The most iconic buildings in mid Wales as ranked by readers

Unsurprisingly for a region which boasts so many wonderful structures we received a host of different answers.

Indeed it seems mid Wales does not have just one iconic building but many.

With that in mind the County Times lists the top five suggestions from readers.

Gregynog Hall - Tregynon

Gregynog is a large country mansion in the village of Tregynon.

There has been a settlement on the site since the 12th century and from the 15th to the 19th century it was the home of the Blayney and Hanbury-Tracy families.

In 1960 it was transferred to the University of Wales as a conference and study centre by Margaret Davies, granddaughter of the nineteenth century industrial magnate and philanthropist, David Davies 'Top Sawyer' of Llandinam.

The original mansion was rebuilt in the 1840s by Charles Hanbury-Tracy, 1st Baron Sudeley.

Its concrete cladding, designed to replicate the black-and-white timber-framed architecture of Montgomeryshire farmhouses, is among the earliest examples of concrete use in building in the modern era.

At its largest, the Gregynog estate was over 18,000 acres but the estate was broken up in 1913, leaving the mansion with 750 acres of farms, woodlands and formal gardens.

The sunken garden and arboretum remain popular features to this day.

Gregynog Hall near Tregynon. Picture by Stephen Mills.

Powis Castle - Welshpool

Powis Castle is a medieval castle, fortress and grand country house near Welshpool.

The seat of the Herbert family, Earls of Powis, the castle is known for its formal gardens and for its interiors, the former having been described as “the most important” and the latter "the most magnificent”, in Wales.

The castle and garden are under the care of the National Trust. Powis Castle is a Grade I listed building.

The present castle was built in the 13th century by Gruffydd ap Gwenwynwyn, Prince of the ancient Kingdom of Powys who generally sided with the English rather than his native Welsh during the struggles of the later 13th century which ensured his son Owain gained a peerage as Owen de la Pole, 1st Lord of Powis.

Following his own death c.1293, and the death of his only son, he was succeeded by his daughter, Hawys Gadarn, “The Lady of Powis”.

In the late 16th century the castle was purchased by Edward Herbert, a younger son of the Earl of Pembroke, beginning a connection between the family and the castle that continues today.

The Herbert's remained Catholic until the 18th century and, although rising in the peerage to Earls, Marquesses and Jacobite Dukes of Powis, suffered periods of imprisonment and exile.

In 1784 Henrietta Herbert married Edward Clive, eldest son of Clive of India, a match which replenished the much-depleted Herbert family fortune.

In the early 20th century, George Herbert, 4th Earl of Powis redeveloped the castle and his countess, Violet, undertook work of equal importance in the garden, seeking to turn it into “one of the most beautiful, if not the most beautiful, in England and Wales”.

On his death in 1952 the castle passed into the care of the National Trust.

Powis Castle. Picture: Rob Parry.

The Old Market Hall - Llanidloes

The Old Market Hall is the oldest timber-framed market hall in Llanidloes, Wales, dating to the early 17th century.

Until well into the 20th century a weekly market was held on the open cobbled ground floor.

Over the years the large and well-lit upper floor room has been used as a wool and flannel market, law court, preachers' hall, flannel store, working men's institute and museum.

The Market Hall replaced the old market in the 17th century with the timber-framed market hall built between 1612 and 1622 having originally been known Booth Hall, a reference to the stalls or "booths" under and around the hall.

Until the 19th century the hall was a busy centre of the Welsh woollen trade, where wool and flannel was brought to be taken to Welshpool.

John Wesley is said to have preached in the hall in 1748, 1749 and 1764.

The "Wesley stone" on which he stood in 1749 when speaking to a large congregation is now outside the north west corner.

As of July 1910 tolls were still being taken for stalls pitched on Saturdays in the ground floor open market. The hall was owned by Colonel J. Davies-Jenkins of Pennygreen, Llanidloes.[9]

From 1930 to 1995 the town museum was housed in the hall.

From 1957–59 the whole building was carefully restored but heavy traffic was starting to affect the structure with a bypass road since reducing the risk of damage from vibration.

Old Market Hall in Llanidloes. Picture by Stu Trigg/Camera Club.

Royal Welsh Warehouse - Newtown

This building was once the headquarters of textile company Pryce Jones, the first business in the world to sell mail-order goods.

The building dates back to 1879 and is opposite the town’s railway station and known locally as the Pryce Jones Building.

Extensions were added in 1887 and 1904.

Such was the volume of mail orders that the warehouse even had its own post office branch inside.

The building was joined to the adjacent Agriculture House building by a walkway leading to a manufacturing arm of the business which grew rapidly with royal patronages.

Sir Pryce-Jones, who was knighted by Queen Victoria and became an MP, grew the Pryce-Jones business internationally before it was sold in the 1930s to a Liverpool company.

The building itself is known locally as Pryce-Jones.

The Royal Welsh Warehouse.

Parliament House - Machynlleth

In 1404 Owain Glyndwr convened a parliament here.

The building we see today probably dates from 1460, and may incorporate some features of an earlier structure with the roof trusses are among the surviving medieval features.

David Davies MP, grandson of the great Welsh industrialist of the same name, bought the dilapidated building, which had undergone various changes, in 1906.

He rebuilt it to restore a 15th-century appearance and gave the building to the public in 1912.

Red Cross nursing classes and examinations were held here during the First World War, and many of the women became nurses in the town’s Red Cross hospital in 1917. service) was introduced a year later.

After the war, the case for a League of Nations was discussed here, and there was a debate about whether the professions should be opened to women.

Today the Grade 1-listed building is a visitor centre with exhibitions and activities based on Glyndwr’s rebellion and other aspects of the 15th century.

Parliament House in Machynlleth. Picture: Wikicommons.