A 17TH CENTURY mansion with a secret Catholic chapel in Abergavenny faces an uncertain future after a bid to secure restoration funds remains in the balance.
Plas Gunter Mansion, on Cross Street, is in the hands of the National Lottery Heritage Fund after a bid for £3.1 to cover renovations was submitted in mid August.
Plas Gunter Mansion is a Grade II listed building of national – and international – significance.
This is largely down to its role in the political and religious struggles of the 1670s.
In 1907, local builders discovered a secret chapel in the attic of the house where Catholics had worshipped at a time when it was illegal and dangerous to do so.
Recusants – those not conforming to the religious practices of the Anglican Church – could be punished with death.
It is the only known recusant chapel that exists in Wales and one of the best surviving examples in the whole of Britain.
What's more, the priest who led the secret Catholic services in the attic chapel was the son of the first Headmaster of King Henry VIII Grammar School.
Father David Lewis was denounced to Parliament by priest-hunter, John Arnold of Llanfihangel Court, near Abergavenny and was arrested, hanged, drawn and quartered at Usk on August 27, 1679.
Later canonised, Saint David Lewis was Wales’ last Catholic martyr.
After being boarded up and hidden from sight for more than two hundred years, the chapel and a fine ornate plaster ceiling were uncovered in 1907.
However, the house remains in a poor state of repair.
The trust believe it is "only a matter of time before the decline is irreversible".
“We’ve always known it would take several years to research and involve a broad range of local stakeholders in shaping our restoration plans,” Owen Davies, chair of the PGM Trust, said.
The renovation of PGM is planned to come in four parts:
- A welcome space on the ground floor leading to an exhibition on the first floor where the ornate plasterwork ceiling is located and up to the secret chapel in the attic
- First floor flexible office/meeting room space available for hire or for Trust activities
- Two upgraded ground floor commercial units for local businesses which will generate an income and help the building become financially sustainable
Because of the dilapidated state of the building, it isn’t yet possible to open the historical parts of the house to the public, but an exhibition space on the ground floor currently opens on Tuesdays, Fridays and Saturdays from 10.30am to 4pm.
The Trustees should know by December whether their bid has been successful.
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