Walls and attached structures to terraced flower garden

Cadw's description

Location

Located approximately 150m west of Penrhyn Castle on a fairly steep, south-west facing slope with bog garden below to south-west.

History

Although there is an irregularly-shaped garden shown in this area on an estate map of 1768, the garden does not appear to have acquired its present rectangular shape until the late C18 when it probably functioned as a kitchen garden, replacing one removed when the house designed by Samuel Wyatt (the precursor of the present castle) was built shortly before 1780. It was not, however, until the second half of the C19 that the garden was laid out as a flower garden and this in turn was redesigned by Sybil, Lady Penrhyn in the 1920s and '30s; the bog garden below seems to have originated in the 1890s. The south-west wall has clearly been demolished (the ends remain) to open the garden on this side and this may have been done when the bog garden was established.

Exterior

Red brick garden walls enclosing roughly rectangular area of approximately 90m X 50m, aligned north-west to south-east with low parapeted stone retaining wall effectively forming a ha-ha on south-west side overlooking bog garden. The main garden is on 2 levels, the narrow upper level very formal with 3 pools, regular beds and a central loggia of the 1920s or '30s against the north-east wall; the lower level is a wide, sloping lawn planted with trees and shrubs. The main entrance to the garden is via a C20 decorative iron gate near the east corner and there are 2 other entrances in the north-east wall north of the loggia, together with one in the north-west wall. There are steps from the upper to lower terrace at each end and to the centre and further steps lead from the middle of the lower terrace down into the bog garden. Lean-to tool store against the external face of the north-east wall.

Reason for designation

Included as substantially complete late C18 garden walling associated with a well-known flower garden.