Heritage Lottery funding of nearly £300,000 is about to turn the spotlight on one of Monmouthshire's 'best kept secrets'. Cefn Ila near Usk is the site of an old maternity hospital, destroyed by fire in the 1970s. It also served as a convalescent home for evacuees from London during the Second World War and generations of local people have strong memories of and links with the house's history. The once beautiful manor, now derelict, stood in a landscaped Victorian pleasure garden with an arboretum and walled garden, surrounded by a wider landscape of small woodlands and farmed pasture. The HFL grant awarded to Coed Cadw - The Woodland Trust in Wales - will finance a three-year project to restore built elements of this unique natural space whilst protecting and managing the many habitats at the site.  Cefn Ila already plays a vital role in the biodiversity of the local area. Since Coed Cadw acquired the 72-acre site in 2007, over 36,000 trees have been planted which are already well on their way to becoming young broadleaf woodland.  This new woodland forms an integral part of a mosaic of habitats, including species-rich grassland, hedgerows and wild flowers. The site is designated as one of Cadw's registered Historic Parks and Gardens in Wales. It is home to a bat maternity roost, song thrushes and marsh tits and a number of priority habitats under the UK Biodiversity Action Plan. Despite being within walking distance of Usk, Cefn Ila still manages to retain a feeling of seclusion and tranquility. Through the Discover Cefn Ila project Coed Cadw will work with a range of partners to encourage new audiences to learn about and explore its unique history.  Site manager Barry Embling said the new funding would see the creation of an innovative 'visitor experience', with public access improved throughout the site so that everyone can explore and enjoy the restored Victorian pleasure grounds, the walled garden and the rare heritage fruit tree orchard. "The site was originally acquired for plant investigation. The Victorian pleasure gardens include an arboretum which we are restoring, which has some notable mature conifer trees including four giant redwoods. There is also an old orchard of apples and pears, including some rare types that we are trying to identify. "There are lots of clues as to the activities that went on at Cefn Ila in the past. The layout of the old lawn tennis courts, for example, is still visible." The HLF grant will be used in a variety of ways that will encourage more people to visit the site– with the addition of new kissing gates, benches, interpretation boards and the like around the site and the labelling of trees in the arboretum. "We will also be creating improved access, with surfaced paths and circular routes for less able visitors," said Barry. "And we will be making a visitor shelter in the old greenhouse, which in Victorian times would have been used to cultivate exotic plants such as pineapples. "We're looking for local volunteers to help us with the restoration work - pruning around surviving rhododendrons in the pleasure gardens for example. "We've already approached local schools to get involved in the project and hopefully local community groups will run events linked to the site." "There will also be an oral history project, developed in partnership with Usk Rural Life Museum, which will capture the stories and experiences of those with a connection to the hospital. Cefn Ila is a fascinating place for many reasons and we hope the project will enable many more people to enjoy it," said Barry.