PGW(Po)15(POW)

Abercynrig  

II  

01/02/2022  

Designated  

Powys  

Llanfrynach  

306928  

227065  

Gardens, Parks and Urban Spaces  

Formal and informal garden;  

Late seventeenth century  

Abercynrig lies a short distance to the east of Brecon, on the south side of the Usk Valley. It is registered for its well-preserved formal walled garden enclosures, ponds and water channels around a fine late seventeenth-century house, situated in an outstandingly unspoilt valley. There is also group value with the Grade II* Listed house and the farm buildings. The garden is on level ground mainly to the north, south and east of the house. It is divided into several walled compartments, with a separate walled garden to the north and a more informal area of ponds, trees and shrubs at the south end. Although the first evidence for a garden dates from 1749 it probably has its origins in the late seventeenth century when the present house was built, possibly earlier. The garden enclosures to the south of the house probably had utilitarian origins and were later converted to gardens. Much of the planting and the layout of the rose garden probably occurred in the 1920s and 30s when Abercynrig was lived in by Captain D'Arcy Hall. The tithe and early Ordnance Survey maps show the long approach road, the watercourse and ponds, the walled enclosures, walled garden and the long, wide walk leading to the Afon Cynrig. The house is approached from the south via a half-kilometre private road lined with deciduous trees, running past, on the west, a field with alders and former watercourses, and the ponds, before branching to a small forecourt to the south-east of the house. A second branch leads to the east front, and another eastwards to the farm yard. The lawn on the east front is now a forecourt with a small turning circle off centre to the south, and is surrounded by grass with ornamental plantings. On the west side of the house is an enclosed rectangular lawn bounded by a low west wall, centrally bowed out. Beyond is a field (formerly an orchard) dotted with trees, some ornamental. Beyond the north boundary is an east-west walk to the Afon Cynrig. Opposite is a walled garden with rubble walls 0.8m-1.6m high, entrance on the south side. The ponds occupy the southern end of the garden, to the west of the drive. The smaller, on the south, is circular with a dam on the north side. The second pond, on the north, is much larger with a small, planted, island, dammed on the north. The pond is fringed by lawns planted with ornamental trees. The lawn continues westwards. Specimen trees include oak and sweet chestnuts. An iron gate in the north side leads into the rose garden. This is a rectangular compartment bounded by roughly-coursed rubble stone walls laid out to lawn with a central circle divided into eight segmental beds by radiating narrow flagstone paths and with a similar path around the perimeter; in the centre is a circular well. To the north of the rose beds is a sundial partly made of decorative stones possibly derived from a medieval religious building. In the south-west corner of the enclosure are the ruins of the malt house. The garden exit is in the north-east corner between yew hedges. These enclose, next to the rose garden, a small yew-hedged, cobbled area. To the south is a small, walled, enclosure, lawned and accessed from the north side. Setting - Abercynrig is located in the unspoilt Usk Valley, in surroundings which provide the setting for the house and its gardens. Significant views - From the west side of the house there are fine views across the grounds to the Afon Cynrig (a tributary of the Usk) and to the countryside beyond. Sources: Cadw 1999: Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in Wales, Powys, 2-4 (ref: PGW (Po)15(POW)). Additional notes: D.K.Leighton