£4.2m RESTORATION FOR HISTORIC FARM
AFARMHOUSE considered to be one of the most remarkable of all surviving late-medieval houses in Wales has been painstakingly restored to become a holiday letting.
When the Landmark Trust took on the restoration of Llwyn Celyn in Monmouthshire, it was in an extreme state of disrepair. The roof leaked, the floors were braced with metal props, there was damp and run-off from the hillside affected several rooms. The Grade I-listed house had been shrouded in emergency scaffolding since the early 1990s.
Its extraordinary survival is all the more notable given so few domestic dwellings survive from around the time of Owain Glyndwr’s rebellions.
The Landmark Trust purchase and update historic buildings to rent out as holiday lets, so people can “holiday in history”.
The ambitious project to save Llwyn Celyn was more than a decade in the planning and culminated in more than two years of complex restoration work on site.
The trust says it was one of the most complex restorations it has ever undertaken.
The farmhouse was once part of the Llanthony Priory estate in the Black Mountains region of the Brecon Beacons National Park. Its high status features, such as carved doorheads, suggest it was the home of an important person, possibly even the Prior of Llanthony Priory.
It is 10 minutes from Llanthony Priory, a priory of Augustinian canons founded early in the 12th century in the beautiful and secluded Ewyas valley.
It has now been rescued from dereliction after the Landmark Trust raised an eye-watering £4.2m to restore the site and carry out the associated programmes. The sum includes a £2.5m grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund.
Groundbreaking research, using an entirely new dendro-istope dating technique, has dated Llwyn Celyn’s construction with precision to 142021, making it almost a century older than first thought. The building had “hardly changed since around 1690”.
The remote valley in which it sits was devastated in the Owain Glyndwr’s uprising against the English (1399-1415), and the building of the house may have been part of the reconstruction effort that followed.
Later used as a farm, Llwyn Celyn was one of the longest continuously occupied homes in Britain. The last occupants, brothers Trevor and Lyndon Powell, moved out in early 2014.
They were forced to quit the property because it had become so run down that it was being held up by scaffolding while a nearby stream flooded through the ground floor in times of heavy rain.
Several Grade II-listed ancillary farming outbuildings survive. They have also been repaired and, in a new departure for Landmark, are now offered as an interpretation space open to all during daylight hours, a mixed community-use space for craft training workshops, and a bunk house for Duke of Edinburgh candidates.
Channel 4 has filmed the project’s highlights and challenges from start to finish, to be broadcast later this autumn.
Presented by the Landmark Trust’s director, Dr Anna Keay, and furnishings manager of more than 40 years John Evetts, the series showcases the meticulous care taken to retain and repair all possible historic fabric and explores furnishing process.
Dr Keay said: “The rescue of this fascinating 15th century house is a true milestone.
“It is Landmark’s 200th building, but also testament to the monumental enthusiasm and expertise of everyone involved – from the craftspeople who pieced it back together using traditional skills, to the supporters, volunteers and National Lottery players who made it all possible.
“Thanks to all of them a precious piece of our past has been secured and will now be with us for all to enjoy and understand for centuries to come.”
Richard Bellamy, Head of the Heritage Lottery Fund in Wales, said: “This ambitious project was not simply about preserving a significant piece of Welsh history – it’s also about making the space a meaningful place for people today.”
Llwyn Celyn sleeps eight people in two twins and two double beds and costs from £880 for a four-night break. Visit landmarktrust.org.uk for more information and to book.
There will be free public open days between 10am and 4pm on Sunday, October 7 until Wednesday, October 10, to celebrate and mark the completion of the restoration.
On Friday, October 5, and Saturday, October 6, a collection of artists’ work in response to the restoration of the site will be on display. Visit eventbrite.com for tickets.