The Tower Bridge at Glanusk was built in the 1830s to accompany a Gothic Revival mansion that was demolished in 1952. The bridge and castellated tower were last used in 1977, since when the single-room building has been unused until its recent transformation.
After fourteen years’ careful preparation, to meet the requirements of the planners, the Brecon Beacons National Park and even the building’s resident bats, local craftsmen worked against the clock to complete the conversion in just four months, ahead of a visit by HRH The Prince of Wales in July 2019.
Owner Harry Legge-Bourke designed the new space himself using plans and surviving fixtures from the demolished mansion, while floors and sideboards of Welsh oak and slate and staircase lighting based on Welsh mining lamps from the period add to the sense of place.
Harry Legge-Bourke says, ‘The restoration has been remarkable achievement for the estate team and local craftspeople. It’s taken 28 years of dreaming, 14 years of planning, and four months of hard work and in our first three months of opening we got over forty bookings.’
