Bronwen, whilst to south the ridge continues to Moel Sych, meaning "dry hill").
Montgomery Canal
The history of the Montgomery Canal goes back two centuries. The section from Frankton Junction to Carreghofa, just south of Llanymynech, was built by the Ellesmere Canal Company in the mid-1790s. The rest of it was the independent Montgomeryshire Canal which opened from Carreghofa to Garthmyl in 1797, but by then had exhausted its money. The final six miles into Newtown was separately financed under an Act of 1815, and then opened in 1819.
The majority of the freight carried on the canal was local limestone and coal which was burnt in kilns, often by the side of the canal, to produce quicklime primarily as a fertilizer; other significant cargoes included timber, building stone and slates.
With the more depressed state of agriculture in the second half of the 19th century, together with the increasing use of alternative fertilisers, traffic diminished, and by 1870 was barely covering the cost of maintenance. By then part of the Shropshire Union, the canal struggled on until 1936. A breach in the canal near the aqueduct of the River Perry in that year resulted in its closure by Act of parliament in 1944.
One of the last freights carried was grain from Liverpool to a mill at Maesbury Marsh in Shropshire.
The section north of Llanymynech dried out, but much of the rest was an integral part of the local land drainage, so no active steps were taken to fill it in and sell the land.
A plan in the late 1960s to use the line of the canal at Welshpool for a bypass led to well-organised protests and proposals for the canal’s restoration. The inspector at the public inquiry recommended that the canal be retained ‘as an important local amenity’.
Owain Glyndwr's Parliament House, Machynlleth
The Owain Glyndŵr Centre stands on the site of the famous parliament held in 1404 where Owain was crowned Prince of Wales. It is a rare example of a late medieval townhouse in Wales. It is a Grade 1 listed building due to its historical importance. The building was given to Machynlleth by Lord Davies of Llandinam in February 1912.
Recent archaeological investigations show that the Parliament House dates from the late Middle Ages. Little is known about the building over the next few centuries, but by the end of the nineteenth century its condition was deteriorating. The building's savior was local MP David Davies. His grandfather was known as "Davies the Ocean" because he had made his fortune in the South Wales coal and shipping industries. His grandson spent part of this fortune on restoring the Parliament House and building another attractive building next door, which was known as 'The Institute'.
David Davies purchased the building in 1906 and both opened in 1912. The town library was located in the Parliament House, but later moved to a site opposite.
Pistyll Rhaeaedr
Pistyll Rhaeadr is often referred to as one of the Seven Wonders of Wales. The waterfall is formed by the Afon Disgynfa falling in three stages over a 240-foot cliff-face, into the Afon Rhaeadr below. The tallest stage is estimated at about 40 metres.
For visitors, there is a small car park at the foot of the waterfall as well as a small café and it is a great place to explore the Berwyn Mountains (Berwyn comes from the Old Welsh ”bre”(hill) and ”gwyn”(shining white) and surrounding hills, with many walks on all levels to suit a variety of walkers.
Above the waterfall is a lake called Llyn Luncaws. The story goes that in this lake lived a serpent with wings who, once every few days, would fly down the valley to the village and there seize children, women or animals, taking them back to the lake to devour them.
The 19th century author George Borrow, in his book Wild Wales, remarked of the waterfall: "What shall I liken it to? I scarcely know, unless it is to an immense skein of silk agitated and disturbed by tempestuous blasts, or to the long tail of a grey courser at furious speed. I never saw water falling so gracefully, so much like thin, beautiful threads as here."
Treasures of Montgomeryshire
Eight items found in Powys dating from the medieval and post-medieval periods have been declared treasure.
The objects were all discovered by metal detectorists and include three gold and silver coin hoards, finger rings and personal items owned by wealthy members of Welsh society from the 9th to the 17th centuries AD.
Assistant Coroner for South Wales Central, Thomas Atherton, declared the items as treasure during an inquest held on Monday, March 29.
The late medieval silver-gilt finger ring was found in the Tregynon area by Paul Norton, from Staffordshire, on June 27, 2019.
It is decorated with quatrefoils and a lopped motif sometimes known as a ‘Solomon’s knot’.
The gold finger ring from Carreghofa was found by David Balfour on March 23, 2019.
It is a memento mori ring with a flat bezel engraved with a death’s head (a skull), inlaid with traces of white enamel, surrounded by the inscription: + Memento Mori, in small neat italic script.
The inscription, the ring form, style of the engraved skull and neat italic lettering indicate that this ring dates between 1550 and 1650.
The early medieval decorated silver double hooked fastener was found by Stuart Fletcher in the Churchstoke area on April 12, 2019.
The stylisation of the debased zoomorphic motifs show that this is Anglo-Saxon work belonging to the ninth century, and it was probably used to fasten an upper garment, as functional costume jewellery.
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