A well-known Montgomeryshire country hall is opening its doors to the public for free on Sunday as part of the Open Doors day events to celebrate the architecture and heritage.
It will be the second year that Gregynog Hall at Tregynon, near Newtown has held an event as part of European Heritage Days, which offers free access to a variety of buildings, heritage sites and events of all kinds each September.
Gregynog Hall, former home of famous art collecting sisters Margaret and Gwendoline Davies, is now a picturesque and historic conference, event and study venue.
The hall, which was bequeathed by Margaret Davies to the University of Wales in 1960, will be open from 11am to 4pm free of charge with tours at 11am, 12.30pm and 2pm. Advance booking for the tours is recommended.
Visitors will be able to enjoy a leisurely afternoon reading the information, which will be on display in our historic ground floor rooms. The Courtyard Cafe will also be open for lunches and Welsh afternoon teas.
Another forthcoming event at Gregynog Hall is a Halloween dinner and ghost hunt on 31 October. A three-course dinner will be followed by a tour of hall, looking for its famous ghosts. The cost of the spooky event is £45 per person.
Ghost hunters from ‘Most Haunted’ turned the spotlight on Gregynog Hall back in 2010. The team was called in after members of Mid Wales Paranormal reported lots of ghostly activity in the hall
Gregynog Hall is not widely known for ghosts, but staff have been reporting strange happenings for many years, which persuaded director Karen Armstrong to investigate more deeply.
The building is believed to be haunted by a number of ghosts, including a man called William who wears a long black coat, has a dog and doesn’t like other men very much. He wanders up and down the corridors, reportedly used to knock the shoulder of a previous male director of the hall as he left his office and was actually seen by Miss Armstrong’s father during a Christmas security patrol.
A new event for Gregynog this year is a Christmas Flowers and Food Day on Monday, November 26 from 10am to 4pm, which is guaranteed to get visitors in the mood for the festive season.
The day consists of a half-day practical flower arranging workshop with Annette Dowling and a cookery demonstration by head chef, Heiko Simmchen, who aims to inspire visitors to try something different this Christmas.
People attending the workshop will be given a list of what they need to bring in advance and foliage will be provided. Morning and afternoon tea/coffee plus a delicious two course lunch are included in the £30 price.
As numbers are limited, early booking is recommended on Tel: 01686 650224.