Gregynog Hall, near Newtown in Mid Wales was the venue for a very enjoyable wedding ceremony on Saturday. The weather was wonderful which made for an especially great day for everyone present.

Gregynog is interesting for its architecture, being one of the earliest houses in the U.K. to be constructed in concrete. The decoration is all painted and is inspired by the traditional wooden framed Montgomeryshire farm houses.

The hall’s place in the history of art is by virtue of the amazing collection amassed, and bequeathed to Wales, by the Davies Sisters, Gwendoline and Margaret. The sisters were grand-daughters of David Davies, the Industrialist and philanthropist from Llandinam.

The Davies Sisters started their collection in 1906 and were the first in Britain to seriously purchase impressionist and post impressionist art, their collection featuring the works of Degas, Pissarro, Manet, Monet and Rodin, as well as seven ‘Turners’ re-attributed in BBC’s Fake or Fortune show.

The University of Wales was gifted Gregynog in 1960 as a centre for the Arts by Margaret Davies. The core of the collection of 260 works was gifted to the Cardiff Art Gallery and can be seen in the Davies Gallery, there. However, there is still an eclectic display of paintings and sculpture at Gregynog and we discovered a Rodin sculpture of Victor Hugo in the Senior Common Room.