The first stage of a scheme to restore a landmark Powys building is now complete, organisers say.

The three-storey Master’s House building stands at the heart of Llanfyllin's famous "Y Dolydd" Workhouse building complex.  And while the ground floor houses the building's café-bar and forms the link between the four wings and courtyards, overhead the roof was leaking badly and decay put the whole structure at risk.

Now, nearly two years after work first got underway on the Master's House building at Llanfyllin's "Y Dolydd" workhouse, many of its historic features have now been restored - and the newly slated roof is finally keeping the rain out.

A celebratory event will be held on Saturday, August 14 to mark the project milestone, which has also seen masonry on the building re-pointed and a new "cupola" roof feature put in place after being constructed by Llanfyllin carpenter Andrew Dunn.

Steering Group Chair John Hainsworth said ecological constraints meant that craftsmen had also to battle through the winter weather to repair the complex roof.

"We’re deeply grateful to all the people who supported us with donations and by sponsoring 3,810 slates for the roof," he said.

"We’d also like to thank Lottery players and the National Lottery Heritage Fund for a major contribution to the cost of repairs and of activities as well as the Pilgrim Trust, who supported us most generously and defrayed extra costs when the weather held us up."

Following the launch of a funding appeal in 2017, building work has been in progress for nearly two years under the direction of architect Richard Payne and contractor Richard Stephenson, both of Llanrhaeadr, for the Llanfyllin Dolydd Building Preservation Trust.

"The Garfield Weston Foundation, the Foyle Foundation and Cadw helped us too, and local support came from Powys’s Community Regeneration Capital Fund and the Gwendoline and Margaret Davies Charity," added Mr Hainsworth.

"The workhouse served a wide area from the Tanat to the Banwy, and its effects were felt in many communities over the years."

The building will be opened at 11.30 on Saturday, August 14 by Dr Paul Carter of The National Archives. Organisers say there visual displays, harp music, a talk on ‘Punishments in the Workhouse’, open studios, lunches and a wide-ranging exhibition by artists and craftspeople based on the site will all be available for visitors to enjoy.

Organisers added that many activities on the day will be out of doors and the organisers will follow Welsh Government guidelines in force at the time.

Y Dolydd is a Grade II listed stone building, described as Britain’s finest example of a workhouse built under the New Poor Law of 1834. It was purchased as a derelict site in 2004 by Llanfyllin Dolydd Building Preservation Trust, who have brought the building back into use. The site now houses a self guilded history museum, as well as gallery and exhibition spaces, artists workshops and a cafe-bar venue.