Montgomery

Montgomery, town, Powys county, historic county of Montgomeryshire, eastern Wales. It is situated just west of the border with Shropshire, England, 8 miles (13 km) south of Welshpool.

In the 11th century the Norman Roger de Montgomery, 1st earl of Shrewsbury, built his castle at Hendomen, northwest of the present town, and a small village developed under its walls. In 1223 the English king Henry III built another castle at a new Montgomery, the present town, to which a royal charter was granted in 1227. That castle was dismantled by the Parliamentary army in 1644 during the English Civil Wars. The town has a parish church (St. Nicholas) dating from about 1227, with two 15th-century roods, screens, and stalls. Montgomery has remained important locally as a market for sheep and cattle, but as a regional centre it has been largely superseded by Welshpool. Pop. (2001) 1,256; (2011) 1,295.