Lymore, Montgomery 1.8

Lymore, or Lymore House or Lodge was demolished in 1931. It stood in Lymore Park, one mile ESE of Montgomery. The house was a large half-timbered house built by Edward Herbert, 3rd Baron Herbert of Chirbury, c. 1675, to replace the family residences in Montgomery Castle and Black Hall in Montgomery. The House, which had been uninhabited but maintained for many years, was used for an event in 1921, when one of the floors collapsed with disastrous consequences, resulting in demolition in 1931. The Earls of Powis still own and maintain the park. The park includes the grounds of the Montgomery Cricket Club, which is the oldest cricket pitch in Montgomeryshire. Offa's Dyke forms the eastern boundary of the park.General descriptionToday, the site of Lymore Hall is overgrown, with the walled garden filled with trees. On the North side, the Gardeners Cottages, shown on a survey of 1775, still stands. On the West side stands the Lymore Farmhouse (the former Steward's or Bailiff’s House) which was originally attached to the main house. It incorporates much early brick. On the W, the site is partly encircled by three large ornamental lakes, probably late 17th century, though the Middle Pool, traversed by a causeway is now dry. Opposite, on the Middle Pool are the stone walls of a curious ‘fortified’ farmyard (either a folly, or for militia training) and a Georgian brick farmhouse. There was also a mill building (later converted to a water driven sawmill), which was part of the ornamental setting (cf Mill at Dunham Massey, Cheshire) with gardens on the E side. Elsewhere, more elements of the hunting park layout can be observed, with Fox Coverts and Decoy Ponds with a hut in wood to S and another possible decoy pond in Bronyhall wood. Throughout the parkland there are numerous old oaks. The tree ring-evidence from a recently felled example suggests that they were planted in the late 17th century. A letter from Lord Chirbury in 1673 mentions that he intended to sow the frith with nuts and acorns for a perpetual stock of fuel