Powis Castle
Powis Castle (Welsh: Castell Powis ) is located on a hill west of the River Severn near the town of Welshpool in the Welsh county of Powys . This medieval castle has been owned by the National Trust since 1952 . It is one of the best preserved in Wales and is known for its baroque gardens.
history
The early history of the building is in the dark, but what is certain is that the castle changed hands several times up to the middle of the 13th century during the border disputes between the Welsh and the English. It once belonged to a dynasty of Welsh princes. Their last representative, Owain ap Gruffydd ap Gwenwynwyn , renounced the title in 1286 and called himself from then on Baron de la Pole . The family had sworn allegiance to King Edward I of England . The protection she enjoyed as a result made it possible to inhabit the castle without major interruptions.
In 1587 the castle was bought by Sir Eduard Herbert ; he was the father of the poet George Herbert and the philosopher Edward Herbert . Under him, the fortress began to turn into a residential palace with a long Elizabethan gallery. Although the castle fell into the hands of a squad of Puritans during the English Civil War in 1644 , it was not razed on Cromwell's orders because Herbert had sided with the parliamentary troops . When the family property had been returned to the Herberts after the restoration of the Stuarts in 1667, William Herbert, 3rd Baron Powis , began to extend the state apartments. A French-style park was also laid out on the southern slope.
In 1784, the daughter of the last Baron Powis married Edward Clive , Governor of Madras and son of Robert Clive, 1st Baron Clive . He took the name Herbert with the permission of the Crown and was made Earl of Powis in 1804 .
Structure and interior
The castle stands on a steep rock ledge; the oldest part is probably the rectangular keep at the northern end. The constant use results in the predominantly homely furnishings of the rooms. Many of the rooms, including the large dining room and living room, are paneled; so is the long gallery from the 1590s. The state rooms were decorated with Stuarts monograms by the staunch royalist Herbert. The blue living room was added later, and the large wooden staircase dates from the 17th century.
Rooms added in the 18th century include servant accommodation and a ballroom. The hall now serves as the Clive Museum . It features an exhibition of artifacts collected by Robert Clive during his campaigns in India; these include Indian swords, jewels and paintings as well as a reconstruction of the interior of a sultan's tent.
Gardens
The showpieces of the castle are the terraces laid out in the Italian style on the southeast side around 1660, enlivened by stone balustrades, stately vases and lead statues. On the top terrace is a long row of yew trees, while further down is an orangery. At the far eastern end, a yew hedge separates the adjacent kitchen garden. A baroque garden was laid out at the foot of the terrace in the 17th century; today the Great Lawn spreads out there. Beyond this lawn there is a miniature forest garden in an area once designed as a “wilderness”.
literature
- HE Conrad: Wales. Prestel Verlag, Munich 1982, ISBN 3-7913-0594-8 , p. 142.
- Patrick Taylor: English Gardens. Dorling Kindersley Limited, London 2003, ISBN 3-8310-0781-0 , p. 226.
Web links
- Powis Castle in the database of the National Trust (English)
Coordinates: 52 ° 39 ′ 5 ″ N , 3 ° 9 ′ 29 ″ W.