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Home » Religion and Belief » Roman Catholicism » Persecution

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  • The house of Thomas Gunter was well-known in Abergavenny as a meeting place for Catholic worshippers during the late 17th century. At this time, Catholics were persecuted in Britain and to be associated with them could be dangerous. In 1907, whilst renovating the interior of the house, Mrs T. S. Foster came upon an attic room covered with frescos including a dramatic representation of
Gunter House, Cross Street, Abergavenny
  • This mural painting was discovered in 1908 in an attic in the Gunter Mansion (34 - 40 Cross Street), Abergavenny. During the latter half of the 17th century, Thomas Gunter, an attorney and staunch Roman Catholic, used the attic as a chapel with Fr David Lewis and Fr Phillip Evans. At this time, Catholics were persecuted in Britain and were forced to meet in secret meeting places such as this one. In the wave of anti-Roman Catholicism following the wake of the Titus Oates Plot in 1678, both priests were hanged, disembowelled and burnt at Usk.
Gunter House mural, Abergavenny, 17th century
'Tales and Traditions of Breconshire' edited by Stanley Jackson Coleman (1956) [page 5, image 5 of 12]