Our work at Tredegar House

A builder assesses scaffolding on the front of Tredegar House — The Lifting the Lid project, which ran through 2017, restored a large section of the roof | © Hannah Thompson, National Trust

Our work at Tredegar House has undertaken millions of pounds of renovation projects in recent years, including re-tiling a large amount of the enormous mansion roof and renovating the laundry building for community use. Here’s how these improvements aid the local community.

Conserving Tredegar House for future generations

With more than 500 years of history within its walls, the Tredegar team works every day to preserve the house’s treasured history and ensure future generations can enjoy this special place. This ranges from monitoring the conditions to protecting the collection, to replacing vast sections of the roof.

Lifting the lid on Tredegar House

In 2017, Tredegar House finished an enormous £1.3 million construction project to safeguard the future of the 17th-century mansion, plus its surrounding gardens and parklands, for generations to come.

The ‘Lifting the Lid’ project saw scaffolding erected over the entire roof by contractors Ellis and Co and scaffolding company Pen Mill Scaffolding, which used their specialist experience to fix and redevelop several areas, including making significant repairs to the mansion’s slate roof, plus its chimneys and windows.

Along with government funding, the public raised thousands of pounds for the National Trust’s #SignASlate campaign, and an army of volunteers helped to preserve and protect the 500 years of Tredegar House heritage, by spending months carefully packing and protecting the historic collection in the attic rooms, so repairs could be carried out.

Creating space for the local community

Tredegar House shares so much of its history with its local community and will share its future with them too. The National Trust is passionate about making space for locals to not only enjoy Tredegar, but to benefit from it too.

There are a number of longstanding relationships with local organisations, who use the grounds to improve their mental health, learn something new and make friends with likeminded people.

The restored laundry building — The historic grade II listed laundry building provides a space for local organisations to deliver formal and informal training | © Hannah Thompson, National Trust

The Laundry Project

A big part of the conservation work at Tredegar has been restoring the old laundry building, which is now a space for both local groups and visitors to relax and feel the physical and emotional benefits of being immersed in nature.

The historic grade II listed laundry building provides a space for local organisations to deliver formal and informal training. Inspiring learning, it offers opportunities to socialise and promotes the wellbeing of the Duffryn community.

The allotments

The accessible allotments that surround the laundry are where local food can be grown by local people, helping to reconnect the Duffryn community with local heritage.

For several years, the ‘allotmenteers’ from the Duffryn community have been growing and harvesting fruit and vegetables from the allotment at Tredegar House. There’s a now also a sensory garden filled with tactile and aromatic herbs and plants in the grounds, along with a garden of tranquillity – providing a quiet area for reflection and contemplation.

An area for raised bedding ensures wheelchair users can also access the enormous benefits gardening can bring. While the gardens are primarily utilised by local community groups, they open to the public on select dates.

Volunteer in the Walled Garden at Tredegar House, Wales | © National Trust Images/Trevor Ray Hart

‘This project is what the National Trust is all about. It didn’t start with conservation or the building, it started with people and what the people of this area wanted from this wonderful space and making everyone welcome.’

– Hilary McGrady, National Trust director general

Getting outdoors can bring huge benefits to physical and mental wellbeing. A single interaction with nature can result in a positive effect on someone’s mood that lasts up to seven hours, claim experts. Those who are at a greater risk of developing mental health issues, such as depression or anxiety, hugely benefit from getting outdoors.

Activities such as communal gardening can also improve confidence and increase a person’s social interactions, helping them make new connections and receive peer-to-peer support.

Woodland Routes to Wellbeing

Woodland Routes to Wellbeing is a collaborative project between the National Trust, Growing Space, Duffryn Community Link and Keep Wales Tidy to develop sustainable, community-managed woodland and green spaces within the Duffryn estate.

Funded through the BIG Lottery Create your Space programme, the project aims to provide a means of enhancing the social, physical and mental wellbeing of those families and individuals residing in and around Duffryn. The community allotment and gardens at Tredegar House are part of this wider project.