Optimism growing for Tudor building
SITUATED in the heart of the Carmarthenshire coastal town of Laugharne, the Island House, a Grade II* listed building dating back to Tudor times, should be the community’s crowning jewel.
Instead, after standing idle and abandoned for more than 15 years, nature has begun swallowing the building, ceilings have crumbled and scaffolding surrounds the historic home.
The local community has been trying to save it from crumbling in front of their eyes after it was put on the “at-risk” register in 2011.
Last year, some of the ceilings and floors in the building collapsed after the house was battered by severe weather conditions and high winds.
The building has been empty since the owner died 16 years ago and has had very little restoration work done on it since. But the community remained hopeful that it could be restored to its former glory.
Denize McIntyre from Save Island House Campaign said: “Laugharne being on the coast and with the links to Dylan Thomas, we get a lot of tourists here. The building is of national importance and I believe is only one of four of its kind in Wales but still nothing has been done in 16 years – it’s crazy.”
Locals say the building had a death sentence and was unlikely to last another year before collapsing.
Denize and six others working for the local Laugharne News publication started a campaign in August 2019 and were given the good news that a buyer was interested.
“It’s an important building that has a lot of history and means a lot to the community so people really got behind us,” added Ms McIntyre.
“When we heard there was a potential buyer we were cautiously optimistic, but thought it would be the answer to everything.”
The building’s new owner, property developer Stephen Kirkwood, hopes to turn it into a boutique hotel, cafe and restaurant.
Mr Kirkwood estimates it could cost between £3m and £4m and take around two years to complete.
But for the locals who have watched the oncebeloved building rot away and be taken over by nature, its restoration would mean a building in the centre of the town of which the whole community could be proud.