HAY’S iconic castle is already a far cry from its former life as a private home and second hand book shop.

Work to open Hay-on-Wye’s historic landmark to the community is really underway now that Richard Booth, founding father of Hay as a booktown, has moved his books out and opened a new shop, aptly titled The King of Hay, elsewhere in town.

The Hay Castle Trust – which bought the 900-yearold Norman castle from Richard last year – is busy on site, making changes and getting the building ready for a major restoration.

Inside the main room and dining hall where the famous bookshop once was, the walls are being prepped and painted, skirting boards replaced, and windows cleaned and repaired.

Several large fireplaces have also been uncovered by workers who took down bookshelves and there are plans to restore them as well as the original front porch.

Debris has been cleared from the derelict portion of the old manor with timbers, roof tiles and carved stone decorations being carefully stored for future cataloguing.

Locks have been installed to keep the area safe and planning permission is being sought for a temporary wheelchair-accessible entrance through the original front door.

Meanwhile, the trust has received funding from the Architectural Heritage Fund to conduct an “options appraisal” that should pave the way for a new lease of life for the castle.

Together with a grant from Glasu, a rural development initiative, trustees are spending £14,750 on a complete analysis of the site, looking in depth at how it can be used by the community without impacting on historic preservation.

Cardiff-based architectural firm Davies Sutton is leading the study and the results should be out by December.

“It is a very exciting time,” said Nancy Lanvin Albert, director of the Hay Castle Trust.

“The important thing right now is to get the building open and being used by the community, whether it’s something like the Hay Community Fair that was held in the castle gardens recently and was a huge success, or holding private dinners in the main hall, or renting out space.”

One of the first events being organised is a Friends of Hay Castle dinner inside the castle on December 1.

There will be a talk by Richard Suggett of the Royal Commission on Ancient Monuments and Historic Houses and an update on the latest research into the site’s long hsitory.

There are also plans for a fundraising ceilidh at the castle on New Year’s Eve.

To find out more about becoming a friend, visit haycastletrust.org.uk.