A SLEEPING dragon will be awoken from its slumber and make a permanent return to a part of Powys where it became a beloved icon at the end of April. 

The Sleeping Dragon appeared on a roadside on the outskirts of Presteigne in August 2014 and spent four years there.

The bronze and stone artwork was crafted by guerilla blacksmith Peter Smith and was made to commemorate the 35,000 Welshmen who died in the First World War.

Appearing in 2014, it was commissioned to commemorate the war’s 100th anniversary, and was only supposed to be in place until November 2018 – mirroring the four years and three months that the first great war lasted.

The local community, however, have made repeated calls for the dragon’s return in the last six years, and even started a crowdfunder.

Now, at the end of the month, the Sleeping Dragon will return. Its home will be at Presteigne’s Corton roundabout – which has since come to be known as Dragon Roundabout.

“The dragon is ready. He returns on Saturday, April 27, at 3pm,” read a post on the Presteigne Carnival Facebook page this week.

“(He will go) to his original spot behind the Corton (Dragon) Roundabout. Afterwards we are planning to head down to the Radnorshire Arms for a celebratory drink and there may be some music too.

“The story, including the rebuild and the sponsors and donors, will all be recorded on memory sticks and (put) in time capsules so the legend can continue.”

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During his original stay, locals left little wooden crosses in front of the dragon, to either remember loved ones who fought in World War I, or to represent family members fighting overseas in subsequent and current conflicts.

Supporters were so fired up to reinstate the much-loved landmark that they set up an online fundraiser, with around £3,500 raised.

Blacksmith and sculptor Peter has since been busy carrying out extensive work to prepare the dragon for its homecoming flight back to Powys – admitting he relented after being “pestered” by locals who fell in love with the dragon.

“I could have done without this in my life,” Peter joked in an article published in 2023, when the dragon was first scheduled to return. “I’ve had four years of being pestered.”

County Times: Peter Smith he has been pestered by locals ever since the Sleeping Dragon disappeared in 2018. Peter Smith he has been pestered by locals ever since the Sleeping Dragon disappeared in 2018.

The process has involved covering the armature with stretched rabbit wire and securing it with 3,000 cable ties. The final stage was applying resin and fibre glass, and finally sprayed in red paint.

Tessa Knight, who has been spearheading the crowdfunding effort, said she was delighted with the encouraging remarks on the Just Giving page.

“People have said it’s got to come back,” she said previously. “It’s a peaceful dragon and provides a welcome to Presteigne on what is known as ‘Dragon Roundabout’.”

On the Just Giving page, Tessa said: “The Sleeping Dragon was designed to provoke a real sense of loss. Over the four years he sat there he was slowly imbedding himself into peoples’ minds and became part of their environment.

“How deeply this feeling of loss penetrated the soul is evident in that Pete is still pestered for the dragon’s return.”

To read more about the history of the Sleeping Dragon, visit the Just Giving page at https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/sleeping-dragon.