Montgomery, Powys
Encyclopedia
The historic county town
of Montgomery in Powys
, Wales
lies just three miles from the English border in the Welsh Marches
. It is best known for its castle
, Montgomery Castle
, begun in 1223, and its parish church
, begun in 1227. However its origins go back much further, as seen by the Celtic Iron age
hill fort
on the edge of the town. Other attractions include The Old Bell Museum, the Offa's Dyke Path
, the Robber's Grave and the town wall, as well as several impressive buildings.
Even though the town has long since lost its trappings of power as a county town, there is still a bustling small commercial centre and continues to attract increasing numbers of tourists.
stone castle on a crag. The castle
had been built in the early 13th century to control an important ford
over the nearby River Severn
and replaced an earlier motte and bailey fortification at Hendomen, two miles away. An important supporter of King William I
(the Conqueror), Roger de Montgomery, originally from Montgomery
in the Pays d'Auge
in Normandy, was given this part of the Welsh Marches
by William and his name was given to the town surrounding the castle.
Montgomery was sack
ed at the beginning of the 15th century by the Welsh Prince Owain Glyndŵr
(Owen Glendower). At this time, the castle and surrounding estates were held by the Mortimer
family (the hereditary Earls of March) but they came into royal hands when the last Earl of March died in 1425. In 1485, King Richard III was defeated at the Battle of Bosworth and the Royal Estates
, including Montgomery and its castle, passed into the hands of the new King, Henry VII
, the first Tudor
king, and a Welshman. The castle was then given to another powerful Welsh family, the Herberts
, in 1541.
During the Civil War
, the castle was captured by Parliamentary forces and subsequently slighted
(damaged) to remove its military threat.
As a county town, Montgomery prospered, and the consequent buildings give the small town its current character.
In 1923 the Montgomeryshire County War Memorial
was completed to commemorate fallen soldiers from Montgomeryshire County. The Memorial resides 0.75 miles to the Southwest of Montgomery, on a hill overlooking the countryside.
Religious poet and orator George Herbert
was born in Montgomery in 1593.
was founded in the first half of the 13th century, though the church has continued to change throughout the ages. Perhaps the most remarkable feature of the church is the ornate rood screen
, misericord
s and stalls which were transferred to the church from Chirbury
Priory in Shropshire after the Dissolution of the Monasteries
in the 16th century. The south transept
shows evidence of Montgomery's close association with the Herbert
family. The centrepiece is the Elizabethan era
tomb or church monument
to Richard Herbert of Montgomery Castle
, father of poet
and Anglican divine George Herbert
. This association is recalled in a memorial poem to a well-known local man JDK Lloyd, who wrote the following poem after the style of George Herbert:-
Richard Herbert, 2nd Baron Herbert of Chirbury
, the last Herbert to have lived at Montgomery Castle
, was buried in the church in 1655.
, the Hereford Diocesan Board of Education as well as many smaller gifts. The school remains an important feature of community life. It remains a church school (now the diocese of St. Asaph) under the control of Powys County Council
.http://www.montgomery.powys.sch.uk/
was sentenced to death by hanging
at Montgomery for highway robbery
. Throughout his trial, and after the sentence, Davies declared his innocence and prayed that God would not allow the grass to grow on his grave for a hundred years as a sign of his innocence. His grave remained bare for at least a century, giving birth to the legend of the Robber's grave. The grave (now grassed) can still be seen in the churchyard
.
County town
A county town is a county's administrative centre in the United Kingdom or Ireland. County towns are usually the location of administrative or judicial functions, or established over time as the de facto main town of a county. The concept of a county town eventually became detached from its...
of Montgomery in Powys
Powys
Powys is a local-government county and preserved county in Wales.-Geography:Powys covers the historic counties of Montgomeryshire and Radnorshire, most of Brecknockshire , and a small part of Denbighshire — an area of 5,179 km², making it the largest county in Wales by land area.It is...
, Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
lies just three miles from the English border in the Welsh Marches
Welsh Marches
The Welsh Marches is a term which, in modern usage, denotes an imprecisely defined area along and around the border between England and Wales in the United Kingdom. The precise meaning of the term has varied at different periods...
. It is best known for its castle
Castle
A castle is a type of fortified structure built in Europe and the Middle East during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars debate the scope of the word castle, but usually consider it to be the private fortified residence of a lord or noble...
, Montgomery Castle
Montgomery Castle
Montgomery Castle is a stone masonry castle looking over the town of Montgomery in Powys, mid Wales. It is one of many Norman castles on the border between Wales and England.- Motte & Bailey Castle :...
, begun in 1223, and its parish church
Parish church
A parish church , in Christianity, is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish, the basic administrative unit of episcopal churches....
, begun in 1227. However its origins go back much further, as seen by the Celtic Iron age
Iron Age
The Iron Age is the archaeological period generally occurring after the Bronze Age, marked by the prevalent use of iron. The early period of the age is characterized by the widespread use of iron or steel. The adoption of such material coincided with other changes in society, including differing...
hill fort
Hill fort
A hill fort is a type of earthworks used as a fortified refuge or defended settlement, located to exploit a rise in elevation for defensive advantage. They are typically European and of the Bronze and Iron Ages. Some were used in the post-Roman period...
on the edge of the town. Other attractions include The Old Bell Museum, the Offa's Dyke Path
Offa's Dyke Path
Offa's Dyke Path is a long distance footpath along the Welsh-English border. Opened in 1971, it is one of Britain's premier National Trails and draws walkers from throughout the world...
, the Robber's Grave and the town wall, as well as several impressive buildings.
Even though the town has long since lost its trappings of power as a county town, there is still a bustling small commercial centre and continues to attract increasing numbers of tourists.
History
The town was established around a NormanNorman dynasty
Norman dynasty is the usual designation for the family that were the Dukes of Normandy and the English monarchs which immediately followed the Norman conquest and lasted until the Plantagenet dynasty came to power in 1154. It included Rollo and his descendants, and from William the Conqueror and...
stone castle on a crag. The castle
Montgomery Castle
Montgomery Castle is a stone masonry castle looking over the town of Montgomery in Powys, mid Wales. It is one of many Norman castles on the border between Wales and England.- Motte & Bailey Castle :...
had been built in the early 13th century to control an important ford
Ford (crossing)
A ford is a shallow place with good footing where a river or stream may be crossed by wading or in a vehicle. A ford is mostly a natural phenomenon, in contrast to a low water crossing, which is an artificial bridge that allows crossing a river or stream when water is low.The names of many towns...
over the nearby River Severn
River Severn
The River Severn is the longest river in Great Britain, at about , but the second longest on the British Isles, behind the River Shannon. It rises at an altitude of on Plynlimon, Ceredigion near Llanidloes, Powys, in the Cambrian Mountains of mid Wales...
and replaced an earlier motte and bailey fortification at Hendomen, two miles away. An important supporter of King William I
William I of England
William I , also known as William the Conqueror , was the first Norman King of England from Christmas 1066 until his death. He was also Duke of Normandy from 3 July 1035 until his death, under the name William II...
(the Conqueror), Roger de Montgomery, originally from Montgomery
Sainte-Foy-de-Montgommery
Sainte-Foy-de-Montgommery is a commune in the Calvados department in the Basse-Normandie region in northwestern France.-Population:-References:*...
in the Pays d'Auge
Pays d'Auge
The Pays d'Auge is an area in Normandy, straddling the départements of Calvados and Orne . The chief town is Lisieux.-Geography:Generally it consists of the basin of the Touques River....
in Normandy, was given this part of the Welsh Marches
Welsh Marches
The Welsh Marches is a term which, in modern usage, denotes an imprecisely defined area along and around the border between England and Wales in the United Kingdom. The precise meaning of the term has varied at different periods...
by William and his name was given to the town surrounding the castle.
Montgomery was sack
Looting
Looting —also referred to as sacking, plundering, despoiling, despoliation, and pillaging—is the indiscriminate taking of goods by force as part of a military or political victory, or during a catastrophe, such as during war, natural disaster, or rioting...
ed at the beginning of the 15th century by the Welsh Prince Owain Glyndŵr
Owain Glyndwr
Owain Glyndŵr , or Owain Glyn Dŵr, anglicised by William Shakespeare as Owen Glendower , was a Welsh ruler and the last native Welshman to hold the title Prince of Wales...
(Owen Glendower). At this time, the castle and surrounding estates were held by the Mortimer
Mortimer
Mortimer is a popular English name, used both as a surname and a given name.- Norman origins :The origin of the name is almost certainly Norman, but the details are disputed....
family (the hereditary Earls of March) but they came into royal hands when the last Earl of March died in 1425. In 1485, King Richard III was defeated at the Battle of Bosworth and the Royal Estates
Crown Estate
In the United Kingdom, the Crown Estate is a property portfolio owned by the Crown. Although still belonging to the monarch and inherent with the accession of the throne, it is no longer the private property of the reigning monarch and cannot be sold by him/her, nor do the revenues from it belong...
, including Montgomery and its castle, passed into the hands of the new King, Henry VII
Henry VII of England
Henry VII was King of England and Lord of Ireland from his seizing the crown on 22 August 1485 until his death on 21 April 1509, as the first monarch of the House of Tudor....
, the first Tudor
Tudor dynasty
The Tudor dynasty or House of Tudor was a European royal house of Welsh origin that ruled the Kingdom of England and its realms, including the Lordship of Ireland, later the Kingdom of Ireland, from 1485 until 1603. Its first monarch was Henry Tudor, a descendant through his mother of a legitimised...
king, and a Welshman. The castle was then given to another powerful Welsh family, the Herberts
Baron Herbert
Baron Herbert is a title in the Peerage of England. It was created by writ in 1461 for William Herbert, who was later made Earl of Pembroke. The second Earl of Pembroke surrendered his earldom in return for another earldom, Huntingdon. The barony, however, passed to his daughter Elizabeth, who...
, in 1541.
During the Civil War
English Civil War
The English Civil War was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists...
, the castle was captured by Parliamentary forces and subsequently slighted
Slighting
A slighting is the deliberate destruction, partial or complete, of a fortification without opposition. During the English Civil War this was to render it unusable as a fort.-Middle Ages:...
(damaged) to remove its military threat.
As a county town, Montgomery prospered, and the consequent buildings give the small town its current character.
In 1923 the Montgomeryshire County War Memorial
Montgomeryshire County War Memorial
The Montgomeryshire County War Memorial stands tribute to commemorate those from Montgomeryshire who have been killed in all past wars. It was originally constructed to honour those having died in the First World War, but has since been rededicated....
was completed to commemorate fallen soldiers from Montgomeryshire County. The Memorial resides 0.75 miles to the Southwest of Montgomery, on a hill overlooking the countryside.
Religious poet and orator George Herbert
George Herbert
George Herbert was a Welsh born English poet, orator and Anglican priest.Being born into an artistic and wealthy family, he received a good education that led to his holding prominent positions at Cambridge University and Parliament. As a student at Trinity College, Cambridge, Herbert excelled in...
was born in Montgomery in 1593.
St Nicholas Parish Church, Montgomery
The parish churchParish church
A parish church , in Christianity, is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish, the basic administrative unit of episcopal churches....
was founded in the first half of the 13th century, though the church has continued to change throughout the ages. Perhaps the most remarkable feature of the church is the ornate rood screen
Rood screen
The rood screen is a common feature in late medieval church architecture. It is typically an ornate partition between the chancel and nave, of more or less open tracery constructed of wood, stone, or wrought iron...
, misericord
Misericord
A misericord is a small wooden shelf on the underside of a folding seat in a church, installed to provide a degree of comfort for a person who has to stand during long periods of prayer.-Origins:...
s and stalls which were transferred to the church from Chirbury
Chirbury
Chirbury is a village in Shropshire, England, situated close to the Wales-England border. It is about 3 miles east of Montgomery and 7 miles south of Welshpool, at the junction of the A490 and B4386 roads...
Priory in Shropshire after the Dissolution of the Monasteries
Dissolution of the Monasteries
The Dissolution of the Monasteries, sometimes referred to as the Suppression of the Monasteries, was the set of administrative and legal processes between 1536 and 1541 by which Henry VIII disbanded monasteries, priories, convents and friaries in England, Wales and Ireland; appropriated their...
in the 16th century. The south transept
Transept
For the periodical go to The Transept.A transept is a transverse section, of any building, which lies across the main body of the building. In Christian churches, a transept is an area set crosswise to the nave in a cruciform building in Romanesque and Gothic Christian church architecture...
shows evidence of Montgomery's close association with the Herbert
Baron Herbert
Baron Herbert is a title in the Peerage of England. It was created by writ in 1461 for William Herbert, who was later made Earl of Pembroke. The second Earl of Pembroke surrendered his earldom in return for another earldom, Huntingdon. The barony, however, passed to his daughter Elizabeth, who...
family. The centrepiece is the Elizabethan era
Elizabethan era
The Elizabethan era was the epoch in English history of Queen Elizabeth I's reign . Historians often depict it as the golden age in English history...
tomb or church monument
Church monument
A church monument is an architectural or sculptural memorial to a dead person or persons, located within a Christian church. It can take various forms, from a simple wall tablet to a large and elaborate structure which may include an effigy of the deceased person and other figures of familial or...
to Richard Herbert of Montgomery Castle
Montgomery Castle
Montgomery Castle is a stone masonry castle looking over the town of Montgomery in Powys, mid Wales. It is one of many Norman castles on the border between Wales and England.- Motte & Bailey Castle :...
, father of poet
Poet
A poet is a person who writes poetry. A poet's work can be literal, meaning that his work is derived from a specific event, or metaphorical, meaning that his work can take on many meanings and forms. Poets have existed since antiquity, in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary...
and Anglican divine George Herbert
George Herbert
George Herbert was a Welsh born English poet, orator and Anglican priest.Being born into an artistic and wealthy family, he received a good education that led to his holding prominent positions at Cambridge University and Parliament. As a student at Trinity College, Cambridge, Herbert excelled in...
. This association is recalled in a memorial poem to a well-known local man JDK Lloyd, who wrote the following poem after the style of George Herbert:-
This O,
enclosed around,
smoothe, with no entrance found,
yet soone with newest life to overflow
So has thy tombe, by Pilate sealed,
to us that third day Life revealed,
O grant that I, some morning bright,
my earthly Shell, then broke,
may wear, in White,
Thy Yoke.
Richard Herbert, 2nd Baron Herbert of Chirbury
Richard Herbert, 2nd Baron Herbert of Chirbury
Richard Herbert, 2nd Baron Herbert of Chirbury was an Anglo-Welsh Member of Parliament, a Royalist who fought with the rank of Colonel in the English Civil War, and a peer whose membership of the House of Lords was curtailed by its abolition in 1649.-Life:Herbert, born about 1604, was the elder...
, the last Herbert to have lived at Montgomery Castle
Montgomery Castle
Montgomery Castle is a stone masonry castle looking over the town of Montgomery in Powys, mid Wales. It is one of many Norman castles on the border between Wales and England.- Motte & Bailey Castle :...
, was buried in the church in 1655.
Montgomery Primary School
The current school was established in 1865 with land donated by Lord Powis and monies from the then RectorRector
The word rector has a number of different meanings; it is widely used to refer to an academic, religious or political administrator...
, the Hereford Diocesan Board of Education as well as many smaller gifts. The school remains an important feature of community life. It remains a church school (now the diocese of St. Asaph) under the control of Powys County Council
Powys County Council
Powys County Council is the governing body for Powys, one of the administrative areas of Wales. It has three area committees — one for each of Brecknockshire, Radnorshire and Montgomeryshire to which the council delegates its functions. The council offices are located in Llandrindod...
.http://www.montgomery.powys.sch.uk/
Robber's grave
In 1821 John Davies of WrexhamWrexham
Wrexham is a town in Wales. It is the administrative centre of the wider Wrexham County Borough, and the largest town in North Wales, located in the east of the region. It is situated between the Welsh mountains and the lower Dee Valley close to the border with Cheshire, England...
was sentenced to death by hanging
Hanging
Hanging is the lethal suspension of a person by a ligature. The Oxford English Dictionary states that hanging in this sense is "specifically to put to death by suspension by the neck", though it formerly also referred to crucifixion and death by impalement in which the body would remain...
at Montgomery for highway robbery
Highwayman
A highwayman was a thief and brigand who preyed on travellers. This type of outlaw, usually, travelled and robbed by horse, as compared to a footpad who traveled and robbed on foot. Mounted robbers were widely considered to be socially superior to footpads...
. Throughout his trial, and after the sentence, Davies declared his innocence and prayed that God would not allow the grass to grow on his grave for a hundred years as a sign of his innocence. His grave remained bare for at least a century, giving birth to the legend of the Robber's grave. The grave (now grassed) can still be seen in the churchyard
Churchyard
A churchyard is a patch of land adjoining or surrounding a church which is usually owned by the relevant church or local parish itself. In the Scots language or Northern English language this can also be known as a kirkyard or kirkyaird....
.
External links
- Montgomery-Wales
- Montgomery-Powys
- 'The Robber's Grave' story
- Montgomery Church in Wales primary school website
- Ann & John Welton 'The Story of Montgomery' Logaston Press 2003
- BBC Wales on Montgomery
- Ivyhouse Tearooms
- The Dragon Hotel and Restaurant with Swimming Pool
- www.geograph.co.uk : photos of Montgomery and surrounding area