Plas Gunter Mansion

Our connection to St Mary’s Priory Church ⛪️

St Mary’s Priory in Abergavenny was founded around 1087 and, over the centuries, became a wealthy and influential institution. It experienced periods of decline caused by poor discipline, the Black Death and damage from Welsh raids led by Owain Glyndŵr.

By the early 1500s, the Priory held extensive lands and income from shops, mills and local properties. By the time of the Dissolution of the Monasteries under Henry VIII, the Priory had only a Prior and four monks who used the chancel and the body of the church was used by the town parishioners. Henry VIII agreed to allow the parishioners to have the church as its parish church as St John's (the original parish church) was too small. St John's was endowed with some of the tithes which had been paid by parishioners to the Priory and became King Henry's Grammar School. The Priory lands and buildings were then sold.

James Gunter purchased part of this land and used stone from the Priory to build a grand house called Priory House. After James’s death shortly afterwards, the property passed to his son, Robert Gunter. Priory House was demolished in the 1950s and the Priory Centre occupies part of that ground.

Read more about Gunter Mansion's history on our website: https://www.plasguntermansion.org.uk

Would you like to take part in a hands-on Community Archaeology experience taking place on 18 and 19 June 2026? 🪏

Plas Gunter Mansion Trust is working in partnership with Black Mountains Archaeology to host a Community Archaeology project at the rear of Plas Gunter.

We know that previous excavations have revealed a portion of a Roman road and post-Medieval finds, so this is your opportunity to find some treasure!

You can book a full-day session on either Thursday 18 June or Friday 19 June. Sessions are open to anyone over the age of 18 and are completely free of charge to participants.

To read more, see our Community Archaeology Information Pack here:
https://mcusercontent.com/c3a609022d5172c52e66079cf/files/9b47a1db-28c9-df58-db4e-3dd190993002/Community_Archaeology_Information_Pack.pdf

We may take photographs or video footage during the sessions, so please download and sign a photography and video consent form here:
https://mcusercontent.com/c3a609022d5172c52e66079cf/files/fc220907-2f5a-6f77-ae6b-1e5efda33492/Plas_Gunter_photo_consent_form_adults_.pdf

If you would like to book a session or have any questions, please email [email protected]

Who discovered the secret Catholic activities in the chapel at the mansion? 💭

In the 1600s, the Gunter family remained committed to Catholicism at a time when it was illegal and dangerous in Britain.

At Gunter Mansion, we think Thomas converted the attic into a hidden chapel. Here, Catholics would have gathered for Masses led by Jesuit priests, including David Lewis and Philip Evans.

The chapel attracted official attention. In 1678, John Arnold, a Justice of the Peace, reported Thomas Gunter’s activities to the government during the period known as the Popish Plot.

Read an extract from Arnold’s report in 1678 below.

“...that he had seen a Publick chapel near the house of Mr Thomas Gunter, a papist convict, in Abergavenny, adorned with the mark of the Jesuits on the outside, and is informed that Mass is said there by Captain Evans, a reported Jesuit, and by the aforesaid David Lewis in that very great numbers resort to the said chapel and very often at Church time, and he hath credibly heard that hundreds have gone out of the said chapel when not forty have gone out of the said church, that the said chapel is situate in a publick street of the said town, and doth front the street.”

Both Philip Evans and David Lewis were later arrested and executed.

You can read more about Gunter Mansion’s history on our website:
https://www.plasguntermansion.org.uk/history

The garden pond at Gunter Mansion 🎣

Excavations in the garden have revealed a pond, which would have been valuable as a source of fresh fish. This discovery offers insight into daily life at the house and the dietary practices of the time.

For Catholics, who were often required to avoid eating meat during certain periods, access to fresh fish was important. The pond would have allowed the household at Gunter Mansion to meet these religious dietary requirements.

This is an imagined drawing of where the pond may have been.

You can read more about Gunter Mansion’s history on our website:
https://www.plasguntermansion.org.uk/history

Some pics of our recent activities! 📸
We’ve got a polytunnel on the newly levelled garden. We can’t wait to see what our volunteers get up to in there!

Excavations in the garden revealed large footings indicating a building had been there previously, along with post-medieval cobbling consistent with the date of the house.

We know there is a Roman road in the garden. Fortunately, the excavations confirmed it's not close to the house which makes building our new extension easier. A community archaeological dig in June will hopefully reveal its exact location.

Scaffolding is in place for the ceiling works. You can't miss it if you walk down the lane from the Tithe Barn to the bus station behind the Cross Street shops.

📬 Sign up to our newsletter to get the latest updates on our progress: https://shorturl.at/nb5nn

Are you local to Abergavenny? 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿
This Local History Month we want to tell you all about something you may not have known was pretty close by to you... Plas Gunter Mansion.

Gunter Mansion is a 400-year-old historic house sitting right on Abergavenny high street. It has Tudor door frames and moulded timber ceilings, showing beautiful craftsmanship from the mid-1600s. Its design evolved through the Georgian era, but inside holds stories from four centuries past.

In 2028, it will welcome visitors to experience the hidden Catholic chapel, 17th century ornate plaster ceiling and the story of the Gunter family who lived there.

Share this with your friends so they can learn about this hidden gem of Abergavenny. 💎

Plas Gunter Mansion is a small house with a big story.

From early Roman discoveries and through times of religious persecution, this 400-year-old building is now embarking on a new chapter in its history and has many secrets to tell.

In 2028, it will welcome visitors to experience the hidden Catholic chapel, 17th century plaster ceiling and the story of the Gunter family who lived there.

If you care about its preservation, you can support us in a variety of ways.

You can become a member for just £1.25 per month: https://www.plasguntermansion.org.uk/member

Receive exclusive benefits by becoming a Founder for £10 per month:
https://www.plasguntermansion.org.uk/founder

Or support us with a one-time or monthly donation of your choosing: https://www.plasguntermansion.org.uk/donate

Abergavenny has status as a Town of Sanctuary, committed to welcoming and supporting people seeking safety. 🤝

But this idea of sanctuary is not new.

As far back as the 17th century, Abergavenny appears to have been a place where difference was quietly tolerated, even when the law said Catholics should be prosecuted for worshipping in the Catholic faith.

Thomas Gunter II, a Catholic, lived in Plas Gunter Mansion with his non-Catholic nephew, Richard Gunter. This seemed to have been an open secret with a mark indicating a Catholic chapel on the outside of the building.

Thomas and his wife should have been prosecuted several times for this, but local people must have turned a blind eye as no arrests were made at that time.

This leads us to believe that most people in Abergavenny had a tolerance towards other faiths including the Catholics.

Abergavenny’s modern status as a Town of Sanctuary is not a break from the past, but a continuation of it.

What a lovely thing to know about the Abergavenny community!