Eastern & Western Walls of Rose Garden at St Fagans Castle

Cadw's description

Location

One of the associated structures in the gardens of St Fagans Castle and part of the Museum of Welsh Life.

History

The western wall is probably C18 or earlier; the idea of a formal garden with parterres visible from the house windows is characteristic of the early C17. Before the C19, the northern part of the wall formed part of the eastern boundary to the castle grounds. The eastern wall is itself mid/late C19 in its present form. The 1855 plan shows a house in the rose garden enclosure and confirms that the southern part of the wall at least dates from after that. The enclosure was taken into the gardens in 1857 but was not laid out until 1890-1900. The garden was extensively altered in 1947 with the new entrance gateway in the west wall, but the original design was recreated in 1998-9.

Exterior

The eastern wall of the garden is also the eastern boundary wall of the castle grounds. Wall of stone with embattled parapet. This is continous with the boundary wall to the south which incorporates the main entrance to St. Fagans Castle and then extends as far south as the entrance to the stables. To the north, the wall extends as far as the northern tip of the rose garden which is by the entrance to the grounds opposite the Plymouth Arms. At the north end of the rose garden the wall attains a thickness of about two feet and turns at right angles for a short distance towards the west. In the southern part of the wall there is a pair of very fine wrought iron gates with overthrow, apparently of Italian workmanship and dating from about 1900 and bearing a coronet and the motto 'Avise la fine'. Before the gates on the west side there is a flight of eleven shallow steps bounded by stone balustrades.

Reason for designation

Included as one of the structures associated with the gardens and estate of St. Fagans Castle.