News
The Prince of Wales visits Llwynywermod near Myddfai
22nd February 2008
The Prince of Wales today visited the Duchy of Cornwall’s new property in West Wales to see first-hand the progress that has been made on its renovation.
Llwynywermod, near the village of Myddfai, Llandovery, Carmarthenshire, was bought by the Duchy of Cornwall in November 2006, with completion in April 2007.
His Royal Highness, as both Duke of Cornwall and Prince of Wales, was for some time keen for The Duchy to purchase a property in Wales.
Llwynywermod will be used by The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall when they are in Wales on their regular visits and annual summer tour.
The property will be used as occasional holiday lets when The Prince and The Duchess are not there and it will also be used by some of The Prince’s Charities, many of which are very active in Wales.
David Curtis, Land Steward for the Duchy of Cornwall, explained: "The conference suite will be used for functions tied to The Prince's various charities.
"The cottages will be used to house people who will come here for that purpose and when they are empty they will be available for let to tourists."
Llwynywermod is being renovated using the expertise of skilled Welsh craftsmen and women.
Craig Hamilton, the project's official architect, showed The Prince around the site and introduced him to the craftsmen and women working on the restoration.
The post-war out-buildings have now gone and have been replaced with a line of cottages enclosing the courtyard in the way originally intended two centuries ago.
His Royal Highness was shown a new communal dining room where a large arched window is being created. Next to the same block a small conference suite is in the process of being built.
The first phase of work is scheduled to finish some time this summer and the whole project should be concluded by the autumn.
In addition, 60 acres of parkland will gradually be returned to its former state.
Master mason Olly Coe, who runs Coe Stone of Carmarthen, is delighted to be working on the restoration project and believes it will be good for the local economy.
He said: "I believe that working on a project like this will have a knock-on effect for business. It certainly won't do any harm."
Mr Coe said his workmen, who use traditional lime mortar in their renovation work, were already highly regarded craftsmen in their field.
"We are already strong in renovation work but it is nice for everyone to work on a project like this."