Plas Gunter Mansion restoration project

Restoration project

Plas Gunter Mansion has a remarkable history. With its hidden Catholic chapel and its gorgeous 17th century ceiling, this building could be one of the brightest jewels in Abergavenny’s tourism crown.

We have received funding from the National Lottery Heritage Fund!

Plas Gunter Mansion has been awarded a £222,340 development grant by the National Lottery Heritage Fund!

The grant will allow the Trust to create detailed restoration plans, develop ideas, including events and activities, which engage more people in the heritage of Gunter Mansion whilst strengthening ties with the local community. It will also be used crucially, to seek over £600,000 of the match funding we are required to raise.

By carrying out targeted preparation the Trust will make a full application for a Heritage Fund delivery grant of £3.3m by December 2025.

The team

World-renowned conservation architects, Purcell, have been appointed to head up the design team. Purcell bring experience of working on a vast range of heritage projects, large and small. The Bristol-based team impressed the trustees not only with their understanding of heritage buildings, but with their collaborative and community-centred approach.

Other appointments include the Funding Centre who will support the Trust with business planning and fundraising, and Headland Design Associates who will lead on activities & audience development and interpretive design. Marketer, Matt Carwardine-Palmer will be writing our marketing communications strategy while freelancer, Eve Woods, will be turning up the volume on our social media.

Plas Gunter Mansion trustees remain very much involved with our Office Administrator project-managing the whole development phase.

Plas Gunter Mansion development phase team

Progress so far

Dating Plas Gunter Mansion

On 18 October 2022, six timber cores were taken from the main house for tree ring width dating.

Read more about the technique and what was discovered - How old is Plas Gunter Mansion and how do we know?

Aims

Our vision for the renovation is four-fold:

To restore the building preserving its historical integrity
Ensure sustainability by generating an income
Engage the public and embed the project in the community
Help regenerate lower Cross Street

Three important themes will be woven through all our activities:

The history of the building and its occupants
The religious significance attached to the building
The persecution of minorities

We want to restore external and internal features of the early building and remove later inappropriate additions and alterations. The shops will remain but our intention is that the most historically important rooms will be available to visit. There will also be a visitors' centre and programme of community involvement.

We believe this arrangement will allow the building to be financially self-sustaining, while allowing the public to see the most significant rooms and embracing history in a modern context relevant to today.