The six-storey fashionable folly stood testament to the wealth (and vanity) of its builder for decades, but it eventually fell on hard times. By the time it was inherited by its present owner, Richard Williams, it was far from a model of Georgian splendour,

'The roof was gone completely, and the floors had rotted through. So you could stand inside on the ground floor and see straight up six stories and out to the sky', recalls Richard, who knew from the start that he had a big job on his hands. The windows had rotted or rusted beyond repair, and only the old stone staircase that hugs the inside of the exterior wall remained. 'Twr Bryncir' had become a sorry, if picturesque, sight.

Fortunately the Welsh heritage body Cadw came to the rescue as the building is Grade II* Listed, reflecting its importance in the top 5% of all UK Listed buildings. A grant from Cadw and a substantial pot of money from Richard himself meant that the tower could be restored to its former glory.

'The layout couldn't be simpler, just one room per floor, a window to each side, and six floors in the 20 metre height...that means there is a lot of stairs to climb,' smiles Richard, who has done more than his fair share of climbing up and down them.

'You don't need to exercise much when you are working here - a couple of trips from the top-floor lounge down to the ground-floor kitchen keeps you as fit as a fiddle!

The unusual height and design of the building meant that the renovation was a long and expensive process,

'You have to choose your furniture very carefully when you own a building like this,' advises Richard, 'The stone stairs are wonderful, but they are very narrow, and your average sofa etc just won't fit. We even had to take a window out to winch the roll-top bath in.'

Hard work it may have been, but the results are certainly worth it, and the finished tower is a testament to the hard work of the restoration team. The finished home is straight out of a fairytale, but would Richard go through an eighteenth-month long renovation project again?

'I'd happily build another from scratch,' claims Richard with a glint in his eye, 'but I don’t think you’d get one of these past the planning officers these days!'