Welsh Journals

THE POWYSLAND CLUB Report by the Excursions Secretary Saturday, 18 May, produced ideal weather for an excursion- sunshine, a light breeze and a temperature reasonable enough to be outside. The motor coach travelled from Newtown to Ruabon, and we had the pleasure of crossing the new bridges across the rivers Ceiriog and Dee and hence to Wynnstay. The excursion was led by the Venerable T.W. Pritchard who as a former Vicar of Ruabon was familiar with the area. Wynnstay was the former home of the Williams Wynn family and is now an independent school, Lindisfarne College. The Archdeacon gave a general talk on the history of the house with its many architectural additions from the early-seventeenth century onwards and then conducted members of the Club around the grounds laid out by 'Capability' Brown. The picnic lunch was taken in the school refectory. After lunch we were able to see the family memorials in the parish church of St Mary's; attentions were also drawn to its connections with the Lloyds of Plas Madoc and Clochfaen. An eventful day concluded with a visit to Llandysilio Church, near the 'Horseshoe Falls', a church on the borders of the medieval kingdom of Powys, much restored and in the nineteenth century associated with Robert Browning. Tea was taken in Llangollen before we turned south for home. On one of the rare sunny days of the mid-summer, on Saturday 29 June, a small party of members, travelling in their own transport, enjoyed an interesting day in the Llanfyllin area. The second excursion of the season, organised by Miss Eva Bredsdorff, began at Bwlchycibau church, where Dr Melvin Humphreys explained the association of the family of Mackeson-Sandbach of Bryngwyn with this very fine George Gilbert Scott church. Having heard the family history, the party progressed to Bryngwyn, where The Lady Ropner conducted members on a fascinating and informative tour of the recently restored house. Many members expressed their appreciation of the kindness of The Lady Ropner and her mother Mrs Mackeson-Sandbach in opening their house so completely and generously to the party. Following a picnic lunch on the lawn at Bryngwyn, members progressed to Llanfyllin. Dr Humphreys and Mr Richard Kretchmer gave members an account of the more interesting features of the eighteenth-century brick church of this town and of the unfortunate attempts by later rectors to refashion the church to nineteenth- century tastes. The more adventurous members rounded off the day with a clamber to the top of the sixty-foot tower where a fine prospect of the old market town was enjoyed. About fifty members attended the excursion to Powis Castle and Trefnant on 7 September. Lord Powis conducted the party around the private and public quarters describing some of the contents and sharing some of his memories when he used to visit it with his father, the Rt. Rev. The Bishop of Norwich, when it was the home of the fourth and fifth Earls. Dr Chris Arnold described the various stages in the development of the castle and outlined the difficulty in determining the date of each stage. After lunch at the castle, the party moved to Trefnant Hall, Castle Caereinion, by kind consent of Mr and Mrs David Jones. Murray Chapman described the building of the mansion house by Thomas Lloyd and the various improvements made to the estate which ultimately bankrupted Lloyd. The house, of which only half now survives, contains a magnificent oak staircase, with the treads inlaid with bog oak and holly. A fine chimney piece exists in one room, thought to have come from the original Tudor mansion house replaced by Thomas Lloyd about 1750. Before departing Trefnant Hall, Lord Powis presented to Mr and Mrs David Jones, on behalf of the Club, a framed copy of a map showing the extent of the Trefnant Estate in 1760. Douglas Smith later conducted members to three nearby sites: the