If you've ever driven past New Radnor towards Walton, you may have seen a 19th-century gatehouse at the side of the road, which once led to Harpton Court Estate. This estate is one that is steeped in history, and links Powys to the ill-fated Titanic.

In 1911, the Duff-Gordon family inherited the Harpton Estate. In that family was a man known as Sir Cosmo Duff-Gordon, who married Lady Lucy Duff-Gordon, a London fashion designer. Shortly after, Sir Cosmo and Lady Lucy would board the Titanic ship, staying in cabin A16 in the First Class quarters.

As the Titanic approached New York, it struck an iceberg, prompting many to flee the boat. Those who did manage to escape included Sir Cosmo and Lady Lucy. The wealthy couple climbed aboard lifeboat number 1, with their secretary Laura Mabel Francatelli. The boat had a capacity for 40 people, but only 12 were on board as it distanced itself from the sinking ship.

Controversy marred Lady Lucy and her husband, after she was reported to have told her secretary "there is your beautiful nightdress gone," whilst on the lifeboat, which had seven male crew members with them. When a member of the crew told her that they had lost everything, Sir Cosmo is said to have offered the men £5 each, equivalent to over £500 in today's money. Rumours circulated that the money was used to bribe the lifeboat's crew not to go back and help other survivors. Both testified later in court, and it was eventually found in the final report enquiry that the Duff-Gordons did not bribe or deter the crew from helping any potential survivors.

But that isn't the only connection that the Titanic has to Powys.

A digital 3D scan of the Titanic, which lies 3,800m down in the Atlantic, is the first of its kind, and has been created by Magellan LTD, a deep-sea mapping company, and Atlantic Productions, which has an office near Crickhowell. The 3D capture was created using technology developed and perfected over five years in the summer of 2022, and shows the exact condition of the wreck in a level of detail never before seen.

Two submersibles, nicknamed Romeo and Juliet, spent over 200 hours on the seabed mapping every inch of the Titanic, which is split in two. Over 715,000 images were taken, and includes details such as the serial number on a propeller.

It has amazed locals and people around the world, with one Titanic expert calling the scan a "game-changer". Parks Stephenson, who has been studying the Titanic for over 20 years, said: "What we are seeing for the first time is an accurate and true depiction of the entire wreck and debris site. For the next generation of Titanic exploration, research and analysis, this is the beginning of a new chapter.”