One of Wales’ leading country houses is celebrating after being awarded £20,000 from the Architectural Heritage Fund to begin work on planning a new roof to safeguard its future.
Since 2019, Gregynog Hall has been run by a Charitable Trust, dedicated to safeguarding property and estate, located at Tregynon, near Newtown, as a magical place for generations to come.
Following several technical inspections, it was clear the continuing efforts to patch and repair the deteriorating roof of Gregynog were not sufficient to prevent the building being damaged.
The grant will support work to assess the level of damage to the buildings and the cost of repairing the roof. Gregynog Trustees have appointed Manchester based architects Buttress to carry out these initial stages of work.
Alex Scrimshaw, associate at Buttress, said: “We are pleased to be working with Gregynog Trust in developing the funding application for the roof restoration project. As one of Wales’ architectural treasures, this work marks an important step towards ensuring that the hall’s architectural integrity and historical significance are preserved for future generations.”
The original hall was built between c.1840 and c.1880 on the site of a former house owned by the Blayney family. The new hall was designed and built by the new owners, the Hanbury-Tracys.
In 1895, its ownership passed to Lord Joicey, who carried out alterations including a billiard room extension, before selling the hall and its entire estate in lots at auction in 1913.
In 1920, the hall, its gardens, parkland and much-reduced estate were purchased by the Davies sisters, Gwendoline and Margaret, with the sole intention of creating a venue for Welsh culture.
Their alterations to realise this vision were purposefully simple, in some cases austere, and included extensions to create a Music Room with residential accommodation and further space to house the equipment required for their newly-founded Gregynog Press.
The hall and estate were bequeathed to the University of Wales in 1960, welcoming its first students in 1964 and being extended with the Refectory Block to the rear in 1967.
Gregynog still welcomes students from across the country for conferences and events, as well as hosting weddings, proms, corporate meetings and a family friendly programme of concerts and outdoor trails.
Lydia Bassett, Gregynog’s director of business development, said: “We have a huge job to do to safeguard Gregynog for the future but we are very excited to be taking these first steps towards repairing the roof.
“Gregynog is such a special place with an incredible history and we want to make sure we can keep the estate open to everyone, every day and ensure the house remains a welcoming and inspirational place for generations to come.”
