PGW(Gt)56(MON)

Wonastow Court  

II  

01/02/2022  

Designated  

Monmouthshire  

Mitchel Troy  

348877  

210983  

Gardens, Parks and Urban Spaces  

Formal and informal gardens; small park.  

Sixteenth-seventeenth century; early nineteenth century.  

Wonastow Court is located on the north side of the Trothy valley, south-west of Monmouth. It is registered for the survival of the bones of a formal terraced garden with the remnants of wider formal planting, possibly of sixteenth or seventeenth century date. There is a fine lime avenue along a former drive and a small park to the east of the house. There is also group value with Grade II Listed Wonastow Court and Wonastow Lodge (LBs 2064 & 16469), and nearby Grade II* Listed Wonastow Church which lies just outside the registered area (LB 24452). The house is situated at the south-west end of a small park which lies on ground falling away to the east with a large grove, Parkapella Wood, at the east end. A few isolated trees survive in the fields around the wood, indicating former parkland. The main ornamental feature to survive is the lime avenue, which flanks the drive which runs from the early nineteenth-century lodge at the north end of the park, to the grounds north-east of the house. Some of these trees are of considerable age but the drive is now disused. The park dates from at least the seventeenth century and may once have extended much further north. Several orchards shown on early maps have now gone. The gardens lie around the house; a sunken formal garden to the south-east and informal areas to the east, west and north-west. They appear to be of several phases; parts may be of considerable antiquity. Informal belts of trees and shrubs are probably nineteenth-century in origin and there are remnants of Victorian planting, such as the wellingtonias. The sunken formal garden is probably Victorian or Edwardian in its present form but may have much earlier origins. The grounds are entered from the north-west of the house, off the Dingestow to Monmouth road, along a drive running south, west of the house, through an area of lawn dotted with deciduous trees then swinging east to a forecourt area on the south-east side of the house. On the west is a boundary belt of mixed trees, including large conifers, and an overgrown yew hedge which extends to the churchyard abutting the south side of the garden. At the north end of the grounds is an area of large, ancient yews, possibly part of an ancient formal grove. In front of the house, to its south-east, is a level lawn, fringed by ornamental trees. Below, to the south-east, is a steep slope down to a level area where removal of overburden has revealed the framework of a formally laid out garden. Remains include stone edging, steps and a linear terrace. Below the terrace is the lower, rectangular, garden area laid out with a perimeter path of crushed shells, around a central bird bath on a plinth. The west side, next to the churchyard, has stone edgings for either paths or beds along the slope which is planted with large yews. Below this area is the site of a former pond. To the north-east is an area of overgrown woodland with traces of ornamental features including a small pond with dam and some hedging, with ornamental trees including yews and mature limes. The area was partly disturbed by its use during the Second World War. North-east of the house is the kitchen garden, an L-shaped area enclosed in brick and stone walls up 1.5m-5m high, the south corner open. The interior is mostly rough grass with no signs of early layout; part of it is still under cultivation. Setting - Wonastow Court lies in countryside surrounded by farmland, south-west of Monmouth. Despite changes in land use and the loss of ornamental features the overall layout of the grounds is largely unchanged since the nineteenth century. Significant views - From the south-east front of the house there were views out across the Trothy valley. Sources: Cadw 2007: Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest, additional and revised entries part 1, 46-8 (ref: PGW (Gt) 56 (MON). Ordnance Survey 25-inch map: sheet Monmouthshire XIV.7 (editions of 1880).