THE restoration of a stunning country house near Cardigan is set to see it play a central role in the local community once more.

Ian and Sandu Baker-Hellings have been lovingly restoring Cilwendeg Mansion, outside Boncath, to its former glory.

The couple brought the property - which had been used by the county council as a residential care home from 1955 until it closed in 2010 - on Valentine’s Day four years ago and since then, have been painstakingly bringing it back to life, unearthing many hidden gems along the way.

Sandu has been especially keen to tap into local businesses and suppliers to bring about the transformation.

They are now tantalisingly close to achieving their dream with the end of their ambitious project in sight in the next few months.

“Renovating Cilwendeg has been very much a labour of love, I am so passionate about the place,” said Sandu.

“Winston Churchill is thought to have stayed here and we would love to confirm that, we are also uncovering architectural features in the building that need explaining and I am keen to fill in some of the gaps in Cilwendeg’s long history” she added.

Cilwendeg is a Grade II Georgian mansion house built on the site of a former property dating back to the 1500s and once fully restored, will be available for private hire.

Presented as an exclusive-use luxury venue, the entire mansion house, gardens and staff will be available solely for the private enjoyment of resident guests for the duration of their stay.

Sandu and Ian are keen to showcase the area and all it has to offer, in terms of tourism and artisan businesses and the house and estate will provide employment in the area.

However, as well as catering for high-end clients from across the world, Sandu wants Cilwendeg to once again be a part of the community.

With that in mind, she is hoping to host a summer fete/sports day, similar to those held annually in the grounds when the building was a residential care home. For this event to run it will be heavily reliant on volunteers so Sandu is hoping the local community will get involved.

All the money raised will go towards the repair of the church roof at neighbouring Capel Colman, which has a strong connection with Cilwendeg.

In 1764 Morgan Jones the Elder, then master of the Cilwendeg Estate, was responsible for completely rebuilding the long-neglected medieval chapel. Morgan Jones the Younger again rebuilt the church in 1833-5 to the designs of one of his estate tenants, Daniel Davies of Blaenpwllddu Farm.

“We are also very much aware that we are only the custodians of the house at this moment in time. Life changes and things move on but the house stays still and by bringing it back to its former glory, it will be here for future generations to enjoy,” said Sandu.

“We are looking to be operational by the autumn but some sort of fete during the summer to help the church seems the right thing to do, it has to be a community event where everyone pulls together.”