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The ancient capital of Wales was once Machynlleth, and in the immortal words of the actor Michael Caine, "not-a-lot of people know that", well I certainly didn't until I looked into the history of the town and its magnificent clock tower.

It came about that in 1404 Prince Owain Glyndwr - who had a particularly bad relationship with his English neighbours, or more likely the English with him - was crowned Prince of Wales. He then held his parliament in the town, thus allowing Machynlleth to lay claim to being the ancient capital.

Photo Submitted by,
and Copyright of :-
J P Zajac.

Castlereagh Memorial Clocktower, to give the correct name, was erected in 1873 on the site of the old Town Hall, and all of its glorious 74 foot height was built to celebrate the 21st birthday of Charles Stewart Vane-Tempest. This young man, just turned adult, also held the formal title of Viscount Castlereagh, as he was the eldest son of the fifth Marquess of Londonderry, who lived at nearby Pas Machynlleth.
It is documented that in 1873 - the same year as the clock was constructed - the Marquess owned 10,084 acres of land, yet as far as I can ascertain it was the people of the town who paid for its construction.

Built in sandstone by a local builder and designed by the London architect Henry Kennedy, the tower has that wonderful 'over the top' look to it that so much of Victorian architecture had, but sadly it is now in need of some urgent repairs. The bill for this is expected to be in excess of £100,000, as extensive work is needed.

An appeal has been launched, see

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