Gregynog Hall, the historic conference venues and study venue nestling in glorious parkland near Newtown in Mid Wales, celebrates an important milestone on Sunday, May 23 2010.

The date marks the 50th anniversary of Margaret Davies bequeathing her picturesque black and white country home on the fringe of Tregynon village in trust to the University of Wales.

Margaret and her sister Gwendoline were granddaughters of Victorian tycoon David Davies of Llandinam, who made his fortune from coal, railways and the construction of the Barry docks. In his legacy, Davies left Gwendoline and Margaret £500,000 each, which enabled them to become passionate collectors of art from around 1908 onwards.

By 1924, they had amassed the largest collection of French Impressionist and Post-Impressionist works in Britain. Between 1951 and 1963, the sisters bequeathed 260 works to the National Museums and Galleries of Wales, completely transforming its art collection with works such as famous Renoir's famous Blue Lady, Monet's Rouen Cathedral and Rodin's The Kiss.

At Gregynog Hall they created a centre for the arts in Wales and founded the prestigious Gregynog Music Festival, attracting the likes of Vaughan Williams, Elgar and Holst. This year's festival takes place from June 8-20 and is again set to attract stars of international repute.

The sisters also established The Gregynog Press (Gwasg Gregynog), producing limited edition books of rare beauty with fine hand-coloured illustrations, superb typography and engraving, all beautifully bound by hand. The press continues to produce high quality work.

We hope that, were they alive today, Gwendoline and Margaret would be delighted that the modern Gregynog Hall retains their original ethos, with music, the arts and learning at the core of its activities.

The University of Wales has opened the hall to tourists, allowing them to share this fantastic resource with its Grade 1 listed gardens, new Courtyard café and 250 acres of stunning parkland.

To mark the 50th anniversary, the famous Music Room has been refurbished as part of a business diversification plan, which sees more weddings, commercial conferences and other events hosted at Gregynog Hall. Karen Armstrong, Director of Gregynog Hall said:

"We have such a rich cultural history here and it's fantastic to be able to share that with a more diverse audience whilst generating much needed investment to refurbish the Hall and develop the gardens. We are on the cusp of another important phase in Gregynog's legacy.''

The anniversary also coincides with the launch of an exciting programme of special events for 2010. These include a rock concert showcasing two local bands on July 9 and an open air performance of Pride and Prejudice by Chapterhouse Theatre Company on August 18.

Over the past 50 years, Gregynog has become something of a national institution, hosting academic courses at every level, national and international conferences with many distinguished visitors and meetings of economic, cultural, medical and political groups.

An annual highlight since those early days is the European Symposium on Bio-Organic Chemistry, which brings an international group of delegates to Gregynog every May.

Marc Clement, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Wales commented:

'Like thousands of other University of Wales graduates, I have fond memories of visiting Gregynog as a student – and when Wales alumni are together these memories are often the subject of conversation. The University is delighted to be celebrating 50 years of promoting education in this wonderful setting, and proud that Gregynog's work continues to develop.'

The University of Wales plans to celebrate the 50th anniversary with an event later this summer.

For more information about Gregynog Hall and the University of Wales please visit: www.wales.ac.uk