Today’s Treasures – Powis Castle
Powis Castle, near Welshpool, close to the Welsh border, the seat of the Earl of Powis, was built by the Welsh for Welsh princes – unlike Caernarfon, Conwy and Harlech which were built by the English to suppress the Welsh.
The original castle was built in the 13th century by Welsh Prince Gruffudd ap Gwenwynwyn and transformed into a grand residence in the 1530’s by Edward Gray, Lord of Powis. In 1578 it was leased to Sir Edward Herbert who bought the castle in 1587 and it remained in the Herbert family until 1952, when it was bequeathed to the National Trust, but the family retained the right to live in part of the castle.
The castle’s Clive Museum contains many precious Indian objects brought back from India by Henrietta Herbert who married Edward Clive in 1784. Edward’s father was Robert Clive ‘Clive of India’ and Henrietta and Edward and their daughters lived with him in Madras whilst he was Governor there in 1798.
The northern gate (originally the main entrance) is flanked by two figures – two statues installed in niches between the columns – King Edgar the Peaceful – and King Offa of Mercia – who built Offa’s Dyke along the English/Welsh border ostensibly ‘to divide Wales from Offa’s kingdom of Mercia’.
Every castle has its ghosts and Powis is no exception. In 1780 an elderly lady arrived looking for work spinning hemp and flax. The earl was away in London, but the steward offered her employment – mischievously installing her in a room known to be haunted. However, instead of being terrified, the old lady befriended the man in the gold-laced suit and he led her through the castle to find a hidden chest and key. The old lady presented the treasure to the earl on his return and was rewarded with lodging for the rest of her years. As well as the golden-clad man, you may encounter a woman in a mob-cap, a lady in black sitting by the fire in the Duke’s Room – where people have also experienced being touched by invisible hands – a child dressed in green in the Clive Museum – and sometimes the ballroom resounds with the eerie notes of ghostly piano music.
