Violet Herbert (Lane-Fox), Countess of Powis

POWIS CASTLE, WELSHPOOL, POWYS, WALES

Edward 3rd Earl of Powis largely ignored his Welsh estates saying it was ‘not worth considering Powis’ and after his death his title passed to his nephew, George, in 1891. George’s wife Lady Violet Lane-Fox was responsible for re-modelling the garden into the Italian inspired Eden still surviving today. George, the 4th Earl, hired architect G. F. Bodley and is responsible for altering the castle to how it appears today. George had been impressed with Bodley’s work on Ham House and wanted the same sensitive restoration for Powis, and the removal of some of the earlier work which he felt was not in-keeping. Today the castle is very much a reflection of Bodley and the 4th Earl’s interpretation of this stunning ancestral home. Powis Castle was given to the National Trust in 1952 after the 5th Earl’s death at a time when many such properties were being bequeathed in a similar way in order for families to retain these meaningful homes, but avoid impossibly steep death duties. Thanks to the Trust’s existence this unique property has been saved, not only for future generations of the Earl’s of Powis, but for everyone, keeping our history safe and sound.