Public have say on historic loo

The town house could now receive Grade I listed status

Details of a major project to restore a medieval toilet uncovered in a north Wales townhouse are due to be announced at a public meeting on Thursday.

Last year, builders renovating a doctor's surgery in Denbigh discovered it was home to one of the most important loos in the country.

The garderobe is a real find for historians

A late medieval lavatory - called a garderobe - was found behind the plaster on the top floor of the four- storey building at the Bronyffynnon Surgery in Bridge Street.

The project formed part of the £6.25m regeneration project for the repair and re-use of historic buildings within the town centre's conservation area.

The 16th Century find was made after builders stumbled across an unusual feature next to a fireplace.

Historic buildings consultant Richard Morris was called in and indentified a toilet of significance had been revealed.

"We certainly weren't expecting to find anything of this importance," he said.

Famous bard

The Georgian style building was originally believed to date from the 1790s.

But following this discovery, a report was commissioned and the findings indicate the timber in the property was felled in 1581.

The building was once home to William Williams, a famous bard and Eisteddfod adjudicator, known in literary cirles as Caledfryn.

A plaque on the outside of the building refers to the historic Welsh literary connection to the building.

Denbigh Townscape Heritage Initiative project manager Nathan Blanchard said: "The significance of Bronyffynnon lies in the fact very few similar houses of this size and the features within have survived in Wales.

"And while not the oldest in Denbigh, it is among the most unique in Wales and considered comparable in interest as Plas Mawr in Conwy and the Tudor Merchants House in Tenby."