PGW(Gd)32(GWY)

Abergwynant  

II  

01/02/2022  

Designated  

Gwynedd  

Arthog  

267750  

317741  

Gardens, Parks and Urban Spaces  

Woods, parkland, lawn and wilderness, walled kitchen garden and small orchard.  

Probably mid nineteenth century.  

Abergwynant, located to the west of Dolgellau, is registered for its historic interest as a small, well-preserved nineteenth-century park and garden with kitchen garden and outbuildings which seem to have been laid out all at one time and to have been little altered since. Added significance is the presence of an area of ancient oak woodland, a Site of Special Scientific Interest. The park lies on the south side of the Mawddach valley. It is roughly rectangular, bounded by the former Cambrian Railway on the north-west, estuarine salt marshes on the north-east, the A493 road on the south-east, and the Gwynant river on the south-west. The house lies to the south-west, above the river. The main drive approaches the house from the north-east where there is a lodge. A second, disused, drive approached the house from the home farm to the south-west. Most of the parkland area lies north of the house and comprises mixed woodland, with ancient oak woodland occupying the slope above the estuary. The woodland features an extensive network of paths and rides. The house is surrounded by a small area of open parkland which slopes gently towards the river. The rocky open park south-east of the house retains a number of specimen trees. Further east, now encroached upon by woodland, is a large fishpond retained by a dam across its small valley. The garden area is fairly small, and consists largely of a walled shrubbery or 'wilderness', with a sloping lawn along one side and a terrace around the house. The wilderness, of a complex and detailed design, is thickly planted with trees and shrubs and has some ancient oaks which predate the garden. There is an intricate path layout and an equally intricate layout of water channels supplied from the fish-pond in the park which feeds various water features - ponds, streams, culverts, waterfall and fountain. Plantings prevented inter-visibility between garden features allowing for surprising features. The main lawn is directly in front of the house, sloping to the south-east, with an uninterrupted view across it framed by trees. A smaller area of lawn lies below the house on the west and south-west. The kitchen garden is to the north-west of the house. It is a rectangular area, long axis north-east by south-west, with a similar-sized (slightly later) sub-rectangular extension along the south-east side. Both are enclosed by walls averaging 2m high. Terraces run the full length of the garden along both sides of the dividing wall. When sold in 1951 the garden had fruit trees and bushes, two large heated greenhouses, one containing vines, a mushroom house, potting sheds and a boiler house. Most of the walls are wired for fruit trees, and some of these survive. There are also several free-standing fruit trees in both parts of the garden, and these include apples and cherries. The triangular space between the kitchen garden and the wilderness was occupied by a small orchard, thus walled on two sides, and enclosed on the third by the fence along the drive. It is now used as a paddock. Setting - Abergwynant occupies a broad, undulating, ridge on ground rising above the south-east shore of the Mawddach estuary. Significant view - The house lies near the bottom of the landward slope of the ridge, facing south-east, and has an uninterrupted view over its garden and up to the hills, south of the valley-side, towards Cadair Idris. Sources: Cadw 1998: Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in Wales: Conwy, Gwynedd & the Isle of Anglesey, 144-7 (ref: PGW(Gd)32(GWY)). Ordnance Survey second edition 25-inch map: sheet Merionethshire XXXVII.1 (1900).