PGW(Dy)17(PEM)

Cilwendeg  

II*  

01/02/2022  

Designated  

Pembrokeshire  

Boncath  

221827  

238729  

Gardens, Parks and Urban Spaces  

Landscaped park, with formal gardens associated with the house. Shell grotto and elaborate farm buildings. Small arboretum and walled kitchen garden.  

Late eighteenth century; c. 1830's & 1880's.  

Cilwendeg is registered for its landscape park, formal terraced gardens, small arboretum and walled garden associated with the mansion. The registered area includes a rare and beautiful shell grotto, to the west of the mansion and an extraordinary series of farm buildings, including a flamboyant pigeon house. The registered park and garden has group value with these structures and the other estate buildings at Cilwendeg. The mansion, park and gardens at Cilwendeg occupy part of the gently south-facing plateau above the north side of the Dulas valley at an average height of about 145m AOD. The park lies to the west of the late eighteenth-century mansion (LB: 13020) and is separated from it and the formal gardens by planting. The house is approached by drives off the B4332 between Newchapel and Boncath. The main drive, from the west through the double Boncath lodges, built c.1830 (LB: 15390; 15391; 13027; 13028) bisects the park. An earlier drive, now a track, approached from the northeast at New Chapel. Also with twin lodges, built c. 1835-40 and raised a storey c.1910, (LB: 15136; 15137; 15138; 15139) it approaches in a westerly and then southerly arc, following the 120m contour line. Both drives are over 1.5km long. The flat open park is kept grazed by sheep retained by temporary fences. Shelter plantations of mixed native conifers and hardwoods, almost completely surround the 79 or so acres of park, retaining nearly the same configuration as those shown in 1848. Recent satellite imagery indicates that two `island' clumps of trees to the north and south of the drive, shown in 1887, survive. But most of the lone parkland trees have gone. Separating the shelter belts from the open park is an estimated 2,414m (1.25 miles) of ha-ha, the wall mostly of slate and the ditch still surviving. The wall stands to an average of 1m high and the ditch varies from 0.75 - 0.5m deep. To the north of the park the ha-ha is almost continuous, but to the south it is discontinuous having been built to protect specific areas of trees. Towards the east, where the drive passes through a plantation before sweeping northwards to the house, the ha-ha has been replaced with iron park railings. North and east of the house, around the walled garden, nineteenth century maps suggest it may once have been parkland traversed by the east drive. Plantations remain but clumps of trees and individual plantings have now gone. The garden was probably created in the 1830s. The principal feature of the garden is a series of seven terraced lawns to the south-east of the mansion, extending some 127m from the house. They are reached by small paths to either side of the house, or via the conservatories. This area, known as the South Garden, was described in sale documents of 1906 as having ‘…. wide-spreading lawns and flower parterre leading to four sunk croquet lawns and tennis lawns of full-size, and being divided from the main lawns by an apple pergola. Gently sloping grassy banks and lawns lead to a picturesque thatched summer-house'. There was also a `sunk' rose garden. The apple pergola and thatched summer-house have both gone, as have the flowers. Terraces are no longer used for tennis and croquet but the overall scale of the landscaping works undertaken remains impressive. The lowest lawn area was used as a formal planted area until recently; geometric patterns in the grass indicate that it may have been the rose garden mentioned above. To the north-east of this area is a substantial laurel hedge. Terraces rise towards the house with the uppermost terrace surrounding the house. Terraces are partly bounded by banks, and vary in heights and area, with flights of steps between the lower lawns. To the south-west of these lawns is the area of informal plantings, a mix of woody exotics and shrubs. The small `sunken' garden across the forecourt from the porte cochère, also survives, created c.1830, it consists of an embanked semi-circular area. Into this bank are set flights of five stone steps. Mapped evidence indicates that there was a circular depression to the north-west of the area, but this has since been filled in. Today this area is lawn into which have been set three small formal beds. To the east of this small garden is the drive that leads towards the walled gardens through the woodlands, and to the west is the path, off the main drive, that leads to a rare shell grotto (23118), restored during 2003-4 by the Fountain Trust following excavation by the Dyfed Archaeological Trust. There is also an arboretum with woodland paths. The kitchen garden is located to the north-east of the house and was probably created in the 1830s. The garden is sub-rectangular on plan, long axis north by south, and has an area of about eight acres within perimeter stone rubble walls capped with slate, standing to 2m high on the west, 4m on the east. Overall dimensions are some 130m long by 75m wide. In the north-west corner of the garden stands the Gardener's Cottage. In the south-west corner is a pedestrian arched entrance of carved slate. To the east of this area is a brick-lined bathing pool. All the internal paths shown on early surveys have now disappeared. Along the north wall, facing south, were some 35.5m of glass, now gone. Sources: Cadw 2002: Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in Wales, Carmarthenshire, Ceredigion and Pembrokeshire, 186-90 (ref: PGW(Dy)17(PEM)). Ordnance Survey first-edition six-inch map: sheet Pembrokeshire VII.SW (1887). Additional notes: C.S. Briggs; D.K.Leighton