Montgomery and its castle

WELSH BLACK SHEEP. in a field near the castle footpath.

the 1227 was its population  it’s now  1,256 (2001 census

Montgomery castle as seen from Chirbury

the route for those who have transport is behind the town hall building. for us on foot the route is straight up a steep hill,unless one knows to take the path, but that's only if one does not miss the wicket gate as its 50 yards off the road in the trees, the next wicket gate is by the road but I am not sure if it leads up to the castle. A few years ago this beautiful building was going to be demolished because the local council could not afford to spend a few bucks on its upkeep.so now it belongs to the people of Montgomery who look after it, now for me to just re tarmacadam my drive it would cost in the region of £10.000.00 without any demolition. so how much was the council bill going to be for repairs to the building. this building should also be in the care of cadw, they are soon up in arms if we touch our own old houses without letting them know of any repair work being done.

the old gaol house once past this point the last house on the almost vertical hill to the castle there is a wicket gate, I took the next photo as its such a long time since I saw a wicket gate made from iron today they are made of wood and are v shape not semi circular.

he wicket gate on the path from the Castle this path comes out almost opposite bunners hardware shop,

bunners hardware over the years I bought many an aga cooker and wood stove for central heating from here, Arthur Street Montgomery PowysSY15 6RA 322229,296510 -3.147792375063816452.560405963705385Telephone: 01686 668 308Fax: 01686 668 564Web: http://www.rhbunner.co.uk

http://www.rhbunner.co.uk

the wicket gate near the road

I remember 28 years ago while looking at a house for sale near this wall, then there was a water-spout here, but today most like the vandals have been here or thieves wanting the lead pipe work.

view from the Gaol of the weather cocks to the town hall and St Nicholas Parish Church, Montgomery. O, K,"one is a cock the other is the welsh dragon

the rather splendid clock and weather veign on the town hall. and me I had 3 hours to wait for a bus.

the cock on St Nicholas Parish Church,

St Nicholas Parish Church tower clock and I still had an hour to go before my bus home.

half way up the hill to the Castle the shot was taken of St nicholas church and graveyard, where the robbers grave is,and the View across Montgomery towards Long Mynd Shropshire

this piece is from http://www.bbc.co.uk/wales/mid/sites/montgomery/pages/robbers_grave.shtml .

The Robber’s Grave in Montgomery or “the grave of the man unjustly hanged” has long been a legend of note connected with the town of Montgomery.

In 1821, John Davies a plasterer from Wrexham was accused by William Jones from Welshpool of assault and robbery.

Jones produced two witnesses (not to the robbery) and appealed to them to help him find his assailant and to finding his missing watch and money on Davies’ person. Davies was accordingly committed to the autumn sessions, where he pleaded ‘not guilty’ but was found guilty by the jury.

At that time highway robbery was one of the many crimes punishable by death. At the place of his execution, persons claimed to have heard John Davies declare his innocence and pray that God would not allow the grass to grow on his grave for a hundred years as a sign of his innocence.

He was buried in a portion of the churchyard where there had been no previous burials. The grave lies about 24ft west of the path from the north gate of the churchyard to the church tower, and about 30ft from the gate.

first view of the castle as entering from the car park.

the first bridge to the castle

this bridge has four oak beams about 30 foot long without any knots or mid supports as a builder I found it almost imposible to get a piece over 10 foot without a knot in it,

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montgomery_Castle

harebells growing in the rock foundation of the castle walls.

View towards Welshpool from the castle

view of Shropshire towards the Mynd

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Long_Mynd

now the blackberry flowers are out so is the Gatekeeper butterfly

https://wildaboutwales.wordpress.com/2011/07/21/large-yellow-underwingnoctua-pronuba/

Southern Migrant Hawker (Aeshna affinis) Female no water up near the castle but this hawker dragonfly was resting on the blackberry bush, one shot and it was gone.