AS part of the old Crompton Roberts family home, the Roberts room's history dates back generations, and was probably used as a library in the old house.

The beautiful 17th century wood panelling and the original wooden shutters which are still in use today are key features of the house.

It was of concern, therefore, when it was noticed that the floor was beginning to sink in certain areas. However, it was only with the removal of the floor boards that the full extent of the damage was discovered and that the reason for it was rampant woodworm.

The floor joists had been almost completely eaten away by woodworm leaving just ash and debris where they once supported the room.

Once all the floor boards had been taken up, they had to be numbered and treated to prevent any further woodworm damage.

As well as the woodworm the workers made some interesting discoveries under the floor boards, one of them being a "Vote Labour" poster for Jo Richardson.

Jo Richardson stood for Monmouth in the 1951 general election but she lost to Peter Thorneycroft who won with 22,475 votes. Bridges also found some old coins but unfortunately nothing earlier than an 1898 penny.

Once the debris had been cleared away and the new floor joists were made and put in place, the floor boards had to go back exactly as they had been previously laid.

A couple of the old floor boards were too badly deteriorated to replace, but new boards were sensitively cut to measure and replaced.

The next job was to sand down the floor, before varnishing and staining the floor boards. This involved plenty of colour matching and layers built up over time to create an even effect. Three layers later and the floor boards look even better than before.

Mark Walton, centre director, said: "All this was made possible by the very hard work of Mark Jones and Steve Davies, part of their excellent caretaking team; Tom Weaver who supplied and fitted the new joists; advice and materials from Stephanie Harris of ATC flooring; and, most importantly a generous donation of £1,500 from the Monmouth Rotary Club, without which we would still be struggling to sort the issue.

"With their help we now have a fantastic looking room which has been restored to its former glory and available again for meetings and weddings."

At the re-opening of the room (pictured) there were representatives of Bridges Trustees and Rotarians, Mark Jones and Steve Davies (caretakers, who did much of the work) and Tom Weaver and his wife, who did the specialist carpentry.