PGW(Gd)16(GWY)

Plas Gwynant  

II  

01/02/2022  

Designated  

Gwynedd  

Beddgelert  

262971  

350480  

Gardens, Parks and Urban Spaces  

Parkland, woods, riverside walks, lawned terraces, rockery, walled garden.  

Early nineteenth century.  

Registered as a good example of a well-preserved park landscape and in the use of a natural 'romantic' landscape in creating a small garden. The registered area encompasses the parkland, woods, riverside walks, lawned terraces, rockery and a walled garden. It is situated in the beautiful valley of Nant Gwynant to the north-east of Beddgelert and offers superb views. Plas Gwynant park, laid out in the early nineteenth century, occupies a splendid site in Nant Gwynant, a valley famous for its beauty and much prized by those interested in the romantic, but without a road until relatively late, and thus open only to the most intrepid of tourists before the nineteenth century. It lies between the two lakes in the valley, Llyn Gwynant and Llyn Dinas, at a point where the Llynedno, a substantial tributary, joins the Afon Glaslyn. The presence of this river, with its waterfalls, was clearly significant to the choice of site, as was the view south-west down the valley and the sheltering hills to south and north. The house is situated a little way up the slope above the Afon Llynedno, facing south-west across the park and down Nant Gwynant towards Beddgelert and Moel Hebog - a distinctly romantic view. The walks in the woods to the north of the house lead up to a crag from which an even better view down the valley can be obtained. The park falls into three main areas. A relatively low-lying, rather wet triangular area west and north-west of the house, most closely associated with the house and carrying the lodge and drive, is planted with exotic conifers, singly and in groups. The second area, south-west of the house alongside the river, is separated from the first by the Afon Llynedno. More agricultural in character, it is sparsely planted (mostly around the edges) so as not to obscure distant mountain views. The third area is in two enclosures, either side of the minor road to the south of the house, separated from the second area by farm buildings. It slopes quite steeply, being on the southern slope of the main valley of the Afon Glaslyn. It is grazed pasture with scattered deciduous trees. The two large areas of woodland, to the north and south-west of the house, crown craggy outcrops on the valley side, were planted as mixed woodland as part of the designed landscape, but are now largely commercial conifers. There are many old tracks across the park, mostly disused, some impassable. The woodland on the north contains several which constituted the well-known picturesque walk, leading to a viewpoint on the top. The path is steep, informal and unsurfaced, but has sitting places and intermediate view points on the way up. The garden areas lie around the house, focused on the Afon Llynedno and its waterfalls which add much to the atmosphere of the garden. There are low, semi-formal terraces in front of the house, giving views both distant over the valley and Moel Hebog and more immediate, to the lower waterfall. To the south-east there is a rockery area with a pool and almost a grotto. Aside from a walled area of woodland behind the house and stables, almost all of the rest consists of a riverside walk running on both sides of the river. The riverside area has naturally outcropping rocks with winding paths and several small watercourses. Of the three river bridges present in 1914 only one remains; a high, arched bridge at the southern end of the garden which carried a track across between Hafod Tan-y-graig and the mill. Originally there would have been a view of the river from almost the full length of the walk either side. There is an enclosed wooded area at the back of the house and stables. Other small areas close to the house are planted with ornamental shrubs. An area adjacent to the house, now occupied by the extension and car park, may originally have been a lawn surrounded with trees and shrubbery, with a carriage turning area at the house end. A small, former kitchen garden lies a short distance north-west of the house on uneven terrain. The wall survives mostly on the south-east side but also on north-east and north-west sides, as a dry-stone wall. The former rear drive runs along the south-west side. The only remaining visible entrance is a blocked doorway near the west corner. Internal detail is no longer visible though the site of a glasshouse in the north corner can still be seen where the wall is mortared and, nearby, traces of path edging or the remains of the cold frame which is also shown in this area on the 1914 OS map. It is believed that this small garden was the first kitchen garden, later augmented and perhaps eventually superseded by the large kitchen garden to the south-east. It probably dates from the mid-nineteenth century. The larger kitchen garden to the east-north-east of the house is possibly contemporary with the rebuilding of the house in the second half of the nineteenth-century. The garden is surrounded by a high, dry-stone wall without any brick lining, 2m or more high in places, and has been repaired. The east corner of the garden is truncated, alongside a pre-existing foot path, giving the garden five sides. There are entrances through the middle of the north-west wall and in the south-east wall, both with modern wooden doors; a former doorway through the north-east wall, near the entrance to the boiler house and probably leading into the glasshouse which once stood here, has been partially blocked, leaving a window opening. The gardener's house is on the outside of the garden, at the north corner. Inside are four sloping terraces, retained by dry-stone walls, the highest exceeding 1m. The glasshouse, now gone, was in the north corner close to the gardener's cottage, its position marked by slate coping on the wall. The boiler house, outside the garden wall behind the glasshouse site, is underground. Another small building marked nearby on the 1914 OS map has gone. Significant Views: Views from the house and gardens facing south-west across the park and down the Nant Gwynant towards Beddgelert and Moel Hebog. The picturesque walk in the woods to the north of the house includes sitting places and viewpoints on the way up and leads up to a crag from which an even better view down the valley is obtained. There are distant views from the terraces in front of the house over the valley and Moel Hebog and near at hand, to the lower waterfall. Sources: Cadw 1998: Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in Wales: Conwy, Gwynedd & the Isle of Anglesey, 268-72 (ref: PGW(Gd)16(GWY)).