Grade I-listed country house to get cafe, exhibition spaces and accessibility upgrades
A council in Wales is looking for a conservation architect to lead a restoration of Port Talbot’s grade I-listed Margam Castle.
Neath Port Talbot Council has launched a tender process for the £1.65m job at the early 19th century country house, considered among the finest surviving Tudor revival buildings in Wales.
It is now set to undergo a major refurbishment with works including repairs to stonework, roofs and windows to ensure the building is wind and watertight, adding a cafe, new exhibition spaces and accessibility improvements.
The five-year role will see the appointed practice act as lead consultant, lead designer and principal designer on the scheme while leading a multidisciplinary design team including MEP specialists and structural and civil engineers.
The council’s tender process follows a successful application for round one funding from the National Lottery Heritage Fund (NLHF), which will cover the development phase of the project until February 2028.
The appointed suppliers will be tasked with developing a round two application to the NLHF aiming to unlock the full grant.
The deadline for submission of tenders is 15 September, with the job to be awarded on 10 November and work on the scheme set to start on 8 December.
Margam Castle was built between 1830 and 1835 by Christopher Rice Mansel Talbot, a local landowner and industrialist who developed the town of Port Talbot, which is named after him, as a major steelworks. It was designed by Thomas Hopper.
It remained in the Talbot family until 1941, when it was sold and falling into disrepair before coming into the ownership of the local council.
The castle was one of the proposed sites for the Senedd building following the 1997 devolution referendum but was passed over in favour of a newbuild project in Cardiff designed by Richard Rogers.
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