MONTGOMERY, a municipal and parliamentary borough of Wales, capital of the county of the same name, is placed at the foot of a high and well-wooded eminence, about mile from the Severn, and 168 N.W. by N. of
London. It is small but well built; and has four principal streets, meeting in a market-place in the centre. The principal buildings are,—the church, an old edifice in the form of a cross, with a modern tower; the guildhall; and the county jail. The borough returned a member to Parliament from the time of Henry III. till the passing of the Reform Act; but since that time it has formed one of six boroughs which together elect one representative. The ancient castle of Montgomery, of which some ruins still remain, was founded by Baldwin, a follower of William the Conqueror, who was appointed Lieutenant of the Marches by that monarch. In consequence of its situation on the borders of England and Wales, it was long considered an important stronghold; and was the subject of frequent contention between the Saxons and the Normans. It received its present name from Roger de Montgomery, Earl of Shrewsbury, by whom it was enlarged and strengthened. It afterwards passed into the hands of the crown, by whom the stewardship was granted, in the fifteenth century, to the Herberts of Cherbury. Pop. (1851) 1248.