PLANS have been put forward for a new art gallery at a historic manor house with a link to Monmouth Castle.

Hellens Manor in Much Marcle near Ross-on-Wye played a part in the overthrow of King Edward II in 1326, who was imprisoned in the castle prior to being formerly stripped of the crown.

The Bishop of Hereford was sent to Monmouth by Edward’s estranged wife Queen Isabella and her lover Roger Mortimer to take the Great Seal from the king – the symbol of the monarch’s power – which was then delivered to her in the name of her teenage son, Edward III, at Hellens Manor.

The house is still a family home today, and some 700 years on, the proposed Hellens Gallery is set to house works by the likes of Van Dyck, Hogarth, Goya and Gainsborough, belonging to the Pennington-Mellor-Munthe Charity Trust, who also own the manor.

The gallery “will provide a permanent home to Hellens’ impressive collection of paintings”, which have been housed until recently in Southside House in Wimbledon, another historic property.

The new single-storey gallery “will offer the opportunity to reunite the collection with the estate and preserve them under museum environmental conditions”, the application explains.

And the “multi-functional” new building will also be used for musical and literary events, education, outreach and environmental programmes.

Designed by London-based studio Stanton Williams, the gently curved form of the “discrete, elegant pavilion” would sit alongside an existing duck pond among mature trees, some of which would need to be felled.

Full-length glazing would give views to the surrounding landscape beyond the paintings, which would be mounted on sliding racks.

With two further gallery spaces at either end, the building would incorporate numerous sustainability features including high insulation, maximal use of natural light, ground-source heat pumps and sustainable drainage.

Described as one of the oldest dwellings in England, it hosts the annual Hellensmusic classical music festival in May, as well as a programme of concerts and music teaching throughout the year.

With Tudor and Jacobean elements, the grounds include a walled knot garden, a yew labyrinth, a “physic garden”, an octagonal dovecote and an old cider mill.