Property Drop Issue 20

23
Becky was determined to do right by the
venerable old building, using traditional materials
and respecting its original fabric and features. She
did her research and when it came to the choice of
materials: “If they didn’t have it 500 years ago, or if
it wasn’t already here, we didn’t use it,” she says.
The transformation took four years, in which
Becky set about some of the work herself, learning
how to reinstate the lime plaster and undeterred by
the time-consuming job of staining the old beams
using a toothbrush. Justifiably, she is proud of what
she had achieved and working on the old building
has given her insights into its past.
In the oldest part of the building there is now
a cosy living room with an open fireplace and a
beautiful cobbled floor, formerly covered with
carpet, which Becky has exposed and had repointed.
There is also a double bedroom (which could also
be used as a snug or dining room) alongside. She
believes these rooms would have been part of a 12th
Century grange, with animals on the ground floor
and living space above, accessed by an external
staircase. Today, the upstairs accommodation is
reached by an internal staircase. The largest of two
upper rooms is now presented as a magnificent
banqueting hall. It has a large stone fireplace and
in the middle are a large trestle dining table and
wooden benches, which Becky had specially built
to fit the sloping floor. The hall would originally
have formed the main living accommodation and
would have had a central fire, she thinks, whilst to
one side, accessed by a superb, studded oak door, is
a double bedroom, which would once have been a
private chamber.
Over the centuries, the building has been much
altered and extended. Today, there’s a further floor
above the two-storey grange, laid out to provide
two bedrooms and a bathroom and above that
there’s a large attic. There is also a three-storey 15th
Century extension, probably added to provide more
accommodation for the monks. On the ground
floor of this is the kitchen, dominated by an open
fireplace with a large bread oven to one side. Becky
has designed the kitchen carefully. There’s a large
electric range in the fireplace, a massive Gothicstyle
oak dresser which has been carved to fit the
contours of the uneven wall and a central oak island,
with granite worktops, which hides the electric
plugs and functioning part of the kitchen. The fridge
freezer is cleverly hidden behind a curtain in the
corner of the room.
Above the kitchen are two bedrooms which
are little changed, structurally, from when they
were monks’ cells. The first floor bedroom is now
dominated by a carved four-poster bed which Becky
bought from the Woodcarvers’ Guild in Somerset.
Get the Lifestyle
Get the Look
The banqueting table and benches were hand made
by Colin Powell Carpentry and Kitchens, Langstone
01633 411070. The traditional-style candle lantern
in the centre of the table is from Salt and Pepper
Gift Shop, 31-33 Monnow Street, Monmouth 01600
719717 www.saltandpepper.co.uk
This pewter pitcher is from Didier and Dandelion,
72 Monnow Street, Monmouth, 01600 711500
www.didieranddandelion.co.uk
Becky has transformed Llanthony Secunda Manor into a home with a fine future as well as a
fascinating past. Now it’s time for new owners to enjoy it. The property in Church Road, Caldicot is
on the market for offers in excess of £800,000 with Fine and Country, 30 High Street, Chepstow
01291 629799 www.fineandcountry.com
The window seats are a perfect height for kneeling
for prayer and have a distinctive wimple-shaped
lintel. Becky has curtained off the garderobe to one
side of the fireplace to create a walk-in wardrobe
and a space to the other side, where a spiral staircase
would once have been, has been cleverly converted
into an en-suite. The second 15th Century bedroom,
above, is almost identical and is presented in much
the same way. Above
this, accessed by a
stone spiral staircase
is an attic room with
exposed stone walls,
which could be used
as a further bedroom
or reception room.
A notable feature is
the large bread oven
in the corner, which
Becky believes would
have been used for
consecrated bread.
At some time
in the 18th or 19th
Century, the L-shaped
house was enclosed
by the addition
of a two-storey
extension and Becky has further added to this extra
accommodation by incorporating a 19th Century
lean-to. The space is arranged to form a large
entrance hall, study, utility room and store room on
the ground floor, with a first floor breakfast room
and family bathroom and further utility and storage
rooms above. Outside, the well-laid out gardens are
enclosed by a high stone wall.
Main photos: Becky Adorjan