More than 80 people attended the recent joint meeting to set up a local ‘Friends’ organisation for the Gunter Mansion in Cross Street, Abergavenny.

Tony Konieczny, who chaired the meeting on behalf of Abergavenny Civic Society, was delighted with the turnout, and emphasised how important the restoration of the building will be in improving footfall and interest in this part of Abergavenny.

Chairman of Abergavenny Local History Society Dr Gill Wakley reminded those present that concerns about the state of the building had been raised with the owners as far back as 2009, and that it was a relief that the building was now owned by the Welsh Georgian Trust and that work could begin on restoring the building appropriately.

Andrew Beckett, Chair of the Welsh Georgian Trust gave a presentation on the historical significance of Gunter Mansion, as well as the work undertaken to date to purchase the building. This led to some interesting questions from the audience, as well as a number of fascinating stories from a number of people who have a personal connection to the building.

The final part of the meeting centred on the establishment of a ‘Friends’ group, that will focus on researching the history of the building, running the ‘pop-up’ display area in the building and marketing the project.

Mr Beckett commented, ‘At the meeting, we had a tremendous response to our call for volunteers to join a Friends group, with over 25 people interested. We are now looking forward to our first meeting on March 30, when we can start to develop our work programme for the next few months, including funding applications and historical research.’

Anyone interested in getting involved, either as an active volunteer or just being on the mailing list for information, is welcome to contact the Friends on [email protected] . More information can also be found on the website at www.welshgeorgiantrust.org.uk