Presteigne Judges Lodging

Presteigne Judges Lodging

Presteigne Judges Lodging

Presteigne is a beautifully-preserved market town in Powys on the Wales-England border and, with its motto of Gateway to Wales," is a popular starting point for the holiday in Wales visitor.

It was the County town of historic Radnorshire and is situated in the Diocese of Hereford. The fact that it lies on a B-road has been an asset to Presteigne as it has meant it is away from the hustle bustle of main road traffic and retains its unique small town charm. In fact it has been dubbed by Country Life editor Clive Aslet as one of Britain's Top 10 small towns, an accolade with which many visitors on Wales holiday will no doubt agree.

With the river Lugg flowing through, Presteigne probably began life as a small settlement around a Minster church dedicated to St Andrew and by the middle of the 12th century was known as Presthemede or the border meadow of the priests.'

A century later it passed into the hands of the powerful Border Marcher Lords, the Mortimers. It has had a troubled past, as tourists on holiday in Wales will discover when they pick up the tourist information. The wealth of its mainly English population was hit by the Black Death and by the Glyndwr rebellion because its strategic position on the border meant it was much fought over and changed hands more than once. By the 15th century its population was chiefly Welsh.

In the Tudor period it had a thriving cloth industry which brought short-lived prosperity, but this was hit by three new epidemics of plague affecting three generations of citizens. It later became a market town and a centre for the processing of locally grown barley into malt.

Three notable buildings stand out for the holiday in Wales visitor: The

Parish Church, parts of which are Anglo-Saxon, the Jacobean Radnorshire Arms hotel and the Judge's Lodging which is decorated in mid-Victorian style.

The Judge's Lodging is an award-winning tourist attraction sited in the town's Shire Hall described by Lord Chief Justice Campbell in 1855 as "the most commodious and elegant courtroom in all England and Wales." The visitor on holiday in Wales will find in the courtroom a fascinating trial re-enactment of a case involving William Morgan, a local duck thief, and another case involving a celebrated murder in Victorian times. The visitor can also look round the judge's apartments and the gaslit servants' quarters below stairs.

Visit Bluestone for more information on holiday in Pembrokeshire

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