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Welcome to Mid Wales & The Brecon Beacons Discover the Victorian age


HAVE you ever wondered what life at a Victorian court was really like?


A visit to Presteigne’s award winning Judge’s Lodging will provide the answer - it just may not be pretty.


This hands on museum is housed in the town’s Shire Hall - formerly the seat of justice in Radnorshire - and has recreated the good and the bad of a Victorian court.


While upstairs you can marvel at the comfy, plush apartments where visiting judges would stay when trying cases in the town downstairs means a visit to the cold, damp cells where those throwing themselves at the mercy of the judges would be kept.


In the vast courtroom you can follow the trial of William Morgan, a local duck thief.


An audio tour of voices from the past lets you hear from Mary the hardworking maid to Reverend Richard Lister Venables, Chairman of the Magistrates and employer of the famous diarist Francis Kilvert.


The servants’ voices were provided by local people so as to capture real Radnorshire accents with Rev Venables’ part recorded by the actor Robert Hardy, who also opened the museum.


The museum’s ‘hands on policy’ means visitors are encouraged to sit in the judge’s chair, rifle through his book collection and even pump water in the kitchen.


Much of the exhibits were recovered from the Shire Hall’s attics, which when local enthusiasts established the museum in the 1990s, were discovered to be full of broken furniture, glassware, a trunk of silverware and portraits.


The authentic mid Victorian era setting means as well as attracting tourists the Judge’s Lodging is popular with television production crews.


A production crew filming for Welsh language television channel S4C recently filmed a new series called “Byw yn ol y Llyfr” (“Living by the Book”), based on a Welsh language Victorian self-help manual - Llyfr Pawb ar Bob Peth (“Everyone’s Book on Everything”) published around 1870.


Author Bethan Gwanas and comedian Tudur Owen donned period clothing to follow the book’s advice on all manner of things, ranging from DIY to social etiquette, learning about the values of Victorian society in the process, including boiling a sheep’s head and roasting a pig’s ears.


Perhaps the most impressed of all those to have visited the Shire Hall however was Lord Chief Justice Campbell who in 1855 called the building the ‘most commodious and elegant apartments for a judge in all England and Wales.’


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 


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    


 


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


 


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      


  


  


 


  


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  


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


 


   


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    


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   


 


 


  


The compliments have kept rolling in since, the museum picking up the prestigious Sandford Award for Heritage Education in 2005 and being named one of Britain’s Top Ten Museums in the Best of British Awards 2004- 05.


With so much to do it is recommended that you allow at least an hour and a half to tour the building. The Judge’s Lodging is at Broad Street, Presteigne contact 01544 260650.


The Judge’s Lodging is an ideal base to explore Presteigne. You can pick up a free copy of the town trail which will guide you through the streets of this charming town and reveal its past.


It will guide you to buildings such as The Red House, home of Rear Admiral Puget, after whom Puget Sounds, Vancouver, is named; The Radnorshire Arms Hotel, home of Sir Christopher Hatton (a favourite of Elizabeth I) and St Andrew’s Church which houses a superb 16th century Flemish tapestry.


Local archaeological treasures include standing stones a holy well and the ruins of Stapleton Castle which look down over the town.


Presteigne also has a nature reserve and wood in which to wander. The discerning walker can walk straight from town to country on one of the many local paths, whilst the National trails of Offa’s Dyke, Mortimer’s Trail and Glyndwr’s Way all pass nearby.


Places To Go


Having a splashing time


MAKE a splash on your holidays at Hay Swimming Pool.


The tiny borders town - famed as being home to the most second hand bookshops in the world - boasts its own swimming pool.


Situated behind Hay Primary School on Oxford Road the pool is something of an undiscovered gem, even for locals.


Centre manager Diane Workman says holidaymakers and even some residents are pleasantly surprised to find the 15X6 metre pool.


“We’re the only public swimming pool in Hay,” says Diane: “We’re a small friendly pool and welcome all people.


“Lots of people don’t expect to find a swimming pool in a small town like Hay, even people who live in the town. But we are here and open throughout the summer.”


While Hay’s attractions are well known Diane says the swimming pool can be the perfect place for children during a holiday, with the shallow pool ideal for youngsters.


“When you think how many families come to Hay and you see the kids being dragged around the bookshops, you think come to the pool.”


Diane says many holidaying families are regulars at the pool and even phone or email months in advance to check opening times ahead of visits to Hay.


The centre has ASA qualified swimming teachers and RLSS trained lifeguards provide a safe and fun environment for customers.


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Hay Swimming Pool is on Oxford Road, Hay-on- Wye contact 01497 847740.


 


  


   


   





  


 


 





    


 





  





 

















 


 





   


 





   


 





 


  


 


  


   


 


  





 


 





 


 


  





 


  


 


 


 


   


 


 





 


 


  


 





  























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