PGW(Gm)47(SWA)

Clyne Castle  

I  

01/02/2022  

Designated  

Swansea  

Sketty  

260913  

191452  

Gardens, Parks and Urban Spaces  

Public park; pleasure grounds; ornamented woodland  

1800-30; 1860-1912; 1912-52  

Clyne Park is a large and very attractive public park registered for its historic significance as the former private estate of the wealthy and locally prominent Vivian family. The park was developed from the early nineteenth century but mainly from the 1860s onwards by William Graham Vivian and Admiral Walker-Heneage Vivian. The public gardens contain an outstanding assemblage of choice and rare mature trees and shrubs, in particular rhododendrons, some of which are original introductions. Its importance is further enhanced by its group value with listed Clyne Castle (LB: 14931) and Clyne Chapel (LB: 14932), various listed ornamental structures and several Scheduled Monuments [GM464 & GM475] and other archaeological sites. The grounds fall into three distinct areas: the wooded Clyne Valley, the bulk of the park, to the north; Clyne Gardens at the south end of the park (NPRN: 265686); and the grounds in the immediate environs of Clyne Castle (NPRN:18354; LB:14931), which include walled gardens. Clyne valley is occupied by mixed oak woodland within which are extensive archaeological remains. Woodland here has a long history but the named wood - Clyne Wood - only followed its enclosure in the early eighteenth century (NPRN:91899). Several earthwork platforms scattered across the wood may be related to early woodland management and/or charcoal burning. There is also possible evidence for late-medieval assarting (NPRN:54516) and for post-medieval rabbit farming (NPRN:54514). A number of hollow trails in the wood attest to its long land-use history. The woodland was adapted for shooting purposes by the Admiral with the planting of coverts of rhododendron. Rhododendron and ornamental trees and shrubs, including conifers, were planted throughout the wood. Several trial beds for the then newly-introduced hybrid rhododendron were also established. Most of the tree growth is otherwise of twentieth century date. The northern half of the wood was cleared felled during the Second World War. The wood is accessed, from the castle, through a simple entrance on Mill Lane opening onto two tracks leading northwards, upper and lower. The upper one passes the Ivy Tower (NPRN:41109; LB:22562), a former chimney stack of the copper and arsenic works below (NPRN:85177; GM475), but later adapted as a gazebo. The track runs on to a small tributary valley running west-east, once planted with many ornamental species, some of which remain. The track continues to Keeper's Cottage. The lower track passes through an area of 'bell pits' dug from at least the fourteenth century onwards to exploit a near-surface coal seam (GM455). Below the track in the valley bottom, and also at the far north end of the wood, are remains of nineteenth-century mining (NPRN:275876; 275878). In the floor of the valley, by the winding Clyne river, a cycle track now follows the line of the old railway formation. Towards the south end of the wood is a leat which served Blackpill Mill (NPRN:308221). South of the Clyne valley are the ornamental Clyne Gardens which are centred on Brock Hole valley which runs the full length of the gardens. The entire area is accessed by a network of paths with simple bridges crossing the stream. In the heart of it a cylindrical 5m high stone tower, built by the Admiral, provides a viewing platform (LB:22563). The valley tree canopy is mostly mixed oak and conifer woodland but within it are distinct areas of exotic planting: specimen conifers and ornamental shrubs including rare rhododendrons with their own irrigation system; a plantation of specimen conifers; a bog garden around several springs; and an area of bamboos on the south side of the valley. A Japanese area lies at the head of the valley with a Japanese bridge (LB:22561) which takes the main path over the stream, a nearby rectangular pond feeding cascades and pools below the bridge. High above the pond is Joy Cottage, a pavilion built by the Admiral as a playhouse for his daughter. Archaeological evidence for earlier land-use history comes in the form of a split-level medieval house platform that appears to have been re-purposed for plant beds (NPRN:260028). A leat of Blackpill Mill is also still present (NPRN:300108). North of Brock Hole are open, grassy, and tree-grown areas which include an area of woodland surrounded by a ha-ha. Trees are mostly deciduous but with conifers and some ornamental species. Towards the west boundary is a pet cemetery and the earthwork remains of kennels (NPRN:260029). To the north of the open grass area, west of the house, is a sloping area planted with many specimen trees and shrubs, once part of an arboretum. Within it is an octagonal gazebo (LB:22552) dating from the period 1921-52. To the east, immediately south of the house, a formerly enclosed area was once an Italian Garden; an Italian Bridge survives on its boundary (LB:22551). The northern side of the park, towards Mill Lane, is planted with a mixture of ornamental trees and shrubs, and includes a double row of old oaks, the ground between them slightly sunken. The grounds immediately around the house were once part of the main gardens. They are entered from the north through the stone wall alongside Mill Lane. They were laid out informally to the south, east and west of the house. The north and west sides have now been largely landscaped and developed away for residential accommodation and car parking, leaving only small areas of lawn adjacent to the house. The west side had been planted with choice trees and shrubs, including rhododendrons for which it was famed, but these have now mostly gone. The grounds on the east side of the house are now dominated by a turning circle. The remnant is now mostly lawn to the south of the house. The kitchen garden is located to the west of Clyne Castle (NPRN:18354). It lies on ground sloping to the east. It is bounded on the north and west by 4m high brick walls and on the east by a high, curving rubble stone wall with a blocked arched entrance. The interior has now been built over with residential accommodation. A partially walled area to the west remains in use as a council nursery. Against the north wall is a line of four glasshouses running downslope, built by William Richardson & Co., Darlington. These survive along with the partially sunken boiler house (LB:21389). The entire parkland estate, with its woods and gardens, was broken up in the 1950s. Setting – Clyne Park is located on the neck of the Gower peninsula, to the south-west of Swansea. The woodland park is located in steep-sided Clyne Valley, bounded on the south by residential accommodation and Mill Lane, and on the north and west by farmland. The gardens remain more or less intact though the grounds immediately around the Castle have been mostly developed for residential accommodation. Significant view – the open areas of Clyne Gardens offer spectacular views across Swansea Bay. Source: Cadw 2000: Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in Wales, Glamorgan, 224-7 (ref: PGW(Gm)47(SWA)).