PGW(C)52(WRE)

Pen-y-lan  

II  

01/02/2022  

Designated  

Wrexham  

Ruabon  

333102  

341175  

Gardens, Parks and Urban Spaces  

Landscape park; informal garden.  

c. 1811; 1895-1920.  

Pen-y-lan is located in the Dee valley to the south-east of Ruabon, close to the English border. It is registered for the historical interest of its well-preserved landscape park in an unspoilt rural location. Group value is provided by the listed Pen-y-lan Hall, its gateway and attached walls, and stable block (all Grade II, LBs 15727-9), together with the listed front lodge and entrance gateway (Grade II, LBs 15725-6). Also, to the north, at the south end of Pen-y-lan village, is the listed All Saints church built in 1889 by James Ormrod, in memory of his wife (Grade II, LB 15724). The park at Pen-y-lan was laid out in the early nineteenth century by the Lloyd-Kenyon family. A second major phase of development was between 1895 and 1920, under the ownership of the Ormrod family, when much tree planting took place, and continues today, with a wide variety of species, coniferous and deciduous, native and introduced. The park is roughly rectangular, medium-sized, and is bounded on the north by a minor road, on the south by the River Dee, and elsewhere by farmland and woodland. The house is set towards the west boundary. The northern part of the park is on the gently rolling plateau above the valley, the southern part on the steep slope down to the river. The house is approached by two drives from the north boundary: the back drive from Back Lodge south of Pen-y-lan village, and the main drive from the north-east corner of the park. The latter, partly disused, winds along the lip of the Dee valley, from a new entrance on the north-east, to the small gravel forecourt on the north side of the house. A further drive winds down the steep slope above the river from the house to a small former lodge (Bridge Lodge) and bridge over the river, the present bridge replacing the original iron carriage bridge. The park is largely open pasture, with occasional isolated trees and areas of planted woodland. The northern half is also broken up by small spinneys. A row of oaks flank the west side of the southern end of the back drive. A closely set double row of large-leafed limes, north of the main drive, is perhaps the remnants of an eighteenth-century nursery. Just north of the farm buildings, on the edge of Hall Wood, is an overgrown ice-house. The gardens lie to the north and south of the house, the two areas being of different character. The garden is entered through simple iron gates flanked by iron piers and pedestrian gates to the east of the house. To the north is an informal area of lawn, shrubbery and pond, bounded by an iron fence, with a few large ornamental trees. To the south is a sloping lawn down to a ha-ha on the garden boundary. In front of the house is a formal area, a sunken horse-shoe shaped area of several rose beds set around a modern sundial, and reached by a flight of steps at the north end. The east side of the garden is bounded by an iron fence. To the west of the house lie the remains of two large late nineteenth-century, ornamental, Victorian conservatories. The present garden was created in the early nineteenth century, and replaced a very different, eighteenth-century, garden. Edwardian photographs show the garden much as it is now except for the existence of tennis courts to the north and more elaborate flowerbeds to the south. Statuary that then adorned the garden has since gone. The kitchen garden lies on a south-facing slope to the north of the house and farm buildings. In the eighteenth century it was occupied by an orchard. It occupies a roughly square area, walled only along its north side. This is a 3m high stone wall lined internally with brick, built in facets, thus curving inwards slightly, buttressed externally, an arched doorway at its east end. Against the outside of the wall is a lean-to bothy in the centre, the footings of a glasshouse inside. Along the south side are the remains of iron fencing and iron gates on the path to the farm buildings. Setting - The park and gardens lie in a rural area in the Dee valley and provide a setting for the house. Significant views - From the south and east sides of the house and garden are fine views out across the park to the Dee valley and beyond. Sources: Cadw 1995: Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in Wales, Clwyd, 194-7 (ref: PGW(C)52). Ordnance Survey, 25-inch map: Denbighshire VII, sheet 8 (second edition 1900).