Trade in Welshpool
The Borough of Welshpool was founded by Gruffudd ap Gwenwynwyn between 1241 and 1245 and was originally known as Burgus de Pola. It became known as Welch Pool or Welshpool during the 16th century with the latter spelling established by the late 19th century.
The town was granted a weekly market at its foundation and by 1292 there were 106 taxpayers. It was laid out as a typical medieval market town with the main road being High Street, today divided into Broad Street and High Street. Most of the present day buildings date from the late 18th and the 19th centuries, when the town flourished both as a manufacturing and as a trading centre.
Work on the Montgomery Canal begun in 1794, but the full length - from the canal system in North Wales to Newtown was not completed until 1821. However, the stretch to Welshpool was opened in 1796 making trade with the outside world much easier and cheaper. Communications were further improved when the railway came to Welshpool in 1860.
The canal warehouse in the 1930s
Welshpool has been a town of trade and commerce since the Middle Ages. During the 19th century it became an important centre for the export of woollen products especially from the towns of Llanidloes and Newtown.
Welshpool has been a town of trade and commerce since the Middle Ages. During the 19th century it became an important centre for the export of woollen products especially from the towns of Llanidloes and Newtown.
Shops and businesses have always lined the streets of Welshpool. The book, 'Welshpool, Y trallwng, in old photograghs' by the Curator, Eva Bredsdorff, illustrates some of the changes which have overtaken the Medieval town.
ISBN 0-7509-0363-5 Alan Sutton Publishing, Phoenix Mill, Sroud, Gloucestershire
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