I’m a Celebrity venue Gwrych Castle receives £2m funding lifeline
A North Wales castle which played host to the “I’m a Celebrity” TV series during Covid has been given a lifeline of £2.2m in funding.
Gwrych Castle has received the sum from the National Heritage Memorial Fund (NHMF) to enable the trust which runs it to undertake urgent repairs, including by adding a permanent roof and flooring.
The Grade I-listed building has been identified by Welsh Government body Cadw as an irreplaceable cultural asset.
In recent years, the castle gained widespread attention by becoming the home of ITV’s ‘I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here’ for 2020 and 2021.
The funding from NHMF will enable the Gwrych Castle Preservation Trust to rescue the castle’s main building from imminent collapse.
It comes after repairs were previously halted due to the closure of the castle during the Covid pandemic.
Dr Mark Baker, chair of Gwrych Castle Preservation Trust, said: “This vital grant from the National Heritage Memorial Fund, coupled with match funding from the Richard Broyd Charitable Trust, truly is a lifeline for Gwrych Castle in order to overcome the ongoing setbacks to the castle’s restoration that were caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.
“The buildings are in perilous condition following the pandemic, during which development plans were limited and significantly delayed by the lack of funding streams and restrictions on construction work.
“This combined with extreme weather conditions has contributed to a decline to the roofless main building.
“With this substantial funding award, we can reverse the critical situation that the site is currently in, allowing Gwrych Castle to be returned to its former glory and offering our visitors the best experience when they come to learn about the fascinating heritage it has to share.”
The property was built and designed between 1812 and 1822 by Lloyd Hesketh Bamford-Hesketh as a memorial to his family.
It was based on King Hywel Dda’s early-medieval Welsh law of a ‘princely court’ of nine parts with the main house containing the ‘great hall’ and the family’s private apartments.
In 1845, the castle was extended with a new bedroom wing, staircase and porch. A chapel, designed by George Edmund Street, was added to the house in 1870s when most of the gardens were planted.
The state apartments were later redesigned, including the construction of the marble staircase, which forms a key part of the planned restoration work.
During World War II, the castle was requisitioned as part of Operation Kindersport, providing a place of safety for around 200 Jewish children.
It was also used as the training ground of Randolph Turpin, the first black boxer to win a World Championship title in 1951.
Ben Cowell, director general of Historic Houses, said: “For more than forty years, the NHMF has been a vital force in rescuing threatened country house heritage across the UK.
“This latest grant, along with the generous support of the Richard Broyd Charitable Trust, will help to safeguard an important Welsh house and keep it open to public access for many years to come.
“At Historic Houses we applaud the work of Mark Baker and the Gwrych Castle Preservation Trust for all they are doing to look after this very special place.”
Dr Simon Thurley, chair of the National Heritage Memorial Fund, said: “I am thrilled that the National Heritage Memorial Fund are able to support Gwrych Castle Trust with this vital grant to safeguard its future, particularly after the challenges that the global pandemic has thrown at the structure and the people who devote such care to it.
“Gwrych Castle is a testament to the rich heritage of Wales, and the UK more widely, and is a notable example of how heritage shapes our lives and the places in which we live.”
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