PGW(Gd)60(CON)

Cotswold, Brackley Avenue  

II  

01/02/2022  

Designated  

Conwy  

Colwyn Bay  

284428  

379026  

Gardens, Parks and Urban Spaces  

Arts and Crafts town garden; Japanese garden  

1911 - c. 1920.  

The gardens at Cotswold are registered as the remains of a spacious Edwardian town garden with Arts and Crafts elements contemporary with the house and with a slightly later intricate Japanese garden surviving in its entirety and retaining many of its original trees imported from Japan. Cotswold is a substantial detached town house built by Manchester architect Alfred Steinthal in 1911 for Mrs Bengers (LB: 14669). It is situated on the east side of Brackley Avenue in Colwyn Bay. Its garden, mainly to the south and east of the house, was laid out first in 1911, contemporary with the house, and much of this layout remains, with further development between 1911 and c.1920 when a Japanese garden was established. Also contemporary is a single-storey building, originally housing motor vehicles and boiler house but converted to a two-bedroom cottage in the early 1950s. The garden is set mostly on level ground. The original entrance, now disused, was on Pwllycrochan Avenue with a winding drive leading to the garage. The present entrance is on Brackley Avenue. The central part of the garden, to the south and east of the house, consists of a large lawn, the south and west sides of which are bounded by low stone revetment walls. It is fringed on the east by an area of large mature beech in rough grass, with oak and lime along the east boundary. A pergola of round stone columns supporting a wooden superstructure runs south-east/north-west from the end of the path leading from the original entrance to the east side of the house. The former rose garden lies to the north of the house. Immediately to the south side of the house is a square parterre of box-edged small flowerbeds set in gravel, with stone sundial at the centre. To the south is a small upper lawn with steps down to the main lawn. The Japanese garden lies along the south-west side of the garden. It constitutes a number of rockwork 'islands' between narrow winding paths of random laid local limestone, stone steps, and a winding stream. Crossed by bridges the stream is led through rockwork channels into small pools and over shallow falls. Setting: Cotswold lies between Brackley Avenue and Pwllycrochan Avenue to the east. The area is one of a grid of wide roads and well-spaced substantial houses in large gardens. Sources: Cadw 1995: Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in Wales, Clwyd, 82-3 (ref: PGW (Gd)60(CON).