The men who ran the Union were very reluctant to build a workhouse.
They were required by law to build one when the Union was formed in 1836, but it was not until 1873 that they finally sprang into action and bought a site for a new workhouse. The entry from the records below tells us where the site was.

It reads:
"Site for the workhouse - two acres of land of the Gigrin Meadows, near Rhayader at the rate of £150 per acre including a certain outbuilding on the said lands."
The Union brought in Stephen William Williams (right) as the architect. He had his offices in Rhayader and was well known locally.
He built many other buildings in Radnorshire and was involved in developing the new town of Llandrindod Wells.

The Victorian map above shows the new workhouse next to the main road into Rhayader.

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