Walls, steps, terraces & gate to Water Garden at Bodysgallen Hall

Cadw's description

Location

On lower ground S of the house.

History

Bodysgallen was built in 1620 by Robert Wynne. His grandson, also Robert, added the NW wing in the late C17, and his son Dr Hugh Wynne added the NE wing in 1730. The house passed by marriage to the Mostyn family in 1776 and subsequently became a dower house. Lady Augusta Mostyn gave the house to her son Henry, who enlarged the house in 1884, 1894 and 1905. It has been a hotel since 1981.
The water garden is part of the improvements made to the garden by Heny and Lady Pamela Mostyn. The high NE and NW walls are shown on the 1890 Ordnance Survey, with steps inserted into them in the last decade of the C19 and shown on the 1900 Ordnance Survey. The lower terrace was added later in the C20.

Exterior

Walls around a water garden of irregular shape, approximately 20m square. They comprise high L-plan walls to the NE and NW that retain the ground next to the house. Across the S side is a low wall that retains the water garden above the adjacent former kitchen garden. The high wall on the NE side has a replacement rubble coping over a raised band. Against the wall is a stone-walled and paved terrace with steps at both ends. The wall has an inserted Tudor arch, to the R of which are 4 narrow ventilation strips. These are associated with an underground chamber that is entered by a replacement door immediately R through the main arch. The arch also leads to quarter-turn stone steps up to the level of the house. The NE wall has a return at the SE end that abuts Mulberry Cottage at the SW end of the Dutch Garden (listed separately).
The NW wall is partly on bedrock and has simple square piers where it is pierced by stone steps. The steps are in 2 flights, with stone parapet that curves out at the bottom. At the SW end of this wall is a wall oriented roughly N-S and stepped with replacement slate coping, that incorporates a pointed doorway and late C19 iron gate. The wall leads to stone steps to the kitchen garden. Across the S side of the water garden are split retaining walls between a stone-paved terrace, which has stone steps at either end.

Reason for designation

Listed as a well-preserved and prominent garden feature of mainly C19 construction, and for group value with garden and other listed items at Bodysgallen.