In 1870-72, John Marius Wilson's Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales described Welshpool like this:
WELSHPOOL, or Pool, a town, a parish, a sub-district, and a hundred, in Montgomeryshire. The town stands on the river Severn, the Montgomery or Ellesmere canal, and the Cambrian railway, near the junction of the Shrewsbury and Welshpool railway, 19¾ miles WSW of Shrewsbury; takes its name from a neighbouring pool or lake; is called by the Welsh Tralliom, from its alder trees; grew to importance under the fostering influence of Powis Castle, situated 1 mile to the S; acquired parliamentary representation in the time of Henry VIII., lost it in 1728, re-acquired it in 1832, and unites with Montgomery and four other boroughs in sending a member to parliament; was first chartered by James I.; is governed, under the new act, by a mayor, 4 aldermen, and 12 councillors; is a seat of assizes, sessions, and county courts, and the headquarters of the county militia; was the meeting-place of an Eisteddfod in 1825; carries on malting, tanning, and flannel manufacture; presents a well built and thriving appearance; and has a head post-office,‡ a r. ...
station, two banking offices, a hotel, a county-hall and market house, with a room 102 feet by 25, a church mainly rebuilt in 1774, a chapel of ease in the Norman style, seven dissenting chapels, a grammar-school, a national school, a school of industry, alms houses, a dispensary, some other charities, a weekly market on Monday, and twelve annual fairs. The parliamentary borough includes most of W. parish and a small part of Guilsfield; and the municipal borough includes also the rest of W. parish, some more of Guilsfield, all Buttington, and parts of Berriew and Castle-Caereinion. Corporation revenue, about £290. Pop. of the p. borough in 1851, 4,434; in 1861, 5,004. Houses, 1,046. Pop. of the m. borough in 1851, 6,564; in 1861, 7,304. Houses, 1,431.—The parish is divided into Upper Pool, Middle Pool, Lower Pool, and Cyfronydd; and comprises 6,801 acres. Real property, £8,224; of which £913 are in railways. Pop. in 1851, 4,391; in 1861, 4,844. Houses, 1,015. Powis Castle is a main feature, but has been separately noticed. An ancient small tower stood close to the town, and probably guarded the passage of the Severn. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of St. Asaph. Value, £300.* Patron, the Bishop of St. A. Bishop Morgan, the translator of the Welsh Bible, was vicar.—The sub-district contains three parishes and two parts, and is in Montgomery district. Acres, 22,048. Pop., 7,220. Houses, 1,465.- The hundred excludes the borough, and contains one parish and three parts. Acres, 25,362. Pop., 2,895. Houses, 649.
Welshpool through time
Welshpool is now part of Powys district. Click here for graphs and data of how Powys has changed over two centuries. For statistics about Welshpool itself, go to Units and Statistics.
GB Historical GIS / University of Portsmouth, History of Welshpool, in Powys and Montgomeryshire | Map and description, A Vision of Britain through Time.
URL: https://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/place/127
Date accessed: 25th April 2024
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