PGW(Po)44(POW)

Glangrwyney Court  

II  

01/02/2022  

Designated  

Powys  

The Vale of Grwyney  

324322  

216487  

Gardens, Parks and Urban Spaces  

House and garden, park, shrubberies, ha-ha.  

c. 1829 on.  

Glangrwyney Court is registered as a good example of a small intact Georgian house and park with later additions to the garden. Glangrwyney Court (formerly ‘Sunnybank’) (Cadw LB: 6684) is situated on the north side of the A40 road to the south-east of Crickhowell. The park covers about 33 acres (13.4ha) and consists of tree-planted pasture separated from the house and its grounds by a stone ha-ha to the south of the house. The boundaries of the park to the east and north are created by simple lines of trees, native and ornamental, and a stream running along the east boundary. To the west and south the boundary is created by a wall or a wall planted with a live hedge. Nineteenth-century iron park railings run along the western garden boundary and part way around the east boundary of the north-west park area, augmented by modern stock-proof fencing. A drive, flanked by trees, approaches the house from the south, with a lodge (Cadw LB: 20848) at the entrance. The drive is edged with iron park railings which contain field and kissing gates, and separates the park into east and west sections. The park, position of the drive, lodge and ha-ha are thought to be contemporary with the house. They were in place by 1844 when the park was recorded on the tithe map as 'meadow' and 'pasture’, and it remains substantially unchanged. Some limited replanting has taken place, and in the east park there is a circular planting of Lawson cypress. Also on the east side there is a large pond fed by the boundary stream. The gardens lie mostly to the north and south of the house. On the south a narrow mown lawn separates the ha-ha from the gravel turning circle. At its west and east ends there are areas of shrubbery which contain evergreen plantings, probably dating from about 1860, with some later introductions including magnolias and Japanese acers. Within the western shrubbery are abandoned paths and small piles of stone, possibly once part of a rock garden. To the north of the house the garden appears as a rough square enclosure of about 1.5 acres surrounded by high stone walls. It is mostly lawn with some planted trees, on five levels, the highest being a rectangular platform in the north-west which once supported glasshouses. Ornamental plantings include a pair of mature acers. Two small square gardens lie to the immediate west and north of the house: on the west a pool garden and on the north a paved seating area, connected by brick and stone steps, together with a box-edged path on the west. To the east of the house there is a small, modern, gravelled private garden outside the main garden, which also incorporates a car parking space and a utility area, enclosed on the north by a short range of buildings. To the east again is a private tree and shrub planted lawn enclosed by a mature yew hedge beyond which is the service drive. Gates in the west and south-east connect the garden with the stables (Cadw LB: 20850) and the private garden/utility area respectively. On the far west side of the gardens is an abandoned hard tennis court (c.1950). Significant View: from the house front across the haha and parkland to the south. Sources: Cadw 1999: Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in Wales, Powys, 78-80 (ref: PGW (Po)44(POW)). Ordnance Survey Third-Edition 25-inch map, sheet: Brecknockshire XLII.9 (1916).