Deb Carrel
Born in Builth Wells in 1956 where generations of my mother’s family were born, I grew up at Pencerrig and lived there until 1978 when my family sold the hotel.
I left Builth in 1984 to follow the rest of my family to the West Country and have lived and worked in Somerset ever since. Now retired, I enjoy watercolour painting and specialise in pet portraits. Builth remains ‘my home’ and I treasure the memories I have of our lives there. I occasionally contribute to the Builth Wells Heritage Society but I’m not a Social Media user.
My main purpose for contributing to The People’s Collection Wales is to preserve the memory of Pencerrig, near Builth Wells, which was the former home of the 18th Century Welsh landscape artist, Thomas Jones. The house and estate later became one of the homes owned by wealthy heiress, Clara Thomas, who devoted her life and money to improving conditions for her tenants and the people in her communities. Regrettably, like so many other lovely old buildings of that era, Pencerrig has not been maintained and is in danger of being lost forever. Therefore, I hope my personal memories, together with a selection of photographs, will give an insight as to what a magnificent property it was.
I left Builth in 1984 to follow the rest of my family to the West Country and have lived and worked in Somerset ever since. Now retired, I enjoy watercolour painting and specialise in pet portraits. Builth remains ‘my home’ and I treasure the memories I have of our lives there. I occasionally contribute to the Builth Wells Heritage Society but I’m not a Social Media user.
My main purpose for contributing to The People’s Collection Wales is to preserve the memory of Pencerrig, near Builth Wells, which was the former home of the 18th Century Welsh landscape artist, Thomas Jones. The house and estate later became one of the homes owned by wealthy heiress, Clara Thomas, who devoted her life and money to improving conditions for her tenants and the people in her communities. Regrettably, like so many other lovely old buildings of that era, Pencerrig has not been maintained and is in danger of being lost forever. Therefore, I hope my personal memories, together with a selection of photographs, will give an insight as to what a magnificent property it was.
