A Cresselly man who has spent most of his life writing about historic buildings throughout Wales has been honoured in the Queen's Birthday Honours List.

Thomas Lloyd, of Freestone Hall, Lawrenny Road, has received an OBE for services to heritage, and admits news of the honour came "a bit out of the blue."

"After this recognition, perhaps I should retire on a high," joked Thomas.

Forty-nine-year-old Mr. Lloyd, originally from Dryslwyn, Llandeilo, practiced as a solicitor for 10 years in London after studying law at Cambridge University and is the current chairman of the Buildings at Risk Trust, which restores historic buildings across Britain.

Mr. Lloyd was also chairman of the Historic Buildings Council for Wales for 11 years and lectures and writes about Welsh architecture.

In 1986 he wrote the book 'The Lost Houses of Wales', which campaigned to stop the neglect of country houses, and his most recent publication, with co-authors Julian Orbach and Robert Scourfield, was the Pembrokeshire volume of 'The Buildings of Wales' series, with Mr. Lloyd currently working on a Carmarthenshire and Cardiganshire companion volume due out next year.

"My work with the Historic Buildings Council has seen me put my knowledge as an architectural historian to use in working alongside Cadw and advising the Minister of Culture, Media and Sport, Mr. Alan Pugh, in giving grants to restoring some of the more rundown historic buildings throughout Wales," said Mr. Lloyd, who is also an expert on Welsh antiques and acts as a consultant for Sotheby's.

Most recently, Mr. Lloyd's work with the Buildings at Risk Trust has seen the Elizabethan grade one listed, Sker House, near Porthcawl, restored using lottery funding.