A bid to save Abergavenny’s historic Gunter Mansion launched by The Welsh Georgian Trust, has just six months to raise £235,000 to buy and restore one of the town’s most priceless buildings.

The Monmouth-based trust, which specialises in rescuing endangered buildings is now planning to launch a crowdfunding scheme in the hope of raising £50,000 in public contributions and hopes that the rest of the funding will come from various grants after the trust reached an agreement with a Cardiff-based property development firm, to buy the building.

“The Gunter Mansion is by far the most important building at risk in Abergavenny today. It would be a tragedy for the town if we fail in our aim of saving this building. There are six months left for us to raise the purchase price,” said Andrew Beckett, of the WGT

“Although we have support from a number of grant giving bodies we need to raise the balance of funds by crowdfunding and individual contributions.

“An illness of the member of our team who has been leading on crowdfunding has unfortunately delayed our launch date. However we hope to go live with the crowdfunding in the next few weeks.”

Crowdfunding is a method of funding a project or venture by raising cash from a large number of people often via the internet.

It is hoped that when the building is bought Heritage Lottery funding can be sought to fully restore it and make it accessible to the public.

The building is considered a priceless piece of both local and national history because it was home to a secret Catholic chapel in an era of religious struggle in which many were killed for their beliefs.

In the Restoration period (1660-70s) Protestant Britain felt under threat from Catholic resurgence, with Abergavenny in particular discussed in parliament as an incubator of Catholic dissent towards the Crown and the Grade II listed Gunter Mansion was home to Thomas Gunter and where Wales’ last Catholic martyr - St David Lewis - prayed in the building’s hidden chapel before his arrest and execution in 1679.

It also housed a fresco of the Adoration of the Magi by an unknown artist which now takes pride of place in Abergavenny’s castle museum.

The mansion’s secret chapel, measuring 23ft by 10ft, remained undiscovered until 1907.

The trust now needs to raise enough money to buy the building and carry out immediate urgent repairs, which when complete will, it is hoped, allow the chapel to be opened to the public alongside a small centre celebrating the history of Catholicism in Wales.

The bulk of the building will remain retail to ensure it has a viable economic future and it is hoped the development will also help in the regeneration of the lower part of the town centre.

To find out about the project visit welshgeorgiantrust.org.uk or email [email protected]