Project background
Nantclwyd Y Dre is a Grade 1 listed medieval townhouse of national significance and is one of the oldest dated timber-framed townhouses in Wales. A capital project to restore the main house and gardens was undertaken in 2006, which enabled the opening of the main house and gardens to the public. However, the house’s West Wing was left in a safe yet somewhat dilapidated state awaiting further funding.
In 2022, £10,000 of grant funding from the Architectural Heritage Fund’s Transforming Heritage programme was secured by the volunteer group, the Friends of Nantclwyd Y Dre. This grant was utilised to fund the cost of preliminary surveys, a feasibility study, and architectural drawings that formed the basis for the Levelling Up Fund (LUF) grant application.
The LUF grant will be utilised to bring into use the final undeveloped spaces – the West Wing and a small, two-storey garden structure from the 18th century known as the summerhouse. This project will contribute to the outputs and outcomes to be delivered through the Clwyd West Levelling Up Fund Application, Protecting Ruthin’s Unique Heritage, Wellbeing and Rural Communities.
Following consultation with key stakeholders, it was decided that the most sustainable approach to developing the West Wing is to create holiday accommodation on the upper floor and to improve catering and volunteer facilities in the ground floor spaces. Meanwhile, the summerhouse ground floor room will become the gardeners’ equipment store, and the upper floor will be a new visitor space with views of the town and accompanying interpretation.
These developments will enable a growth in income generation to help sustain the site and Denbighshire’s Heritage Service. The catering space will also help to facilitate weddings and larger events. The improved volunteer facilities will help us to retain volunteers and attract more, as volunteers are essential for the maintenance of the gardens and raising funds for the site.