Games Hospital
OTL Group was appointed to refurbish Games Hospital in Llanfaes, Brecon, delivering fabric repairs, residential upgrades, and compliance improvements to a historic almshouse building originally endowed in the 1720s. The works helped protect the character and long-term use of the property while creating modern, comfortable living accommodation for the future.
Location
Brecon, Powys
Value
850k
Year
2023
Games Hospital has a rich history dating back to the early 1720s, when Elizabeth Walker, née Games, and her sister Catherine Games endowed a charity to provide accommodation and support for six poor women from Brecon. The building sits within a long tradition of almshouses, originally known as hospitals or bede houses, where hospitality and shelter were provided for those in need. Three hundred years after Games Hospital was established, OTL Group’s works helped secure the next chapter for the building, improving its condition, performance, and usability while respecting its historic significance.
The external fabric works included stonework repointing, roof repairs and upgrades, chimney works, leadwork, fascia and soffit improvements, and wider scaffolding-supported access works. These elements were central to improving the weathering and long-term durability of the property, helping protect the building fabric before the internal refurbishment was completed.
Internally, the project included soft strip and alteration works across the residential units, with new layouts, partitions, wall upgrades, insulation, plasterboard, skim finishes, ceilings, flooring, joinery, doors, ironmongery, and full decoration. Each flat was upgraded to provide improved comfort, usability, and presentation, with new kitchens, appliances, sanitaryware, bathroom finishes, blinds, shelving, mirrors, and associated fixtures installed throughout.
Mechanical and electrical works were coordinated across the accommodation, including plumbing, electrical installations, certification, sprinklers, and fire stopping. These upgrades helped bring the property in line with modern expectations for safety, compliance, and building performance while supporting the continued residential use of the site.
External works also formed part of the wider programme, ensuring the improvements extended beyond the building itself and supported a more complete, well-presented finish to the property. The completed project balances heritage and practicality, retaining the character and story of Games Hospital while delivering upgraded homes that are safer, warmer, more efficient, and better suited to modern occupation. In doing so, the works have helped protect a landmark Brecon building with a unique social history and give it a renewed purpose for the future.
