Welshpool served briefly as the capital of Powys Wenwynwyn or South Powys after its prince was forced to flee the traditional Welsh royal site at Mathrafal in 1212, by the prince of Gwynedd; assistance from the English crown (enemies of the Gwynedd prince) restored the Wenwynwyn dynasty to their lands. Further disputes with Gwynedd again brought in the English; in 1284, the family strengthened their hold on Powys Wenwynwyn by converting it into a marcher lordship (via "surrender and re-grant") - the Lordship of Powys. Owain, the heir to the former principality, called himself Owen de la Pole, after the town.