The Old Bell Chambers in Rifleman's Way, Chepstow, is an historic building in the heart of Chepstow which has laid empty for years and was heading towards wrack and ruin and on the Historic Building's 'at risk' register

The building failed to sell at auction early this year due to its run-down state and, although it is in an excellent position and should be contributing to the regeneration of the high street, it was ignored until March 2013 when Le Peltier Properties purchased the extensive buildings and set to restoring them to their former glory.

"The Chambers is a listed building so we had to consult the council constantly about what can and cannot be done.

"They were very helpful and explained all the regulations. Often there was a dialogue about what we needed to do for the renovations and what the historical integrity of the building required, but always the compromise was doable and didn't hinder the progress of the building work." said Julie Le Peltier, who is in charge of the renovations.

"I love old buildings and I want this one to look like an old building on the inside too. Nothing is quite straight but that is what makes it beautiful and gives it enormous character."

The Chambers were originally 1770s working class accommodation for the town. Not much is known about the building except that before the 1890s it was not called The Bell, in 1900 it was definitely a boarding house and in the 1970s it was bought by a judge, which probably led to the addition of 'chambers' in its name.

The historic building will now be restored to shop frontage on the lower floors and accommodation above, which is exactly what it would have represented historically.

This week, the first shop opened along Rifleman's Way. Love and Light is a healing centre and has lots of interesting therapies on offer including, reiki, tarot card reading and spiritual healing.

The new accommodation, consisting of one, two and three bedroomed flats, will all be completed by Easter next year.

"In the course of the renovations so far, we have found some really interesting artefacts.

"In the top rooms when we took up the floorboards, we found stashes of interesting items which we assume were personal belongings." said Julie.

Amongst the finds were torpedo shaped drinks bottles dating from around the 1850s, a 'periodical' from 1835, a corset, personal letters and a paper bag from the grocery store on Bridge Street.

The new owners would love to know more about the building and its history so ask anyone who has any information to contact them on