Descriptive Gazetteer Entry for WELSHPOOL, or Pool

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.


(John Marius Wilson, Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales (1870-72))

Linked entities:
Feature Description: "a town, a parish, a sub-district, and a hundred"   (ADL Feature Type: "cities")
Administrative units: Welshpool AP/CP       Welshpool SubD       Montgomeryshire AncC
Place names: POOL     |     WELSHPOOL     |     WELSHPOOL OR POOL
Place: Welshpool

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