PGW(Gd)47(ANG)

Plas Gwyn  

II  

01/02/2022  

Designated  

Isle of Anglesey  

Pentraeth  

252859  

378039  

Gardens, Parks and Urban Spaces  

Terrace and lawn with shrubbery, woodland walk, walled garden, set in parkland with woods.  

Eighteenth century; nineteenth century.  

Plas Gwyn is located on the south-east side of the village of Pentraeth. It is registered for its eighteenth-century origins with nineteenth-century alterations which retains much of its original style and atmosphere. There is group value with Grade II* Listed Plas Gwyn and with several Grade II Listed nearby out buildings as well as with a number of Listed park and garden structures. The park may be contemporary with the eighteenth-century house but with later alterations. It is roughly triangular in shape, fanning out south-east from Pentraeth, the house lying roughly central to it. The terrain is rocky, a kind of stepped ridge with a dip or shallow valley in the middle. On the west is a steeply sloping area with outcropping rocks and vegetation including gorse and other heathland species, narrowing to a point at Pentraeth between the Bangor and Beaumaris roads. Mixed deciduous trees have been planted in groups in the lower, more sheltered places, and others dotted across the open parkland. North of the house is deciduous woodland; within it is a Grade II Listed icehouse (LB 80832). Terrain rises towards the east and, as the slope becomes steeper, it is crowned with more woods. Further east the parkland is gentler and greener. Specimen trees have survived well so that the park has retained its original appearance. It is still grazed by sheep. There are two main drives: from the south (Bangor to Amlwch road); and from the east (Beaumaris road). The south drive, the older of the two, runs from an entrance with Grade II Listed gates, railings and lodge (LBs 80819 & 80828). It follows a north-east line looping round to the north front of the house, redirected from its original zig-zag route in 1840. The east drive, now disused, runs from the Beaumaris road at an entrance with Grade II Listed gates, walled railings and lodge (LBs 80821 & 80829). It follows a line west to meet the south drive on the north edge of the lawn. A rear drive from further west on the Beaumaris road serviced the farm. On the east front of the house is a grass terrace with steps up its grassy slope and a central path crossing it from the house. Below is a lawn surrounded by dense evergreen shrubberies with some conifers in the southern part of this area. Across the lawn, opposite the house, there are ornamental trees with rhododendrons below. The Grade II Listed walled garden lies to the south-west of the house with which it is likely contemporary (LB 80827). It had both an ornamental function as well as a practical one but is now used as a nursery, the kitchen garden moved to a former orchard area north of the farm buildings. It is about an acre in extent, twice as long as it is wide, orientated almost north by south, and bounded by well-preserved, hand-made brick walls up to 3.5m high with entrances in the south, west and east walls. There is a range of buildings along the north end of the garden which included the gardener's cottage, a small barn and other outbuildings; the south wall supported lean-to glasshouses. On the north side is a small smithy and yard. Most of the glass shown on early maps has gone. The original layout was framed by cross and perimeter paths, now grassed over but their box edging survives. The area east of the walled garden, formerly parkland, was used as a cricket ground in the later nineteenth century and, more recently, as a tennis court; both are now disused. Setting - Plas Gwyn lies in parkland in a rural area on the south side of Pentraeth on Anglesey. Significant views - From the terrace on the east front of the house there are fine views across the garden and the park beyond. Source: Cadw 1998: Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in Wales: Conwy, Gwynedd & the Isle of Anglesey, 28-32 (ref: PGW(Gd)47(ANG))