the most beautiful, in England and Wales". On the 4th earl's death in 1952, his wife and his sons having predeceased him, the castle passed into the care of the National Trust. History First castles at Welshpool: 1111–1286 Unlike the castles at Conwy, Caernarfon, Harlech and nearby Montgomery, which were built by the English to subdue the Welsh, the castles at Welshpool were built by the Welsh princes of Powys Wenwynwyn as their dynastic seat. In addition to the current site, two motte-and-bailey castles and a set of earthworks are located nearby. The names Trallwg/Tallwm and Pola are used interchangeably in early primary sources, and it is unclear which of these sites is being referred to. The earliest reference dates from 1111, when Cadwgan ap Bleddyn is mentioned as having planned to construct a castle at Trallwng Llywelyn, the oldest record of a native Welsh castle. Domen Castell, a motte-and-bailey near the modern railway station, is considered the most likely site of Cadwgan's castle, although it is uncertain whether it was completed as he was assassinated the following year. The first documentary account of an extant castle at Welshpool is a description of the successful 1196 siege by an English army, although the castle was retaken by the Welsh within the year. The earliest castle at the current site may have been a timber building constructed by Owain Cyfeiliog or his son, Gwenwynwyn (). The present masonry structure contains 13th century fabric, most likely the work of Gruffydd ap Gwenwynwyn () – although historians are uncertain when this took place. In 1274, Gruffydd's "first castle" at Welshpool was destroyed by Llywelyn ap Gruffudd as punishment for his involvement in a scheme to assassinate Llywelyn. The castle was documented again in 1286, when it was listed amongst Gruffydd's possessions as "la Pole Castr". A detailed examination of Powis Castle's extant masonry carried out between 1987 and 1989 revealed early stonework incorporated into the later structure, putatively the remains of an early stone shell keep. At the end of Edward I's conquest of Wales in 1282–83, the king permitted Gruffydd to rebuild his castle at Welshpool as a reward for his loyalty. Early history: 1286–1644 In 1286, four years after the conquest of Wales, Gruffydd's son, Owain ap Gruffydd ap Gwenwynwyn became the last hereditary prince of Powys when he renounced his royal title, and was granted the barony of de la