We have to go back to the reign of the Empress Maud when Milo FitzWalter held the manor of Caldicot even before a start had been made on building the castle.

The monks at Llanthony were oppressed and pillaged by their neighbours in the Brecon mountains and in their distress they appealed to the Bishop of Hereford. He prevailed upon Milo FitzWalter to grant them land at Gloucester for the erection of a Priory.

Milo endowed the new Priory by granting to it land at Caldicot which became the Priory Manor. The monks built the first manor house there with its extensive agricultural buildings.

The church was also built and a settlement established which lived in peace and harmony farmed by Humphrey de Bohun, Earl of Hereford. The Earl also gave the monks further parcels of land.

They continued their farming activities until Henry VIII suppressed the monasteries in 1536. He then seized the Priory Manor and appointed Clement Dace as his bailiff and farmer.

The Manor passed through different families through the centuries until the present day, when it is once more for sale.

In 1972 the Royal Commission on Ancient Monuments listed the building as a 'two phase medieval house altered in the 17th Century.

Although there are many finer examples of medieval architecture in existence today, the Royal Commission stated the features of Llanthony Secunda as 'almost unparalleled and of great importance architecturally'.

Restoration has revealed a Norman construction at the front - certainly the first building to be erected as there is a definite back wall running the entire length. The first-floor entrance was common in Norman buildings of this nature, with only a few surviving in Britain today.

The back wing is easily recognisable as being of Medieval construction from the size and shape of the windows - wimple hats, doorways, windows and fireplaces being the vogue.

This is the only building of its type remaining in Caldicot to remind generations of the past that has formed the future. There are no ghosts, no wandering monks searching for sanctuary lost in time - but the rooms, windows and fireplaces still exist. Imagination can still return them to their home and firesides.

Historical information gained from the research and publications of Thos. T Birbeck FRICS. FRVA.

Since this article was written the Manor has been adapted for self catering vacation accommodation.

See www.medievalaccommodation.com for details.

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Gwenneth Tavener in Boonah, Australia, sent this response:

"I am a descendant of a former owner of this wonderful house. My great-great-grandfather owned the property from about 1869 to 1942.

"His name was Edmund Howard. The Howard family made many alterations to the house and added an extension. (The photo shows Edmund's son William outside the house circa 1900). It is believed that the house originally had another floor with a flat battlement roof. What is now the ground floor was originally the stables where the cattle were kept during the winter months. There were arches where the windows are now. There was a spiral staircase on one corner of the house leading up to the main living area.

"Thanks Ron for the lovely photographs as I have never had the oportunity to visit my ancestoral home."