Welshpool
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|---|---|
| Town | |
 Broad Street looking towardsWelshpool Town Hall | |
  Welshpool Location withinPowys | |
| Area | 24.23 sq mi (62.8 km2) |
| Population | 6,764 (Estimate)[1] |
| • Density | 279/sq mi (108/km2) |
| Annual Population Change | 0.16%[2] |
| OS grid reference | SJ225075 |
| • Cardiff | 81 mi (130 km) South |
| Principal area | |
| Preserved county | |
| Country | Wales |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | WELSHPOOL |
| Postcode district | SY21 |
| Dialling code | 01938 |
| Police | Dyfed-Powys |
| Fire | Mid and West Wales |
| Ambulance | Welsh |
| UK Parliament | |
| Senedd Cymru – Welsh Parliament | |
52°39′35″N3°08′50″W / 52.65966°N 3.14725°W /52.65966; -3.14725 Community map
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Welshpool (Welsh:Y Trallwngⓘ) is a market town andcommunity inPowys,Wales, historically in thecounty ofMontgomeryshire. The town is four miles (six kilometres) from theWales–England border and low-lying on theRiver Severn. The community, which also includes Cloddiau andPool Quay, has a population of 6,664 (as of the2011 United Kingdom census), with the town having 5,948. There are many examples ofGeorgian architecture within the town.Powis Castle is located to the north.
Y Trallwng is theWelsh language name of the town. It means "the marshy or sinking land". InEnglish it was initially known asPool but its name was changed to Welshpool in 1835 to distinguish it from the English town ofPoole in Dorset.[3]
St Cynfelin is reputed to be the founder of two churches in the town, St Mary's and St Cynfelin's, during theAge of the Saints in the 5th and 6th centuries.[4][5]
The parish of Welshpool roughly coincides with the medievalcommote ofYstrad Marchell in thecantref ofYstlyg in theKingdom of Powys.
TheLong Mountain, which plays as a backdrop to most of Welshpool, once served as the ultimate grounds for defence for fortresses in the times when the town was just a swampy marsh.
Welshpool served briefly as the capital ofPowys Wenwynwyn or South Powys after its prince was forced to flee the traditional Welsh royal site atMathrafal in 1212, by the prince ofGwynedd; assistance from the English crown (enemies of the Gwynedd prince) restored the Wenwynwyn dynasty to their lands. Further disputes with Gwynedd again brought in the English; in 1284, the family strengthened their hold on Powys Wenwynwyn by converting it into amarcher lordship (viasurrender and re-grant) - the Lordship of Powys. Owain, the heir to the former principality, called himselfOwen de la Pole, after the town.
The town was devastated by the forces ofOwain Glyndŵr (heir toPowys Fadog - North Powys) in 1400 at the start of his rebellion against the English kingHenry IV. Today, the waymarked, 135-milelong-distance footpath andNational Trail,Glyndŵr's Way, ends in Pont Howell Park, alongside theMontgomery Canal.
In 1411 thepriest at the church St Mary's wasAdam of Usk.
Thepopulation of Welshpool has risen since 2001.
| Date | Population |
|---|---|
| 2001 | 5,539 |
| 2011 | 5,948 |
| 2021 | 5,940 |
St Mary's Church is a Grade Ilisted building. The original church dated from about 1250, there are remains of this church in the lower courses of the church tower. The nave was rebuilt in the 16th century, and the whole building was substantially restored in 1871. The 15th century chancel ceiling may have come fromStrata Marcella Abbey, about five miles (eight kilometres) away, and a stone in the churchyard is said to have been part of the abbot's throne. A memorial in the church commemoratesBishop William Morgan, translator of the Bible into Welsh, who was the vicar from 1575 to 1579.[6]
The Mermaid Inn, 28 High Street, was very probably an early 16th-century merchant's house, placed on aburgage plot between the High Street and Alfred Jones Court. The timber-framed building has long storehouse or wing to the rear. The frontage was remodelledc. 1890, byFrank H. Shayler, architect, of Shrewsbury. Early illustrations of the building show that prior to this it had a thatched roof and that the timbering was not exposed. There is a passage to side with heavy box-framing in square panels, with brick infill exposed in side elevation and in rear wing. The frontage was exposed by Shayler to show decorative timber work on the upper storey. An Inn by the 19th century when it was owned by a family named Sparrow.[7]
There is an octagonal brick cockpit in New Street, which was built in the early 18th century and was in continual use forcockfighting until the practice was outlawed by theCruelty to Animals Act 1849.[8] As of 2015[update], it is the home of the town'sWomen's Institute.Welshpool Town Hall, which was completed in 1874, is a Grade II listed building.[9]
Neuadd Maldwyn on Severn Street was built in 1931 as the headquarters of Montgomeryshire County Council.[10] It passed to Montgomeryshire District Council in 1974 and then Powys County Council in 1996, eventually closing as council offices in 2019.[11] It was subsequently converted into an independent living scheme for older people, which opened in 2025.[12]
There are two tiers of local government covering Welshpool, atcommunity (town) andcounty level: Welshpool Town Council andPowys County Council. The town council meets at theTown Hall on Broad Street, built in 1874, and has its offices at the Tourist Information Centre on Vicarage Gardens.[13][14][15]
The Town Council has 15 elected members serving five-year terms, and employs a staff of about 13. The chair of the council takes the title of mayor.[16]
The community is represented onPowys County Council by three county councillors, each representing a ward:Welshpool Llanerchyddol,Welshpool Gungrog andWelshpool Castle.[17]
Welshpool railway station is on theCambrian Line and is served byTransport for Wales. The town is also the starting point of theWelshpool and Llanfair Light Railway, a narrow-gaugeheritage railway popular with tourists, with its terminus station atRaven Square. The light railway once ran through the town to the Cambrian Line railway station, but today Raven Square, located on the western edge of the town, is the eastern terminus of the line.
A small network of bus services link surrounding towns and villages, mainly operated byTanat Valley Coaches. Notable is service No X75, servingShrewsbury to the east andNewtown andLlanidloes to the south west, also service No D71 toOswestry via Guilsfield andLlanymynech. In addition there is a local town service operated by Owen's Coaches. The semi-disusedMontgomery Canal also runs through Welshpool. To the south of the town isWelshpool Airport which is also known as the Mid Wales Airport. Three major trunk roads pass through Welshpool: theA458,A483 and theA490.
The local economy is primarily based upon agriculture and local industry. The Smithfield Livestock Market is the largest one-day sheep market in Europe. Market days are on Mondays.
The town's industrial estates are home to numerous different types of small industry, ranging from metal to food production. Due to the town's small size and population the attraction of high street stores and stores that cut keys is limited, meaning that many of the residents prefer to shop in neighbouring towns likeShrewsbury. However Welshpool remains an important hub serving its agricultural hinterland. The town is home to the headquarters of theMontgomeryshire Wildlife Trust and theClwyd-Powys Archaeological Trust.
The town is the home of two primary schools, Ysgol Gymraeg Y Trallwng and Welshpool Church in Wales Primary School.Welshpool High School is asecondary school which teaches a range of pupils from ages 11–18 and has a good[18] standard of education throughout Key Stage 3 and 4 andGCSE studies.
Welshpool has afootball club (Welshpool Town F.C.) and arugby union club (Welshpool Rugby Football Club). The football club was jointly managed for a period in the late 2010s by Chris Roberts and Neil Pryce but with little success. The town also hashockey andcricket clubs. The Montgomeryshire Marauders Rugby League Club are also nominally based in Welshpool, as this is where the majority of their home fixtures take place.
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