Step into the 1870s at the award-winning Judge’s Lodging and discover the world of a most unusual household.
Explore the ‘upstairs, downstairs’ life of theVictorian Judges, their servants and felonious guests.
Totally hands on and family-friendly. Children have their own guidebook, telling them the funnier and grosser things about a Victorian house, and activity chests to explore.
Once called ‘the most commodious and elegant apartments for a judge in all England and Wales’ (Lord Chief Justice Campbell, 1855), decay beckoned Radnorshire’s disused Shire Hall into obscurity. Now, aided by an interior hardly touched by time and original furnishings discarded in attics, extensive research and restoration has re-awakened this ‘Victorian fossil’.
From the stunningly restored judge’s apartments to the dingy servants’ quarters below you can explore their gaslit world. Damp cells remind you of the building’s true purpose, along with the vast courtroom where your imagination in captured by the echoing trial of William Morgan, local duck thief.
Visitors to the building are accompanied by an eavesdropping audiotour of voices from the past; you will hear their tale, from Mary the hardworking maid, to Reverend Richard Lister Venables, Chairman of the Magistrates and employer of the famous diarist Francis Kilvert, portrayed by actor Robert Hardy.
Access Information: Wheelchair access available on the ground floor ONLY, lift access to ground floor, large print guides available, seating available throughout, guide dogs welcome.
One child goes free with a full paying adult.
How to Redeem: Present your Max Card on arrival. Terms and Conditions: • Maximum of 2 adults and 2 children per Max Card.
• Not to be used in conjunction with any other offer.
