Town Council stuck with white elephant until 2036

Welshpool Town Council hopes to change the negative news that they are stuck with the town's ailing Motte and Bailey site until 2036, by coming up with a fresh plan for the historical site.

The authority’s Operations Manager, Paul McGrath, reported back to the Services and Properties Committee last week that the site owners, Powis Estates, confirmed that under a long-held lease, the Town Council is responsible for maintaining it for the next 12 years.

As previously reported, the site’s buildings are in a sorry state, with weather and vandalism taking their toll, and the local authority was keen to either hand it back, or offload to a third party.

The council staff have continued to cut the grass and carry out basic maintenance, but Mr McGrath said that a tree survey was required as well as a plan of what to do with the site long term.

But there was good news, with historical buildings organisation CADW said to be showing a keen interest in developing the site with the Town Council and restoring it to its former glories. Mr McGrath said that Powis Estates was also open to ideas.

“It has the potential of being a nice place,” said Cllr Richard Church.

Cllr Billy Spencer said the site “needs to be looked at as a fresh project” with Cllr David France adding that funding should be sought through grants.

It was agreed to set up a new steering committee for the Motte and Bailey which will report back with ideas at a future meeting.

What is the Motte and Bailey?

Located opposite Tesco and also known as Domen Castell, it was Welshpool’s first castle and can be traced back 900 years, and is one of the first castles built in Wales.

It may have been constructed as early as AD 1111. The Brut y Tywysogion, the ‘Book of the Welsh Princes’, recorded that in that year Cadwgan ap Bleddyn came to Welshpool with the intention of building a castle there.

Cadwgan himself is first recorded in AD 1088 and had consolidated his power in the area by 1093. He was ambushed and killed in AD 1111 by Madog, son of his brother Rhirid.

However, it is not clear whether a castle was built here at that time and the earliest documentary reference to a castle at Welshpool dates from AD 1196/7 when the forces of ‘Hugo’ (Hubert Walter), archbishop of Canterbury and the English king’s justiciar, together with many nobles and Welsh princes attacked and captured the castle of Gwenwynwyn, prince of Powys. Within a year Gwenwynwyn had retaken the castle.