In the Black Mountains, an important piece of Welsh heritage has been saved.

Llwyn Celyn post-restoration, © John Miller

A grand Medieval residence at its core, Llwyn Celyn was latterly used as a farmhouse, its condition declining to a point of near complete dereliction in recent years beneath a canopy of emergency scaffolding. Since 2016 this entire complex of historic buildings has been the subject of renovation by buildings charity The Landmark Trust, whose work is the focus of a new 2-part TV documentary which began last week.

Interior of the solar wing photographed mid-restoration November 2017, © Duncan Tattersall

I became involved with Llwyn Celyn’s revival in 2018, being commissioned to design and produce bespoke hand-printed curtains for the property’s interiors:

Historic motifs relating to the property create textiles which interpret its history

Once structural stability is re-established, historic plasterwork patched and modern facilities sensitively incorporated, buildings owned by The Landmark Trust are appropriately furnished for holiday occupancy, as a means of generating income towards their ongoing maintenance for generations to come.

Interiors of Llwyn Celyn showing my curtains, © John Miller

I charted my inspirations and processes behind this project in a blog on the Landmark Trust website, and the results are due to feature in the second episode of More 4’s documentary tomorrow evening.

Watch £4 Million Restoration: Historic House Rescue on Wednesday 23rd January at 9pm on More4.

Catch up with Episode 1 on the Channel 4 website

A number of my pencil studies, drawings and sketches are now available for sale in my new Etsy shop. All items are professionally framed, and some are also available unframed if you prefer to choose your own moulding. Each work is one of a kind, and offered with free shipping within the UK. I will also soon be adding a number of collages.

Visit the store here, to browse all available pieces.

Longstanding readers may recall my account of Auchinleck House, above, which I penned back in 2013 after staying in this fascinating Ayrshire house for a few days in the depths of winter. In 2014 I became a member of the housekeeping team at Auchinleck, helping to care for James Boswell’s former home until March this year when I took up a new role with The Landmark Trust as their Properties Assistant in the south of England.

After being lucky enough to experience many of the charity’s wonderful buildings in the past few years, winter is still my favourite time to inhabit history, and I recently shared this enthusiasm in a blog for the Trust. Read my recommendations for low-season escapism, from country house to cottage, on the Landmark Trust website.

In the past ten years Dumfries House has become one of Scotland’s premier tourist destinations and pinnacles of preservation. Warding off the threat of dispersal, its contents are now saved to be admired by the many visitors who discover its restored rooms, heralding a new era and identity for this treasured building and collection.

But what of those grand houses less fortunate; the contemporaries and successors of Dumfries House whose gradual decline through the twentieth century ended in ruination rather than regeneration?

After eight years documenting Scotland’s abandoned mansions, artist Duncan Tattersall offers a visual exploration of these abandoned places, drawing on his own original imagery and photographic archive to discuss their unique appeal and significance in Scotland’s built heritage.

Join me for this illustrated talk on Thursday 31st August 2017.

BOOK TICKETS HERE

In conjunction with my current exhibition, In Stately Silence, I will be delivering an illustrated talk in the gallery at Mellerstain House on Saturday 10th September at 2pm.

This presentation will chart the development of my 8-year project recording derelict mansions across Scotland, featuring a number of the ruins I have explored and offering an insight into the artworks they have inspired, with a chance to view the show afterwards.

Admission free – reserve your place to avoid disappointment as spaces are filling up fast. Email: enquiries@mellerstain.com Tel: 01573 410 225