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POWIS CASTLE
Powis Castle is a medieval castle near Welshpool, Poweys, Wales that was built about 1200 as a fortress and residence for the Welsh Princes of Powys. It is situated on a rock above terraces of beautiful flowers and overlooks a lake and garden as well as an orangery and aviary. Four years after Edward I's conquest of Wales, (abt 1266) Owain ap Gruffydd was the last hereditary prince of Powis. He renounced his royal claim to the title and was granted the title of Baron de la Pole. A descendant sold the lordship and castle in 1587 to Sir Edward Herbert who was the second osn of the first Earl of Pembroke. Powis Castle was captured by Parliamentary troops on 22 Oct 1644. Charles II returned the castle to the family. William, thrid Lord Powis was created Earl in 1674 and Marquess in 1685 of Powis. He became one of James II's chief ministers until his exile in 1688. The Marquess was reinstated in 1722. Powes was inherited by kinsman, Henry Arthur Herbert of Oakly Park, Ludlow, upon the death of the third Marquess in 1748. George II made him the Earl of Powis. George Herbert, fourth Earl of Powis (1862 – 1952) whose wife improved the garden which she felt had the potential to be `the most beautiful in England and Wales’. She died after a car accident in 1929. The two sons of Lord Powis were killed in the first and second world wars. When Lord Powis died in 1952, he bequeathed the castle and gardens to the National Trust and is now known as "Powis Castle and Garden".
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SOURCES: Powis Castle, National Trust Guide Book, 1987 Castle Wales: Powis Castle Flickr images tagged Powis Castle www.geograph.co.uk : photos of Powis Castle Powis House - the family's former London residence Wikipedia.org
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