PGW(Gt)16(MON)

Troy House  

II*  

01/02/2022  

Designated  

Monmouthshire  

Mitchel Troy  

350916  

211433  

Gardens, Parks and Urban Spaces  

Seventeenth-century walled garden remains; remains of later garden (probably nineteenth-century); ice-house and game larder in former park.  

Early seventeenth century; nineteenth century.  

Registered for its historic interest as the grounds associated with Troy House and including the survival of the walls and doorway of an early seventeenth-century walled garden. The registered area also has group value with Troy House and Troy Cottage. Troy House (LB: 2060) is situated to the south of Monmouth on low-lying ground just to the south of the river Trothy. The approach is from the north, off the Monmouth-Mitchel Troy road at Troy Cottage (LB: 2734). The drive approaches the house through a pair of wrought iron gates flanked by tall, sandstone gatepiers (LB: 25791) and enters a circular forecourt to the north front of the house. The former park lies to the south and south-east of the house, where the ground slopes steeply up to a 200m high ridge. Most of this land is pasture with deciduous woodland near the top of the ridge (Troy Orles, Troy Park Wood). This area was known in 1804 as the Park, when Heath called it the ‘Back grounds’ and said that Troy had ‘very fine demesnes’. The 1880s Ordnance Survey shows this area much the same as it is now and large areas of orchard to the north, south and east of the house. A map of 1706 also shows these area as orchard and shows ground to the east as ‘Old Parke.’ At some time before 1706 the park was laid out with an avenue from the north front of the house to the confluence of the river Wye and river Monnow to the north. An ice-house lies within the area of the park, in woodland next to the river Trothy, about 300m to the east of the house, set into the steep hillside above the river. Another small, square, stone building, finished with fine dressed and moulded stone with an entrance doorway in the centre of the south side also lies within the area of the park. The ice-house is presumed to be of eighteenth or early nineteenth century date. The square, stone building appears to be older, possibly seventeenth century. The gardens are situated to the east and to the west of the house. The drive enters the gardens at an entrance gate to the northwest of the house, and sweeps into a circular forecourt to the north of the house. To the east of the house is an area of gardens. The northern part of this area is shown as gardens on the 1880s six-inch Ordnance Survey map. To the south a large orchard and a walled kitchen garden east of the Home Farm are shown. A brick wall of the former kitchen garden remains. To the west of the house there was formerly a flower garden, with lawns and gravel walks. This area is now built on. Traces of terracing can be made out near the river, the date of which are uncertain, but may go back to the building of the house in the seventeenth century. Compartments are shown to the north and east of the house on the 1706 map (Badminton). To the west of the house, on the opposite side of the drive, are the remains of a large rectangular walled garden dating from the beginning of the seventeenth century (LB: 2886). This is situated on gently sloping ground to the south of the river Trothy. A high stone wall runs right round it, with an entrance doorway and lobby in the middle of the east side. This is of more sophisticated, dressed stone (red sandstone) and has strapwork decoration and a heraldic shield, with the initials E C S (Charles and Elizabeth Somerset. Charles was a younger son of the 4th earl of Worcester) above the wooden door. The walled garden is shown laid out as an orchard on the 1706 map. Sources: Cadw 1994: Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in Wales: Gwent, 155-156 (ref: PGW (Gt)16). Ordnance Survey first-edition six-inch map, sheet: Monmouthshire XIV (1886).