PGW(Dy)48(CER)

Derry Ormond  

II  

01/02/2022  

Designated  

Ceredigion  

Llangybi  

258980  

252286  

Gardens, Parks and Urban Spaces  

Park; garden; walled kitchen garden; eye-catcher.  

1821-24; 1824-27; 1888-1905.  

Registered for the survival of most of the structure, and some planting, of a grand and extensive terraced garden associated with an important house of 1824-26, now gone, designed by C.R. Cockerell (1788-1863). The essential features of the picturesque landscaping in the park were also designed by Cockerell, including three lakes, associated cascades and a magnificent bridge. Cockerell cleverly manipulated the water so as to maximise the picturesque views within the park and from the house. Derry Ormond Tower is an important eye-catcher associated with the site and is a prominent landmark in the area. Derry Ormond mansion was situated on substantial garden terracing on a south-facing slope on the west flank of the Dulas valley, just above the hamlet of Betws Bledrws. From the house there was a fine view out over its park and the valley, with the Derry Ormond Tower crowning the hilltop to the south. The house was demolished in 1953. Nothing is known of the landscape at Derry Ormond before John Jones inherited in 1817. It is unlikely that landscaping on any scale had taken place here before that date, although it is thought that oak trees in the park may have dated to as early as the first half of the eighteenth century. John Jones set about improving the estate almost as soon as he took possession of it. The architect of the house, C.R. Cockerell, was responsible for the picturesque layout. His diary for June 1826 states that he was ‘at Derry Ormond marking out lodge, water, bridge etc. Showed Mr. Jones approach & drives round the place showing beauties of which he was not before aware’. The sophistication of the layout, and in particular in the handling of water, shows that Cockerell had a highly developed sense of the Picturesque. His drive led northwards, its route followed at first by the subsequent drive, to the great stone bridge (LB: 80945) over the lowest lake. It then ran directly northwards across the sloping field below the house to the forecourt. Views were controlled by planting. At first the house would have been visible in the distance. It would then have been lost as the drive passed through a grove of oaks to arrive at the bridge. This was the high point of the drive, a picturesque object in itself, from which there would have been a picturesque scene of lake and waterfall. On emerging into the open ground the mansion would again have been visible, closer to and impressive. The small stream flowing through the park was manipulated in a sophisticated way to provide the appearance of a large sheet of water and the sight and sound of cascades. Between 1845 (tithe map) and 1886, when the 1st edition 25 in. Ordnance Survey map (1888) was surveyed, the approach to the house was altered. A new drive was made that skirted the lakes, crossed a new, smaller bridge, the ‘Victorian’ bridge, and ran diagonally up the field below the house to the grounds and forecourt. To the north of the first bridge the former drive was removed and the open parkland to the north was divided into two large fields, dotted with trees. When the first drive was superseded the bridge was demoted to a footbridge leading to a footpath around the north side of the lakes. However, it would have been a highly visible picturesque object from the drive, on approaching from the east and from it there would have been a fine view of the lake and waterfall over the second dam.The drive is now disused and mostly turfed over but its route remains visible. A seond (present) drive is the minor road north from Bettws Bledrws skirting the east side of the park. At its south end is a small nineteenth-century lodge (LB: 18264). Two secondary spurs, run along the north and south sides of the kitchen garden towards the house and service court. From the house the culmination of the landscaping was the tower on the hilltop on the opposite side of the valley. The Derry Ormond Tower (LB: 9820) is one of the most striking eye-catchers in Wales. The column was built for John Jones 1821-4, to the design of Charles James of Llanddewi Brefi. It has been suggested that Cockerell may have advised on the design as his notebooks contain sketches of similar monumental columns. David J. Morgan, of Brynmaen, Llanddewi Brefi, is named as ‘the contractor and builder of the Derry Ormond Tower’ on his gravestone in Betws Bledrws. This lies on former common land, on a hilltop immediately to the south of the park. The height of the tower, 38.7 m, makes it a landmark not just within the park but for miles around. The gardens, now derelict, were developed in two main phases, first in the 1820s and secondly at the end of the nineteenth-century. The main layout and structure of the garden is contemporary with the house, dating to the mid to late 1820s and designed by the architect of the house, C.R. Cockerell. The grand and extensive gardens lies to the south, west and east of the house site, on ground falling away to the south. Its combination of formality and informality is characteristic of the Reptonian era. The earliest illustration, dating to 1872 (Nicholas) shows the terrace to the west of the house as an open lawn dotted with a few trees and shrubs, with the conservatory behind it. A path runs along the foot of the bank below and the next terrace has some island beds cut in its lawn. The first layout is shown in detail on the 1888 Ordnance Survey map. This shows that the original terracing was not as extensive as it is now. Beyond was an informally planted shrubbery. The croquet lawn terrace was in existence at that time. To the east of the house was an informal forecourt, with a drive leading from it to the service drive to the coach house and stables. The garden here was informal, with mixed trees in its northern half and more open ground, presumably lawn, in its southern half. Between 1888 and 1905 radical changes were made to the terracing. The two main terraces below the conservatory were extended westwards, doubling their length. The axial north - south path was extended southwards, complete with two new flights of steps, down to the croquet lawn and beyond to the drive. The main terrace to the west of the house was laid out with central and perimeter east - west paths, the two central paths now converging on a fountain. The terrace below had an axial east - west path. There were minor changes in the informal parts of the garden during this period. The terracing, to the south and west of the house site, remains on a massive scale, with steep revetted earth banks between terraces and still well preserved. Immediately west of the house site is the main terrace. No internal layout survives but at its centre is a disused concrete-lined pool, formerly the lily pool with fountain. It is now dominated by the pollarded lime avenue, planted in the late nineteenth century. Above this terrace, 3m higher, is another which once supported the conservatory, joined to the house; brick footings are still visible. This terrace is accessed by a flight of steps (now gone), on the garden’s central axis, with further flights of steps down to lower terraces, formerly linked by a path. The main terrace is bounded along the south by a dry-stone revetment wall about 1m high, beyond which is the former main drive. The wall acted as a ha-ha, providing an unimpeded view from the garden out across the park. At the far west end of the garden an informal, sloping area of trees and shrubs is bounded by iron fencing with a gate into the park. The former shrubbery still contains some ornamental species. To the east of the drive is a roughly rectangular area, to the south of the kitchen garden. This area contains disused lawn tennis courts, surrounded by overgrown shrubs, and several separate garden areas. At the east end is an informal area of trees and shrubs, including conifers and rhododendrons, known as the Daffodil Garden. At the north end a modern house has been built. The walled kitchen garden lies to the immediate east of the house site, on a south-facing hillside. It dates to about 1824-27 and is probably contemporary with the house and landscaping. The garden is four-sided, widest at its east end and tapering westwards where the wall is curved, flanked on its north and south walls by service drives, and the minor road to Derry Lodge Farm along its east side. Its walls are 3m-4m high, best preserved on the south, built of rubble stone, the inner east and south walls brick lined. The north wall is partly fallen and there is an iron-gated entrance in the centre. At the east end of the north wall are the ruins of the Gardener’s House. A modern house has been built within the garden to the south of this. Against the north wall, are the remains of lean-to glasshouses: brick footings, iron roof supports and parts of ventilation systems survive. Behind the east end of the wall is a range of stone bothies. Nearby are the footings of former glasshouses, water tanks, and a small glass-paned potting shed with internal fittings. The latter contains a disused boiler, and Iron heating pipes survive around the walls. There are also two rows of brick cold frames standing on stone bases, and a low terraced bed on a stone base. Apart from the remains of these structures, no internal layout remains within the garden, which is mostly grassed over and grazed. Traces of the old grid-iron path system can be made out aerially. One or two old, outgrown espalier apple trees survive, bordering paths that have now gone. Significant Views: From the house and gardens across the designed landscape. The bridge is a picturesque object in the view. Derry Ormond Tower is a prominent eye-catcher in the landscape. Sources: Cadw 2002: Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in Wales, Carmarthenshire, Ceredigion and Pembrokeshire, 106-12 (ref: PGW(Dy)48(CER)). Ordnance Survey first edition six-inch map: sheet Cardiganshire XXXIV.NW (1886); second-edition 25-inch map: sheet Cardiganshire XXXIV.2 (1904). Additional notes: D.K.Leighton