PGW(Dy)42(PEM)

Picton Castle  

II*  

01/02/2022  

Designated  

Pembrokeshire  

Uzmaston, Boulston and Slebech  

201541  

213357  

Gardens, Parks and Urban Spaces  

Extensive parkland to the north of the castle with informal gardens & woodland walks surrounding it. To the west is a fine walled pleasure garden & utilitarian garden to the east.  

The formal early eighteenth century garden gave way to more informal, picturesque plantings and landscaping probably around 1800.  

The park and gardens at Picton Castle, 6km east of Haverfordwest, are registered for the survival of features of its eighteenth-century designed landscape. Their group value includes the listed Castle and its associated buildings (LB:6043), entrance lodges, the belvedere mount and avenue, scenic walks through woodland and along the Cleddau estuary, and some fine exotic garden plantings, including hybrid rhododendrons. The configuration of the park changed from the early nineteenth century, following the gentrification of the castle, and further changes followed, but features of the eighteenth-century landscape remain. The castle and much of the land is still in the hands of the Phillips family which has ancestry in the area dating back to the medieval period. The landscape falls broadly into several major areas: the park, which is primarily to the north and east of the castle; the once extensive utilitarian gardens to its immediate east; the walled pleasure gardens to its west; the lawns, including the terracing and plantings, which surround the castle and walks; and the woodlands and water features to the south, an area which also includes the coastal walk from the ferry site towards Slebech. The main drive through the park, one of several associated with the estate, is from the north through an impressive entrance with lodges either side (LB:6100; 19412) along flanking belts of mixed woodland to the house. Most of the park lay to the east of the drive. The dominant feature here is a mount, at the termination of an avenue, which once supported a belvedere or summer house dating from 1723 (LB:19420). Within the mount is a passage variously interpreted as a grotto or an ice house/cold store. Other structures of interest nearby include a circular pond, reservoirs, the base of a sundial, and The Paddock, an enclosed area used as variously as a plant nursery and plantation and which incorporates the belvedere and a reservoir. West of the castle is the well-preserved rectangular walled pleasure garden, bounded by walls of stone and brick except the east side which is formed by cast-iron railings and where the entrance is located (LB:19411). South of the garden are the ruins of a brick peach house, and to the north the former boiler house and potting sheds. The informal grounds around the house, ‘The Lawns’, includes areas of woodland with exotic plantings and walks, the west and south drives and, south of the house, a lawn and field bounded by a ha-ha. West of the lawn is a stream valley with further exotic plantings, informal ponds and two ice houses. To its east is the former stable block (now offices) and adjacent on the south the large former kitchen garden, now mostly occupied by farm buildings. The last tract of grounds includes lakes and woodland extending south, either side of a stream valley down to the estuary and the coastal path which leads to Slebech. The woodland (Fish Pond Wood) is a mixed planting of exotic conifers, broadleaves and indigenous trees. Three lakes with picturesque paths criss-crossing the wood were created here from the eighteenth century. The southernmost, and largest, lake is dammed and a path alongside it then follows an easterly line along the estuary. It passes the remains of a boathouse (NPRN:518747) and the remains of Crafty Cottage before leading on to Castle Lake Camp defended enclosure (NPRN:304438; SM:PE278), beyond which is a ruined shelter, or ‘peepout’ at Peepout Wood, a structure with classical features. From here the path swings north to the site of Picton Park Cottage. Setting – The park and gardens at Picton lie above the north bank of the eastern Cleddau, set within the gently rolling countryside typical of Pembrokeshire, the castle itself being at about 45m AOD. From the castle the land falls away gently, mostly to the south and west. The park is bounded by farmland and woodland, much of it coniferous. Significant views – the belvedere offered views to the south-east across parkland to the estuary and beyond, while the south side of the castle affords views across gardens and parkland. Sources: Cadw 2002: Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in Wales, Carmarthenshire, Ceredigion and Pembrokeshire, 278-86 (ref: PGW(Dy)42(PEM)).