PGW(Dy)37(PEM)

Merrixton House Farm  

II  

01/02/2022  

Designated  

Pembrokeshire  

Amroth  

214430  

208041  

Gardens, Parks and Urban Spaces  

Terraced garden from the mid-nineteenth century onwards, although some features appear to be earlier.  

Probably around 1880, with the reuse of existing features.  

Registered for its historic interest as the gardens associated with the house, which was built in about 1750. The utilitarian garden and possibly the formal pond predate the Tithe Award Survey of 1846. The house and gardens were substantially remodelled around 1880. There are terraces and an unusual viewing mound within an enclosed garden adjacent to the house, as well as a parish lock-up. Merrixton House (NPRN: 22407) and its gardens are set in low rolling hills about 2km to the north of the Pembrokeshire coast, north-east of Kilgetty. Its former drives, from the east and west, are now public roads. The gardens associated with Merrixton are to the west and south of the house complex and seem to have been originally conceived as a series of terraces, using or being built into the natural slope, and surrounded by a stone boundary wall. They date from the mid nineteenth-century onwards though with some features, the mound, which appear to be earlier. The formal garden is to the west and may originally have extended further to the south. There is a small formal terrace to the front of the house which leads on to the west-facing, sloping lawn and planted borders. A pond on the west side is surrounded by ornamental plantings, lies above a semi-triangular plot, referred to as ‘The Green’ on the tithe map, and separated from it several feet below by a high revetment wall. This is the start of a small wooded valley across which are earthworks perhaps representing tracks, former drives (pre-1845) or walks through a ‘wilderness area’. There is a second, possibly later, pond below the other, connected by a flight of steps. Both are associated with the stream which is thought to start from the spring in the walled garden, from where it is piped under the public road (the former drive) to feed them. A sub-rectangular enclosure to the south of the house also seems to have been terraced at some stage. It contains a viewing mound, from which are stunning views, and a building thought to be a former gaol, later used as a summerhouse or dovecote (NPRN: 22601). In addition to gardens south and west of the house there is also a kitchen garden, to the north, on the opposite side of what is now a public road. The kitchen garden was already in existence in 1845 and may date from the construction of the house in about 1750. It is rectangular, 61m (N-S) by 56m, and enclosed by a stone wall 2m-2.5m high. The portrayal of several randomly planted trees on first edition Ordnance Survey maps of the 1880s may indicate that it was a pleasure garden at the time rather than an orchard. There are two existing entrances to the garden, on the south and east, the latter arched. There are two former entrances on the north and west, now blocked. These were grand, arched openings which further suggest the garden was originally a pleasure garden attached to the house complex. The interior of the garden has been incorporated into a caravan park. A wet area towards the centre may represent the source of the small stream which feeds the garden ponds located to the south. Setting: Merrixton House and its gardens are set in low rolling hills about 2km to the north of the Pembrokeshire coast, north-east of Kilgetty. Significant View: From both the viewing mound and the lock-up there are stunning views to the south. Sources: Cadw 2002: Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in Wales, Carmarthenshire, Ceredigion and Pembrokeshire, 254-6 (ref: PGW(Dy)37(PEM)).