Machynlleth, Pentrerhedyn Street 1896

The Lion Hotel (left) has the strongest claim to immortality in this picture, all because Beatrix Potter stayed here when she visited the town as a young girl in 1888. She had this to say: 'Machynlleth a wretched town, hardly a person could speak English. Wynnstay Arms to which we were directed closed these two years. Lion, only other, a singular place. Welsh seem a pleasant race but I think awkward to live with'. The imposing clock tower stands 78 feet high; its full title is 'the Castlereagh Memorial Clock'. The architect was Henry Kennedy of London, and the clock maker a local man, Mr Edward Edwards. The clock was erected in 1873 by the Marquis of Londonderry to celebrate his son's coming of age.