Powis Castle is attributed to the Welsh prince Gruffydd ap Gwenwynwyn, though historians are unsure of the exact date. Llywelyn ap Gruffudd destroyed Gruffydd's earlier castle in 1274, and Edward I allowed him to rebuild in 1282 and 1283. The Herbert family, earls and marquesses of Powis, were the main patrons from the late 16th century. They added an Elizabethan Long Gallery after 1587.
William Winde probably designed the terraced gardens and the 1660s to 1680s works, and Antonio Verrio painted the Great Staircase ceiling. Four of the six rock-cut terraces remain, each about 490 feet (150 m) long. Robert Smirke made repairs after 1804, and George Frederick Bodley remodeled it from 1902 to 1907.
The National Trust has owned it since 1952, and the Herbert family still lives in part of it. The castle is Grade I listed.
Comments