Powis Castle - Powys, Wales

powis castle - walesPowis Castle is perched on a rocky promontory above splendid garden terraces.  Built in the 13th century by Welsh princes, it is a magnificent fortress which has been upgraded by many generations of the Herbert and Clive families. 

This fine medieval castle contains one of the finest art collections to be found anywhere in Wales. 

Alongside this, the castle houses a superb collection of treasures including sculpture, tapestries, furniture and carriages.  One extra special feature at the castle is the Clive Museum which includes many fabulous treasures collected from India including textiles, ivory, bronzes and even a magnificent tent.  The garden terraces mentioned earlier, were designed in the 17th century and they include many very rare plants.

There have been many reports of ghosts at Powis but probably the most famous spectre to have been seen in the castle is that of a gentleman who apparently made three appearances in one evening and yet was never seen again after that!  The story as told goes as follows:

A lady of mature years who was a seamstress by profession was asked to do some work at the castle and given a small bedroom but what she was not told was that the bedroom was well and truly haunted.  One night as she sat reading a Bible, a gentleman walked in the door stopping at a window to look out.  After a while the gentlemen left the room and it slowly began to occur to the lady that he must have been a ghost as he had made no sound whatsoever when leaving the room. 

After this unnerving experience, the lady began to pray but no sooner had she started to do so when the door opened once more and once again the gentleman was in the room but this time standing behind her.  Again the gentleman turned around and walked out of the room without making a sound.  Some time later, the gentleman came back into the room but this time the lady mustered the courage to ask him what it was that he wanted.  The ghostly gentleman asked her to follow him and he led her to a small room where he directed that she lift up a floorboard and remove a box. Then he directed her to a crevice in the wall where the key was hidden.  This box along with the key, she was to send to the Earl of Powis in London.  The spectral gentleman assured her that if she did this then he would not appear again.

The box and the key were apparently duly sent by a steward to the Earl of Powis who was so overjoyed to receive it that he left instructions that the old lady should be well provided for for the rest of her days.  These orders were carried out.

Other ghosts said to have been seen at Powis include a woman dressed in white who appeared in a bedroom and a ghostly spectre riding a horse in the castle grounds.