PGW(Po)26(POW)

Plas Machynlleth  

II  

01/02/2022  

Designated  

Powys  

Machynlleth  

274711  

300285  

Gardens, Parks and Urban Spaces  

Large house of several periods and small formal garden. Pleasure grounds partly remain as a public park.  

About 1841-1900. About 1948-pleasure grounds as a public park..  

Registered for its historic interest as an important and attractive Victorian park, much of which survives. The park lies in a fine natural setting, on the edge of Machynlleth. The mansion house (Cadw LB:8499) was restored by Sir John Edwards (former MP) before it became home to the marquesses of Londonderry, who owned extensive estates in the area. House and garden were later given to the town as a public park. The historical development of the site reflects that of the town. The Plas stands on the southern edge of the town of Machynlleth, set back off the Pentrerhedyn road behind a high stone wall on the north-west edge of a small park. The history of Plas Machynlleth (the Plas) is intimately connected to that of nearby Llynlloedd (Cadw LB: 8504)a substantial farmhouse situated towards the south-east side of the park. The early history of the park area is unclear, but may date, as cleared ground, from the medieval period. The earliest known record of the park occurs on a map of 1828 of the Machynlleth Estates. Land for the park was acquired gradually and piecemeal from the 1790s to 1850, and from about 1840 Sir John Edwards set about creating a landscape park to provide a fine setting for his mansion and grounds. A number of fields around Llynlloedd farm were incorporated into the park and were planted variously with ornamental trees. Two lodges were also built. The park’s drystone boundary wall can be traced for much of its length with entrances flanked by simple upright stone piers. Lodges were built at two of the entrances. Level parkland rolls gently from the garden boundary towards Llynlloedd. To the south of the park the ground rises and the wooded slope of Coed Llynlloedd forms a backdrop to the park. At the south-west end of the park the ground rises steeply to a ridge, with a number of small summits from which there are panoramic views. Since being given to the town, an area to the east of the garden of about 3 acres has been enclosed to make a rugby pitch and football field. In the north of the park, just to the north-west of the farm gates, a new housing development has been constructed on about 1 acre of ground. Despite development and the loss of some planting and a summerhouse, much of the park and its backdrop of woodland remain. An ice house (NPRN 43510) lies near the park boundary, to the south-east of the house. The gardens were about 4 acres in extent and surrounded the house on the north-east, the east and the south, with further woodland in the south-west. The gardens remain in form, but much has been lost to redesign or redevelopment notably with the building of a leisure centre and carpark. Sources: Cadw 1995: Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in Wales, Powys (ref: PGW(Po)26).