Builth and district
in Victorian times
  Going boating at the Groe  
 

This picture is taken from a souvenir postcard produced for sale to Victorian visitors to the town around 1892.
The view is looking from the south bank of the River Wye, with the Builth Bridge in the background. The open space on the right of the picture is the Groe (also spelt Gro at various times), which has been a public open space for many years.

 
The Groe
Builth Wells

c1892
Riverside boathouse,c1892
 

The large striped tent on the right was the Boating Pavilion, from which visitors could hire rowing boats by the hour. There was a small landing stage near the pavilion to make it easier to enter and leave the boats.
The open space of the Groe had earlier been used as a village green and animals were taken there to graze. It had also been used as a place to leave unwanted rubbish !
The lines of trees which now make the riverside look so attractive were planted around 1900, at the end of the Victorian years.

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