PGW(Dy)10(CAM)

Golden Grove  

II*  

01/02/2022  

Designated  

Carmarthenshire  

Llanfihangel Aberbythych  

259853  

219881  

Gardens, Parks and Urban Spaces  

Formal terraces, gardens & pleasure grounds surrounding the present mansion; arboretum, pinetum, deer park and parkland. Walled garden on site of previous mansions incorporating lake and canal extant about 1790.  

Lake & canal extant mid to late eighteenth century; gardens & arboretum associated with new mansion about 1832. Some later remodelling about 1860 & later.  

Golden Grove (Gelli Aur) is located to the south-west of Llandeilo on the north-facing bluff of the Tywi valley. It was for a long time one of the most important estates in west Wales. It is registered for its park and gardens, which contain many ancient trees, for its quality formal terraces, and for an outstanding arboretum associated with the Victorian house. The walled garden is also of great interest in being associated with an earlier house to the north of the present mansion; it contains a lake and canal which were probably in existence in the mid seventeenth century. There is important group value with the Grade II* Listed mansion and stable block (LBs 10926 & 22204) and with numerous Grade II Listed structures across the designed landscape. The land occupied by the park rises from some 50m AOD to 150m AOD. The tithe survey of about 1840 records some 420 acres of park and 183 acres within the demesne lands though much is now occupied by commercial forestry. The southern boundary is delimited by the edge of a plantation, the original boundary masked by forestry. The western edge is marked by a once substantial, but now tumbled, wall. The north limit is given by the ha-ha associated with the second house (although it may be earlier) and the road to Carmarthen (the B4300). To the east, the boundary is marked by a small stream and field boundaries, the original again obscured by commercial plantings. Of the three drives from the east extant in about 1840, two are still in use, whilst the third remains only as a track. The main drive is off the B4300, the entrance marked by Grade II Listed East Lodge (LB 28908). It follows a south-westerly course for 1.5km through farmland and forestry, across a Grade II Listed stone bridge, Pont-y-wern (LB 22178), and on to the mansion. It continues westwards past the mansion and stable block passing through the Grade II Listed inner west gate of the domestic grounds (LB 22170). It continues on as the west drive, lined by an avenue of lime trees thought to pre-date 1860, partly replanted. The exit is on a minor road near Grade II Listed West Lodge and gate piers (LBs 20954 & 22207). The second drive, also off the B4300 west of the main drive, runs past the walled garden from Grade II Listed North Lodge (LB 22173) and on to a second Grade II Listed lodge, `Eagle Lodge' (LB 22172), and across grazed parkland to join the main drive west of the bridge. The third drive approaches from the south-west along a stony track through forestry south of the mansion, eventually linking with the main drive to the east of the bridge. To the north of the mansion is a small deer park of 10 acres bounded by a 2.5m high wall on the north, by modern deer wire on the east and west, and on the south mostly by the wall of the north terrace. To the east of the deer park is more typical, grazed open parkland that originally covered some 63 acres. In the woodland north of the mansion, west of the walled garden, are the remains of a circular icehouse (nprn 405495). Throughout the area are ancient oaks growing in 1717 when the parkland was described as `delicately wooded'. Improvements made in the 1780s included the planting of many exotics including Weymouth pine, silver fir, Spanish chestnut and cedar of Lebanon. South of the house and arboretum, the north-facing hillside is now mostly recent forestry but with some mature oaks amongst the conifers. The double-domed reservoir that formerly supplied the house with drinking water also survives. In the centre of the plantation is a small, steep-sided valley cut by a small stream. On its northern edge is a walk or track which, at the turn of the nineteenth century, would have afforded dramatic views. The gardens and arboretum were developed to complement the mansion. To the south are grass terraces, the arboretum, a pinetum and a fernery. The terraces were present by 1871. They are of varying width and height, following the curve of the drive and the slope of the ground so that they merge into the hillslope at the east and west ends, decreasing in length uphill. There are mature rhododendrons to the west and east. Steps lead up the terraces to a gravel path which connects to the circular walk through the arboretum, a semi-circular stone seat at the junction. The arboretum, of some 10.5 acres, is protected from deer by a perimeter wall-and-ditch ha-ha, the wall up to 1.5m high. Planting in the 1860s included western red cedar and western hemlock. In the north-eastern corner is a small fernery, a circular area entered through a narrow passage, with a rustic hexagonal summerhouse, or bark house, at its centre. South-east of the mansion was an unenclosed pinetum, now overgrown but with some fine specimen trees. A second hexagonal bark house lies within the wall of the domestic grounds. The formal terraced garden lies north of the house. The Grade II Listed terrace, dating from c.1830, was initially only behind the house and utility block but was extended west, behind the stable block, between 1854 and 1887 (LB 22205). The terrace is retained by a wall up to 3m high with parapet, partly-buttressed on the east but less elaborate on the west. The two are linked by a small gate and a flight of steps. The east terrace is a grassy area with a central circular pond and fountain, flanked by circular beds with urns on pedestals. On the northern side, parallel to the retaining wall, a box hedge edges a narrow border within which is a line of clipped Irish yews. This area, known as `Lady Cawdor's Garden', was formerly laid out with paths and flower-beds now gone. At either end of the terrace are viewing bays; in the west one is a sundial. The west terrace has a central gravel path, flanked by grass and shrubs. On the north, the shrubs are retained in a border edged with slabs. The walled, ‘old’ garden lies about 0.5km north of the mansion, at the base of the northern slope of the valley, near the site of a preceding mansion in an area of the park with a long history of occupation. The garden, spanning 8.3 acres, is enclosed by a part brick-part masonry wall up to 3m high with variations in construction pointing to several phases dating from at least the mid eighteenth century, with remodelling and enlargement during the mid-nineteenth century. It is now an irregular, sub-rectangular shape, long axis roughly east by west. The interior is bisected by a canal (now an overgrown stream and ditch) with a lake in the east corner, which may have been extant during the mid-seventeenth century. At the west end is re-built Gardener’s Cottage with stable block and Bothy, enclosing several areas of glass. Within the main garden area are two further large glasshouses, now overgrown, with the boiler house chimney still visible. Setting - Golden Grove is located in an elevated position in the Tywi valley, the extensive park and gardens, together with the surrounding landscape, providing a setting for the house. Significant views - From the west end of the east drive there are views west to Paxton’s Tower (PGW(Dy)49(CAM)). Within the commercial plantation south of the mansion is a walk, or track which, prior to planting, would have provided dramatic views across the valley towards Dinefwr Castle. On the formal north terrace of the mansion, projecting viewing bays give splendid, panoramic views: from the eastern end there is a view towards Llandeilo, Dinefwr Castle and beyond; from the west end there are views down the Towy valley towards Grongar Hill. Sources: Cadw 2002: Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in Wales, Carmarthenshire, Ceredigion and Pembrokeshire, 26-31 (ref: PGW(Dy)10(CAM)). Additional notes: D.K.Leighton