Nestled into the rock just below St Mary’s Church in Welshpool is a charming black and white timber-framed house with the name ‘Grace Evans Cottage’ inscribed on the porch lintel. Its construction is thought to be early 18th century, with restoration and enlargements made in the 19th century.
Typical of 18th-century Welsh cottages, the structure features timber framing, with brick infill and topped with a slate roof. Grace Evans’ Cottage was extensively restored sometime after 1873 and the thatched roof of the time was replaced, with the brick infill painted white. Additional rooms were added to the rear of the property and the timber work exposed and painted.
Thanks to careful preservation over the centuries, Grace Evans’ Cottage survived as a rare example of Welsh domestic architecture from this period. It has continued its life as a residential home well into the 21st century and is important as an example of a domestic historic cottage, as well as a symbol of the Herbert family’s gratitude to the celebrated Welsh heroine Grace Evans herself.
Grace Evans was thought to have been the maid of Lady Winifred Herbert, daughter of William Herbert, the 1st Marquis of Powis. The Herberts were Catholics and well-known Jacobite supporters, and the family fled to France with James II in 1688.
Lady Winifred Herbert became Lady Nithsdale when she married into the Scottish Catholic Maxwell family. Her husband William Maxwell, Lord Nithsdale involved himself in the Jacobite risings of 1715 and was captured, convicted of treason and sentenced to be executed. Lady Nithsdale famously orchestrated her husband’s escape from the Tower of London. Alongside lady’s maids Mrs Mills, Mrs Morgan and Mrs Evans, Lady Nithsdale confused the guards by their comings and goings into the prison and literally walked Lord Nithsdale out disguised as a lady’s maid.
The story of Lord Nithsdale’s escape was as sensational in its time as it is today. The planning, execution, and success of the escape were all documented in a letter written to Winifred’s older sister, Lucy, in which ‘…my dear Evans…’ is mentioned as being instrumental to the whole plan. Lady Winifred’s tenacity and daring so enraged George I that he forbade her name to be mentioned in his presence. Lady Winifred and her husband lived out the rest of their lives in exile in Rome.
It is believed that this historic cottage in Welshpool was either gifted to Grace Evans by the Herbert family in 1735 or it was her birthplace. Ongoing research aims to uncover more about the identity of Lady Nithsdale’s ‘dear Evans’ and her connection to the cottage.
Today Grace Evans’ Cottage is managed and cared for by Powis Estates, and owes its remarkable preservation to the incredible story of the Nithsdale’s escape. Recent conservation and redecoration has been sympathetically carried out and it continues to be a residential dwelling, as it was during the lifetime of Grace Evans.