Moray Letham, the owner and restorer of Casota Conac, Buzau county, Romania, with a piece of restored doorway ironwork that marks the mansion’s inauguration year (photo: Valentin Mandache)
I am happy to report that at last had the opportunity to visit Casota conac, the period aristocratic mansion in Buzau county, south eastern Romania, about which I wrote an article that became one of the most popular among the Historic Houses of Romania blog readers. Mr. Moray Letham, a native of Edinburgh, Scotland, is the owner of this magnificent aristocratic countryside mansion, built at the end of the c19th in a historicist style inspired from France’s Loire Valley castles. The extensive structural repairs and restoration works are going on for a few years now, which were done almost single-handedly by Moray, with loving care, dedication, great expense, and extraordinary loyalty to this historic place, so important for the local community’s identity and Romania’s architectural heritage. He had and still has to overcome many adversities, ranging from the damaging communist mentality of many among the locals and local authorities, who not infrequently misled him in his quests, to outright stealing from his property and indifference toward this piece of remarkable historic architecture With a will of steel, Moray has made great progress and is as always strong on his position, despite all the setbacks and disinterest from the community for whose heritage preservation he selflessly works, to give a new lease of life to an important monument that defines the identity of the area. In my opinion he is more than a textbook proprietor – restorer of such an exquisite period building in this corner of Eastern Europe, and will achieve his aim to bring Casota conac back to its former glory.
