However, shortly before his trial was scheduled to start at Newport Crown Court he pleaded guilty to illegally altering Llanwenarth House, near Abergavenny in Monmouthshire.

Davies’ lawyer George Carter-Stephenson QC said: ‘My client accepts that he has got himself into a very difficult position by fighting this case.

‘He now has accepted legal advice and has pleaded guilty to these offences and needs to do something positive to restore the house to the way it should be. He wants to put right what he has wrongly done to the house.’

Guilty: Davies, left, has changed his plea over the home where Mrs Alexander, right, once stayed as a guest

Historic: The Tudor house in the Brecon Beacons was bought for £657,000 in 2006 but later went on the market for £2.25million

Modern: Davies ripped out the old kitchen and replaced it with one in a more fashionable style

Punishment: Davies could face a prison sentence for illegally altering the Tudor manor house, one of whose bedrooms is pictured

Davies also admitted offences relating to the property’s Coach House and its courtyard – such as tearing up old cobblestones and putting down new flagstone paving. 

The home was built in the late 16th century and was first listed in 1956 because of its national importance.

Mrs Alexander – who also wrote Once in Royal David’s City – was staying there in 1848 when she penned her hymn of praise to the natural world and God’s role in creating it.

The ‘purple headed mountain’ in one verse of the song supposedly refers to the nearby Sugar Loaf and Blorenge peaks while the ‘river running by’ is the River Usk, which flows close to the estate’s boundary.

Restrictions: Planners prosecuted Davies when they saw the renovations, which cost more than £1million

Wood-panelled: But a string of more modern alterations have now led Davies into legal trouble

Flashy: Another view of the kitchen, which now looks more fitting for a mega-mansion in Los Angeles or Florida

Ornate: The wooden staircase leading to the luxurious and bejewelled bathroom at Llanwenarth House

Llanwenarth was owned for centuries by the famous Morgan family, ancestors of the navy admiral and privateer Sir Henry Morgan.

Davies bought the house – described as an ‘historical gem’ – for £675,000 in 2008, and has spent more than £1million on renovating it over the past few years.

In 2012, the house was listed for sale with a £2.25million price tag but it was not sold.

Davies always admitted installing a new kitchen and bathrooms, but claimed the work falls outside the restrictions on listed buildings.

The house is in the Brecon Beacons National Park and planning officials picked up on the alterations.

Liquor storage: The kitchen now has a wine rack built in to the central ‘island’ so its owner does not have to travel for a drink

Sumptuous: The four-poster bed in yet another bedroom, which is also kitted out with a shagpile carpet

Marble: The smaller bathroom has expensive counters and a window sill made of luxury stone

One villager said: ‘From the photographs, the inside looks like a footballer’s wife monstrosity.

‘This isn’t the first time some lovely country house with loads of history have been modernised out of all context.

‘The upstairs rooms appear to have retained some character but the kitchen, living rooms and bathrooms appear completely out of keeping.’

Davies will be sentenced next month. Penalties for changing a Grade II-listed Building without permission include a maximum 12-month prison sentence or an unlimited fine.

PROLIFIC WRITER FAMOUS FOR HYMNS ACROSS THE WORLD, INCLUDING ‘ONCE IN ROYAL DAVID’S CITY’

Cecil Frances Alexander was a prolific writer of more than 400 poems, and several of them have become hymns which are famous across the world, including ‘All Things Bright and Beautiful’, and the Christmas hymn ‘Once in Royal David’s City’. 

She was born in Dublin and began writing verse in her childhood, being strongly influenced by Dr Walter Hook, Dean of Chichester. 

Her subsequent religious work was strongly influenced by her contacts with the Oxford Movement and in particular with John Keble, who edited one of her anthologies.

Her husband, William Alexander, was the Bishop of Derry and Raphoe and later became the Archbishop of Armagh.

He was also the last Church of Ireland bishop to take up a seat in the House of Lords.

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