Western Mail - Weekend

The surprising story of restoring an ancient manor house

Feast your eyes on the outcome of this epic 18-month restoratio­n of a manor house that once welcomed kings and queens as well as ‘witches.’ Property editor Joanne Ridout reports

- Find out more at: www.plasllanmi­hangel.com

HAVE you ever felt a connection to a building, something so strong it can’t be ignored, and yet you don’t know why? Leanne Johns always felt a pull towards a local manor house and that undeniable link has changed the course of her life. Plas Llanmihang­el, the manor house Leanne used to dream about, is a very special house, nestled into a hidden dell next to the quaint Church of St Michael and All Angels near Cowbridge in the Vale of Glamorgan. ere are just two neighbours who also enjoy this tranquil setting looking out over a lake teeming with wildlife and cocooned by ancient trees.

Although the site is thought to date back to the 12th century within the undercroft rooms, the main house that rises from the landscape is dated as mainly 14th century and was built by the

omas family. Such is the importance of the house it was Grade I-listed by Cadw in 1952 for being “one of the nest and most complete early gentry houses in Glamorgan” and some might say the whole of Wales.

e house has seen and absorbed centuries of happy and historic times and has been owned by a sheri and lord mayor of London and a justice of the peace. It has had the royal seal of approval too, with visitors including King William III, Queen Mary II and Queen Anne, who stayed in the principal bedroom that now bears her name.

In most recent times the house was a muchloved home to Sue and David Beer, who ran it as a bed and breakfast as well as happily sharing the house at Christmas by opening its doors to the community after the service in the church had

nished. It was at one of these social events that Leanne Johns rst saw inside the house. But it was not the rst time she had thought about the property, which had mesmerised her every time she had ridden or walked past it while going back

to her house a few miles away. As she wandered around the rooms, her bond with the building strengthen­ed and she went home with thoughts of “the Plas” in her head that never went away.

Leanne was busy building her business of luxury home hampers called Sloane Home and Lone Stag Spirits and so dreams of the house receded. But years later Leanne saw Plas Llanmihang­el was for sale after Sue and David had sadly died and she was tempted to try to buy it.

Leanne says: “I saw it come on to the market and I love doing up houses. I’ve done quite a few, including project-managing for other people. I came to have a look at it and thought I could de nitely renovate it. But Rich, my husband, was not really on board. He is a surveyor so is very experience­d and he said, ‘No chance. is is going to be a major, major project and I’m not feeling it. It’s very dark, a bit spooky – it’s not my cup of tea’.

“I was disappoint­ed and thought that was the end of that – especially when it sold.”

But Leanne adds: “Four years later it had fallen through again, for the fourth time, and I went to have another look and it was in a worse state – the damp was really getting to it.”

But the house had captivated Leanne once again and she decided to take the property plunge, with help to tackle this substantia­l project coming from an unexpected source.

Leanne says: “I asked the women who work for Sloane Home, ‘Shall we do this place up together?’ because a lot of the work to do was just labour, and all of the girls said, ‘Yes, we’re up for it’. e last owners, Sue and David, had done a huge

I came to have a look at it and thought I could de nitely renovate it

restoratio­n job while they were here, but with a house like this, after every winter, you need to do maintenanc­e and it is hard, especially as you get older.”

e former kitchen was an example of the challenges a centuries-old house can serve up. Leanne said it felt like the room was sweating because there was water coming through the walls and up through the oor – plus she had to add dry rot and wet rot to the list of major problems to tackle.

e day Leanne picked up the keys was a day she felt a huge wave of emotion – excited and daunted and yet with a feeling of contentmen­t too as though she was coming home. And in a way she was.

“Sue had left lots of informatio­n here,” Leanne says. “When I looked through it, I discovered my maternal ancestors actually owned this house and lived here – my ancestors were part of the omas family. It was really something special to nd that out.”

Being a fragile Grade I-listed gem, the work was done in conjunctio­n with the local conservati­on o cer. Leanne said she has used skilled and specialist craftspeop­le to repair any damage and renovate using traditiona­l methods and materials such as lime plaster. ere were obviously some new additions needed, such as a new kitchen in a smaller side room o the former kitchen, and Leanne was careful to choose a sympatheti­c style, which is also in evidence in all of the beautifull­ystyled bathrooms.

e house sprawls across three storeys – plus a tower that has the most mesmerisin­g panoramic views of the surroundin­g landscape. You feel like you are miles from anywhere, immersed in nature, but Cardi is actually only a 30-minute drive away and Cowbridge is even closer.

At the centre of the house is the great hall boasting wall panelling and a huge replace crowded with stone carvings that are so important to the history of the house, and to Wales, that they are speci cally mentioned in the Cadw listing. Look up and there’s another feature to cherish – a ceiling that is truly breathtaki­ng and described by Cadw as being “the nest surviving intact late Elizabetha­n decorative plasterwor­k ceiling in Glamorgan”.

e great hall has seen many uplifting times but also some dramatic and traumatic moments, full of fear and dread, as local people accused of a crime were dragged inside to be tried and judged. One particular­ly sad tale from the past concerns a local woman convicted of witchcraft at the court who escaped, only to then drown in the lake next to the church. It is said she haunts the area and Leanne said the gardener recently saw watery footprints appear at the house.

But the family aren’t spooked at all by the house and even Rich now loves it – despite regularly hearing doors close and unexplaine­d footsteps.

Leanne says: “I’ve been here on my own in the dark and it doesn’t scare me – she’s a very welcoming home.”

One wing of the house is dedicated to bedrooms accessed via one of four doors in the drawing room and via a choice of two staircases inside this maze of a house. A wonderful nd in this bedroom wing is a room that has a dual aspect over the church and lake. Leanne has cleverly added high bar stools and tables so visitors can sit with a drink and watch the wildlife, the sunset and the night sky appear, either in peaceful solitude or with company.

ere’s no doubt, though, that the best view from the house across the undulating landscape to the Severn estuary is from the top of the tower,

which is totally worth the short climb up a set of ancient stone steps that have seen so many feet pass over the centuries. e house has secrets too.

ere are said to be multiple priest holes inside, used to hide Catholic priests from persecutio­n, a viewing gallery down into the great hall, and one of the bedrooms has a “long drop” toilet tucked into the corner where the hole in a wooden plank provides an ancient version of an en suite.

Outside, the 10 acres of land are idyllic but also of historic importance too, awarded a Grade II listing for being “rare and exceptiona­lly interestin­g”. ey include an ancient well, a ight of limestone steps and yew trees. e listing states that the gardens were laid out in the reign of William and Mary – probably by Humphrey Edwin, who was lord mayor of London in 1697 – and have remained virtually untouched since.

Of course, a huge and ancient property needs a huge budget to maintain it, so Leanne has just opened the house and grounds to host group holidays and weekends, events, weddings and parties, plus a location for lming and photoshoot­s. Leanne has a wealth of knowledge about this building that is now part of her soul and much of it is thanks to Sue and David’s research.

She says: “I sometimes think Sue is with me watching what I am doing because in the BBC TV programme Hidden Houses of Wales she says that if the house isn’t shared then she will haunt the owner.”

Having worked hard to save the house to be cherished into the future, Leanne hopes that sharing the house with visitors and clients as a

nancial way to keep the building maintained is keeping Sue’s legacy of sharing Plas Llanmihang­el with people alive and that will, hopefully, avoid her being haunted.

I discovered my maternal ancestors actually owned this house and lived here

 ?? ?? The women who brought the house back to life, Stacey Gooding, Kim Williams, Caroline Jennings and Leanne Johns
The women who brought the house back to life, Stacey Gooding, Kim Williams, Caroline Jennings and Leanne Johns
 ?? Rob Browne ?? Leanne Johns felt a deep connection to the house and as she restored it she found out why
Rob Browne Leanne Johns felt a deep connection to the house and as she restored it she found out why
 ?? ?? The former kitchen was in a bad way when Leanne bought the house
The former kitchen was in a bad way when Leanne bought the house
 ?? ?? > An old-style security guard welcomes you at the door
> An old-style security guard welcomes you at the door
 ?? ?? > The Queen Anne bedroom has welcomed royalty
> The Queen Anne bedroom has welcomed royalty
 ?? ?? Every room offers a wealth of charming features
Every room offers a wealth of charming features
 ?? ?? The great hall was used as the local courthouse
The great hall was used as the local courthouse

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