PGW(Gm)27(CDF)

Insole Court  

II*  

01/02/2022  

Designated  

Cardiff  

Llandaff  

315018  

177747  

Gardens, Parks and Urban Spaces  

Formal garden; informal rockeries and water garden; former kitchen garden  

1860s; late nineteenth to early twentieth century  

Registered for the survival of a grand Victorian and Edwardian town garden, with fine terracing and balustrading, reflecting the owners' passion for horticulture. The garden features extensive rockwork which was introduced as a habitat for Violet Insole's collection of alpines and rock plants. The rockwork in the garden is a combination of natural rock and Pulhamite, an artificial rock produced by James Pulham & Son. The garden still contains a wide variety of ornamental trees and shrubs. The registered area also has group value with the associated estate buildings and garden structures of contemporary date. Insole Court is a large, stone built Victorian mansion situated on the western side of Llandaff, to the south of Fairwater Road. It is a two-storey building in romantic gothic style (LB: 14127). Insole Court was built by James Harvey Insole (1821-1901), coal owner and shipper, whose father George Insole was a pioneer of the coal trade and director and promoter of the Taff Vale Railway. The gardens of Insole Court occupy a roughly rectangular area between Fairwater Road in the north and Vaughan Avenue in the south. The main entrance is at the north end, off the Fairwater Road. The garden is bounded here by a low stone wall topped with iron railings (LB: 81261) and the entrance is flanked by octagonal piers with conical tops. On the east side is a small two-storey gothic lodge. A tree-lined drive approaches the forecourt in front of the house. The gardens were initially laid out for James Harvey Insole during the early 1860s by Cardiff nurseryman Mr Treseder. He also planted an avenue of horse chestnut trees in 1861. Further land was purchased in the 1870s and 80s, enabling James Insole to extend the gardens. The first edition Ordnance Survey map of 1874 shows the house, then called Ely Court, and its gardens surrounded by a small park on the south, west and north sides (the park to the south is now built on). A long drive led southwards to a lodge on what is now Ely Road. The park was planted with individual trees, small clumps and perimeter belts of trees. The layout of the garden differed slightly from that at present in that the main terrace appears not to have been quite rectangular, there was a circular structure on a mound to its south, the rockwork water garden was not yet in existence (the garden terminated just south of the mound), and to the east of the house was one long rectangular area with a fountain in the middle (where there are now two terraces). The garden is shown as having fewer areas of lawn than at present: it is all planted with trees and shrubs except the main terrace and a rectangular lawn to the west. The summerhouse (LB: 81264) is shown in its present position. Where the rockwork north of the house is now situated there were several glasshouses. A description of the garden in the Gardeners' Chronicle for 20 May 1882 makes it clear that the garden was well planted with many specimen trees and shrubs, some of which remain. The rockwork (LB:81277) was also in place by the time of the Gardener’s Chronicle description. Further changes had taken place by 1915 (Ordnance Survey map). The garden to the east of the house had been divided into two terraces and the main terrace appears more in its present form. During the Edwardian period the garden achieved national horticultural recognition for its collections of alpines and irises. These were the work of Violet Insole (1884-1933), who was one of the leading experts on irises and developed several new varieties at Insole Court. The terrace walls and steps are also listed (LB: 81262; 81263; 13684). Sources: Cadw 2000: Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in Wales, Glamorgan (ref: PGW(Gm)27(CDF). Ordnance Survey Second Edition 25-inch map of Glamorgan sheet XLIII.10 (1901).