Gunter Mansion, 37–39 Cross Street, Abergavenny, Monmouthshire is a house of the early 17th century. It was built around 1600 and mentioned in 1678 in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom as a place of public

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

worship. It was the final place of prayer for

Saint David Lewis David Lewis, S.J. (1616 – 27 August 1679) was a Jesuit Catholic priest and martyr who was also known as Charles Baker. Lewis was canonized by Pope Paul VI in 1970 as one of the Forty Martyrs of England and Wales and is venerated as a saint i ...

before his execution on 27 August 1679. It is a Grade II* listed building.

History

After the

Reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...

and the

Act of Supremacy 1558 The Act of Supremacy 1558 (1 Eliz 1 c 1), sometimes referred to as the Act of Supremacy 1559, is an Act of the Parliament of England, which replaced the original Act of Supremacy 1534, and passed under the auspices of Elizabeth I. The 1534 Ac ...

, in 1600, Thomas Gunter, a local Roman Catholic, built the house. A secret chapel was constructed in the attic. On 12 April 1678, John Arnold (the MP for Monmouthshire), a fanatical anti-Catholic, told the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. T ...

, ‘that he had seen a public 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 public street of the said town, and doth front the street.' The younger Thomas Gunter had been notably indiscreet about his harbouring of Catholic priests, although this was a

felony A felony is traditionally considered a crime of high seriousness, whereas a misdemeanor is regarded as less serious. The term "felony" originated from English common law (from the French medieval word "félonie") to describe an offense that resu ...

under the Jesuits, etc. Act 1584. Taking advantage of the tolerant religious atmosphere following the

Restoration of Charles II The Restoration of the Stuart monarchy in the kingdoms of England, Scotland and Ireland took place in 1660 when King Charles II returned from exile in continental Europe. The preceding period of the Protectorate and the civil wars came to b ...

, he told the local vicar frankly that "he had kept a priest in

Oliver Cromwell Oliver Cromwell (25 April 15993 September 1658) was an English politician and military officer who is widely regarded as one of the most important statesmen in English history. He came to prominence during the 1639 to 1651 Wars of the Three K ...

's time, and would keep one now". Like most Catholic landowners he failed to anticipate that the outbreak of the Popish Plot would force the King, despite his own pro-Catholic leanings, to insist on stricter enforcement of the Penal Laws. The laity were reminded that harbouring priests was a crime, which carried the death penalty, although neither Gunter nor any other Catholic layman was actually prosecuted for this offence. In 1678, with the outbreak of the Popish Plot, a Jesuit priest, David Lewis was arrested at St Michael's Church, Llantarnam. He prayed in the Gunter Mansion chapel before being executed in

Usk Usk ( cy, Brynbuga) is a town and community in Monmouthshire, Wales, northeast of Newport. It is located on the River Usk, which is spanned by an arched stone bridge at the western entrance to the town. Usk Castle, above the town, overlooks th ...

. In 1864, the central area of the house was divided from the rest and became the Parrot Inn. In 1898, it became the Cardiff Arms. In 1907, two brothers, Thomas and Edwin Foster bought and repaired the building. They discovered evidence of the existence of the chapel in the attic. A mural showing the Adoration of the Magi was found and given to the Abergavenny Castle Museum along with the original door from the front entrance. Other than repairs to the chimney in 1913, and an extension to the rear of the house, the building has not been altered since 1907. In January 2017, the building was bought by the Welsh Georgian Trust.

References

Sources

* {{cite book , first=John , last=Kenyon , title=The Popish Plot , year=2000 , publisher=Phoenix Press , url= https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/912914648 , isbn=978-1-842-12168-9 , oclc=912914648

External links

Gunter Mansion – from the Welsh Georgian Trust
Abergavenny Grade II* listed buildings in Monmouthshire Houses completed in 1600

History

See also

References

Sources

External links