Building on the Past. more from this section

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1 North East North West South East South West This document is a snapshot of content from a discontinued BBC website, originally published between It has been made available for archival & research purposes only. Please see the foot of this document for Archive Terms of Use. visual tour around the town of. The former head Professor Macolm on : "Market days in can be busy, busy busy. The first traffic jam I experienced in my Welsh travels this summer was in Maengwyn Street in and that was as a pedestrian on the pavement on a Wednesday! Stalls here sell everything from peaches to bonsai trees and kitchen cleaners to antiques. This is the town where the Castlereagh family thought a suitable present for their eldest son was a clocktower for the town. He might have been disappointed but the citizens probably celebrated. A town for heroes. Owen Glyndwr's first parliament was here, here too Laura Ashley's first dresses were made. It's home to Y Tabernacl and MOMA, an elegant arts centre. On the outskirts of the town, the world famous Centre for Alternative Technology offers a family day out with a green agenda. An attractive historic town in beautiful surroundings, another of ' most pleasurable destinations." your comments NIgel Hodson St Clears Linda in Malaga we live near Carmarthen not.do get in touch... Thu Jan 8 09:54: Davlin, Malaga Spain I'm looking for an old friend of my husband tony jones from round table tetten hall wolverhampton. His name is nigel

2 hodson and works for auction house in machynlleth any information wil be apreciated. Wed Jul 9 15:15: Davlin Malaga Spain I'm looking for an old friend of my husband tony jones from round table tetten hall wolverhampton. His name is nigel hodson and works for auction house in machynlleth any information wil be apreciated. Wed Jul 9 09:06: Cora Edwards The Castlereagh Memorial Clock at was built with monies raised by public subscription. The money left after the building of the clock was to plant an avenue of trees along the main street. (Maengwyn Street) These trees were taken down in the last century to be replaced by younger trees. Wed Jan 2 09:35: Alan Whiston from Stoke-on-Trent I have a grandfather clock which says on its face "Rees and Sons ". I love it. Can you tell me more about Mr Rees, please? Sun Oct 14 11:09: Marjorie Inger Stratford, Taranaki, New Zealand Hello from New Zealand. I lived in Mach for a short while before moving to NZ to live in I will be visiting old friends and family again when I visit in September October this year.i recently lost my dear friend Evien Jackson who lived in on Tregarth and it will be sad not to see her again. Sat May 12 10:40: Carol Handcock How can we get Proffessor Parry to come & speak at a public meeting organised by the local heritage society Etifeddiaeth Dyffryn Dyfi. Wed Apr 11 10:08: Robert Owen It was good to see how some things have changed in "Mach" since I was there last. Being an "Old Boy" of Mach living in Cae Crwn and attending Mach High School, its lovely to have a look around the old place. Still having many friends there and trying to come back as often as possible, I would like to be able to see around the town on the website. Perhaps we could have some more pictures of the town and surrounding area to compare with the old days. Sun Feb 4 11:18: This site is now closed and cannot accept new comments.

3 North East North West South East South West visual tour around the town of. The former head Clock Tower Hear more about the famous clock tower... "The Clocktower by Henry Kennedy. A coming of age present to Viscount Castlereagh from his father the fifth Marquess of Londonderry. Could it have been a surprise or a disappointment? Decorated like an over-the-top birthday cake, it's since become the icon of the town."

4 North East North West South East South West visual tour around the town of. The former head The entrance to Y Tabernacl and MOMA. Malcolm talks to Ruth Lambert about the Tabernacl project... "This idosyncratic entrance by the architect David Thomas announces the presence of a most unexpected cultural treat in mid. The Lambert family have been the inspiration for this centre for the visual and performance arts. Who would have expected that ' museum of modern art would be in Machynllleth?"

5 North East North West South East South West visual tour around the town of. The former head Y Tabernacl "Beyond the entry is the one time Tabernacle chapel which has been turned into a performance space, a home for the summer festival. A Steinway now takes up the position of the seat fawr and translation booths flank the hall. Luckily for modern audiences the pews have been modernised to current standards of comfort and the acoustics are splendid."

6 North East North West South East South West visual tour around the town of. The former head MOMA Hear more about the gallery space at MOMA... "This one-time shop, has been turned into an up to the minute series of gallery spaces and meeting rooms. Excellent exhibitions have turned this into an important all artistic venue."

7 North East North West South East South West visual tour around the town of. The former head The Tannery Hear more about the plans for the Tannery... "Behind the complex of Y Tabernacle and MOMA is this old, somewhat prepossessing tannery. Emboldened by their success, the Lamberts and the Friends Of The Tabernacle are about to turn this building into a spectacular space to display sculpture."

8 North East North West South East South West visual tour around the town of. The former head "On market day in the pavements fill up with stalls of every kind. The crowds seem on a par with international day in Cardiff."

9 North East North West South East South West visual tour around the town of. The former head The Parliament House - Grade One Listed. More about Glyndwr's Parliament... "Owain Glwyndwr's 1404 Parliament was held on this site and possibly there is some of the original building within the much altered later structure. This is the reason the author Jan Morris, amongst others, proposed as being the only site for the Welsh Assembly. It now houses 'The Glyndwr Experience.' David Davies refurbished the building as a library/reading room in Its panelled interior is atomspheric of an Edwardian gentlemen's club rather than a medieaval prince's meeting room. A problem that the conservation architect Michael Goulden will strive to resolve when undertaking the refurbishment which is about to begin."

10 North East North West South East South West visual tour around the town of. The former head The Royal House Hear more about the Royal House... "Behind this shrouded structure in Penrallt, Michael Goulden showed me around what is now an historical building site but it is soon to become a tourist information centre and meeting place in the centre of town."

11 North East North West South East South West visual tour around the town of. The former head Inside the Royal House More about the inside of the Royal House... "The layers of history are peeled away. It's known as The Royal House, because Charles I supposedly slept in it. But here we see the basement where assassin David Gam might have been imprisoned. Where we are standing was until recently a Victorian outfitter's shop. The shaky kinds of construction I saw in these older buildings in made me feel very grateful for our modern building inspectors."

12 North East North West South East South West visual tour around the town of. The former head Workmen on the roof of The Royal House "Rubble walls and older construction being brought up to modern standards of comfort and security. It is such a delicate balance to strike between building authenticity and current practicalities of accessibility and health and safety."

13 North East North West South East South West visual tour around the town of. The former head Maengwyn Street "Above eye level. Very often we pass by important buildings because they have been altered at ground level turning them into shops and other commerical uses. It's only when we look up that we become aware of a town's history. Sometimes completely new facades have been put on a building, but often just raising our eyes we can catch some sense of the past. Here we see some charming lozenge paned windows set into the stone rubble wall typical of the area and so unlike the vernacular stonework or timber framing of other parts of."

14 North East North West South East South West visual tour around the town of. The former head Laura Ashley House Hear more about Laura Ashley's connections with... "In Maengwyn Street, a blue plaque put up by the Civic Society lets us know that Laura Ashley lived and worked in this pretty little blue house. It's difficult to believe that behind this double oreil window a woman sat and sewed her first dresses that led to a worldwide fashion empire." Read Laura Ashley's Profile in our Hall of Fame...

15 North East North West South East South West visual tour around the town of. The former head The End Of The World Train at CAT Hear more about the train... "Visitors to the Centre For Alternative Technology, (CAT) just outside start their tour with this cliff railway ride to the top of the old quarry site. Two alternating carriages are connected via cables and winding gear. The railway is water powered with astonishing 'swoosh!' sound effects at the start of the journey as water discharges into the lake. The track runs through a suitably 'green' environment to the timber framed upper building with its panoramic view of the valley."

16 North East North West South East South West visual tour around the town of. The former head Straw Bale House Hear more about the straw bale theatre... "A small segment of the render has been removed to show that underneath, this building really has been made from environmentally friendly straw bales. The render is vital to keep out the rain. The straw bale has wonderful insulation properties, so it keeps the inside as warm as toast. All the buildings on site are here as exemplars of different desirable ways of utilising solar and wind energy, or conserving resources."

17 North East North West South East South West visual tour around the town of. The former head Straw Bale Theatre "This building with its straw bale rendered walls and metal roof illustrates what Trish Andrews told me are the attributes that all good buildings should have. A good hat, dry boots and an overcoat."

18 North East North West South East South West visual tour around the town of. The former head The rammed earth wall Find out more about the rammed wall... "In this the latest CAT building the architect David Lea has come to terms with the issues of aesthetics and the practicalites of sustainability. So often these two aspects have been separated. Environmentally sound buildings often look lumpy and worthy whereas the elegant and sophisticated buildings were often leaky and energy gobblers. Here elegance and enegry saving can go hand in hand. Rammed earth has been used as a traditional walling material for centuries and throughout the world. In Pembrokeshire its known as 'clom' in France 'pise'. Clough Williams Ellis designed buildings using it but never as beautifully as this."

19 North East North West South East South West visual tour around the town of. The former head Centre for Alternative Technology Hear more about Led Zepplin's connections with Bron yr Aur... "They may be worthy, trying to give a didactic message to visitors who are meant to learn techniques of energy saving, sustainability and good building practices. But there is another dimension beyond the recycling, and the windmills, and the photo-voltatics. Because the Centre is also to be a place for a fun day out for the whole family. That is so - mam - dad - kids all enjoy it and that's why it has become one of the most visited tourist sites in Mid."

20 North East North West South East South West visual tour around the town of. The former head Bron yr Aur "If you're a rock superstar where do you go for inspiration? Nowhere else but a hideaway in the mountains above, and that's what Led Zeppelin did. This view inspired them to write the theme music for our series, Building On The Past." website... Led Zepp's connections...