One of two linked terraced Garden Buildings on N.Side of Park at Castle Hall

Cadw's description

Location

Situated against S facing hillside of valley running W from Castle Hall House, below terraces stepped up to N boundary wall.

History

Probably of cl8l0 part of the estate improvements made by Benjamin Rotch, North American Quaker, owner of whaling ships and leading figure in the group invited to settle in Milford by Charles Greville to establish Milford as a whaling port. Mr Rotch also established the first bank in Milford, bought Castle Hall in l804 and extensively transformed the 7 acres of grounds before l8l7, when he was bankrupted. The l8l8 sale particulars refer to a 'capital conservatory, pineries, peachery, green-house and fish-pond' and his daughter's memoirs refer to an iron and glass orangery and three pineries, hot, hotter and hottest in which 250-300 pineaples were grown a year.

Exterior

There are two surviving buildings, in sequence, first a large vaulted sub-structure to a terrace overlooking the fish-pond, and then a much longer roofless stone building of considerable architectural elaboration and some scale. The vaulted part has a plain rubble 3-arch front with rough voussoirs and an interior (formerly plastered) of three and a half bays by two bays depth, groin vaulted with plain square piers and blank arches on rear wall. Inner W door has eroded stucco doorcase. Pond in front has small dock for skiffs.

The building to the west, called the pinery without clear evidence, is heavily overgrown, of 3 plus 6 bays, roofless but formerly with monopitch N facing roof back to rear retaining wall. Rubble stone, classical detail with remnant of cornice stepped up at east 3-bay section, upper level small lunettes and main front divided by raking buttresses between round arched recessed panels with big cambered headed windows. Rough stone voussoirs. Arched W end wall doorway. Interior has sunk water-tank in floor with runnels and a possible boiler chamber.

Reason for designation

Part of an important and rare early C19 garden.

Group value with other listed items at Castle Hall.