PGW(Gd)31(GWY)

Plas Tan-y-Bwlch  

II*  

01/02/2022  

Designated  

Gwynedd  

Maentwrog  

264952  

340754  

Gardens, Parks and Urban Spaces  

Mainly informal gardens, terrace with views, woodlands, remains of walled garden.  

Nineteenth century  

Plas Tan-y-Bwlch is situated on the north side of the western part of the Vale of Ffestiniog (also known as the Vale of Maentwrog), part way up the steep valley side. It is registered for the survival of a more-or-less intact mid-Victorian landscaped estate of house, garden, wooded park, valley and estate village, set in the magnificent scenery of the Ffestiniog area of north Wales. There is notable group value with the Grade II* Listed Plas Tan-y-bwlch mansion (LB 4702) and a range of Grade II Listed structures including associated outbuildings, lodges, local corn mill, house and kiln, and the site’s location in the Snowdonia National Park. The local landscape was written about, and painted, by the noted tourist Thomas Pennant who visited Plas Tan-y-bwlch in 1773. The landscape here has a history of development from at least the later eighteenth century but the surviving layout of park and garden was largely created between 1869 and the start of the twentieth century after the estate came into the hands of the Oakeley family who owned several local slate quarries. There is little ornamental parkland within the designated area which probably always consisted mainly of gardens and woodland. Parkland lay on the flat ground to the south and east, mostly on the south side of the A487 road, aside from some enclosures below the garden, in a strip along the north-west side of the road. The park around the house falls roughly into three parts: the woodland on the steep slope above and behind the house (Coed y Plas), and the deer park above and to the west of this, both areas now amalgamated; and the enclosures to the south and east of the gardens which fan out across the slope below the house. The woodland was probably natural oak woodland which was then managed by the Oakeley family with planted larch and fir, some exotic varieties also planted. Trees were added around the edges of Llyn Mair, an artificial lake above the Plas, and at points on the skyline. Llyn Hafod-y-Llyn, north-west of Llyn Mair, is also an artificial lake. In the woods was created an extensive network of paths many of which remain in use with new ones recently added. The Ffestiniog Railway, which passes through the park in a wide loop, was opened in 1835. An area on the flatter land within the loop was made into a deer park. An area of about 218 acres, it was enclosed by walls, now mostly collapsed, with gates for access. It is now mostly planted with conifers, with some residual deciduous trees. The mill pond, which lies below, and predates, Llyn Mair, serviced the flour and saw mills below it (LBs 4706 & 84025; NPRN 401913). The small valley of the mill stream was itself a decorative feature planted with ornamental trees, the stream flowing over a series of artificial falls designed to be viewed from the drive which passes down it. To the southeast, along the foot of the gardens, a strip of land was divided into several enclosures which were grazed. They seem not to have been planted with parkland trees aside from the triangular, easternmost, enclosure near the Oakeley Arms which retains some parkland character. There were at least four drives at different times. The main approach now is from the north-east, with the lodge and gates opposite the Oakeley Arms (NPRN 715), the most scenically effective drive hacked out of the rock face. The north drive is from an entrance and lodge below Llyn Mair (LB 84006), now disused except as a footpath, passing down the mill stream valley. A later south drive passed the kitchen gardens from an entrance off the A487, and a lodge a short distance along it (LB 84007). A track from the home farm which formerly curved across the eastern part of the enclosures below the house, was also an early drive. The garden of about 80 acres occupies a shallow triangle on the slope below the house and is separated from the south-east park enclosures by a ha-ha. The slope is generally steep with outcropping rock in many places which influenced the garden design. The garden front of the house opens on to a long, broad, gravelled terrace with parapet, extending beyond the house to the north-east, and giving exceptional views to the north-east. Below the south-west end is a broader terrace extension. Below the terraces is a steeply-sloping lawn planted with specimen trees and groups of shrubs. There is also a small rockery and water garden on a natural outcrop and a pond (both twentieth-century features). Beyond these lie wooded areas, that on the south-west a large woodland garden. The woods also contain specimen trees and are traversed by a network of paths. In the woodland garden, there is a small viewing platform. The kitchen gardens lie in the south-western corner of the site, the main part now cleared for a car park. The internal layout has gone, though the walls survive, except on the northeast. The date is uncertain though the area was enclosed by 1818-19. The south-western extension is now the private garden of 'The Potting Shed'. None of the extensive glass present in 1901 remains. A row of sheds along the south wall of the extension corresponds with some buildings on early maps. Beyond the extension is the gardener's cottage which also served as the south drive lodge (LB 84007). Setting - The house and gardens are located in a rural area on the south-west facing slope above the Dwyryd valley which flows through the Vale of Ffestiniog, and is set within extensive wooded parkland. From the house and its garden terrace there are outstandingly beautiful views across the landscape, and conversely the house and garden form a conspicuous and picturesque object within it. Much of the estate is in the ownership of the Snowdonia National Park Authority which uses the house as a study centre. Significant views - The views south and east from the garden terrace over the Vale of Ffestiniog, the village of Maentwrog and the mountains of Meirionnydd beyond are exceptional, and are the reason for the choice of site and for the building of the terrace. Sources: Cadw 1998: Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in Wales: Conwy, Gwynedd & the Isle of Anglesey, 274-81 (ref: PGW(Gd)31(GWY)). Ordnance Survey 25-inch map, sheet: Merionethshire XI.8 (1888).