Dol-llys Hall

The origins of the present hall were unusual. In the mid-18th century the Dol-Llys estate was owned by the Mears family, who had moved north to Montgomeryshire from Brecon. George Mears was sheriff of the county in 1759 and was followed in that office by his son, Hugh, in 1781. His grandson, Maurice, who died in 1807, had asked his solicitor, a Mr Stephens, to prepare a will naming eleven possible heirs to the estate, in order of precedence. The Mears family lost their money on the failure of the Welshpool Bank and the estate was sold in 1865. It had a number of private owners in the 20th century, and during the Second World War housed the boys of St Winifred's School, when they were…