PGW(C)65(DEN)

Vivod  

II*  

01/02/2022  

Designated  

Denbighshire  

Llangollen  

319118  

342343  

Gardens, Parks and Urban Spaces  

Victorian garden and kitchen garden.  

c. 1850s - 1870s.  

Vivod is located in the Dee valley, about 2km west of Llangollen. It is registered for the attractive siting of the Victorian house with its contemporary park, woodland walks and garden of terraces and shrubbery, and the adjacent former kitchen garden. There is also group value with the Grade II Listed house (LB 1274) along with the former coach house (LB: 1275) and the two Grade II Listed lodges (LBs 1276-7). The core of the house was built in the 1850s or early 1860s, and was altered and enlarged in 1871 by W.J. Green for William Wagstaff, a solicitor involved in the construction of the Llangollen railway. In 1906-10 the house was altered again for Captain J.C. Best, Wagstaff's son-in-law, and for his son. The house and garden are situated on a north-facing slope in a small valley above the south side of the Dee valley. From the north front of the house there are fine views across the park towards Berwyn and the rocky north side of the Dee valley. The park lies to the northeast (Lower Park) south (Top Park) and west (reiddiog) of the house. The garden lies to the north and east of the house. The former kitchen garden, now integrated into the pleasure garden, lies to the north-west. The garden was made when the house was built, in the 1850s to 1870s. At the same time picturesque woodland walks were laid out in The Dingle to the east, reached by a path across the intervening field. The entrance is off a small lane north of the house. A tarmac drive runs through a wooded area and along the west side of the kitchen garden to the gravel forecourt on the south side of the house. The house stands on a terrace, rock-cut on the north and east sides. On the north this is grass, bounded by a scarp, with a gravel path around the house. There are two terraces immediately east of the house. The lower one is laid out with a box-edged parterre. A path leads east from the upper terrace to a shrubbery. The south side of the garden is bordered by a path from the forecourt to the eastern edge of the garden. Originally this continued across the field to The Dingle where paths led up and down the stream, crossing it over several small bridges. The Dingle contains some very old trees and remnants of ornamental planting including rhododendrons. On its west side the garden merges with the former kitchen garden which lies to the north-west of the house, on a steep slope facing south-east. It is now integrated into the pleasure garden. The garden is only walled at the top of the slope, on its west side, a curving wall of brick, c.1.7m high following the line of the drive. Setting - Vivod is located in a rural, picturesque setting above the Dee valley. Significant views - From the north-east front of the house there are fine views towards Berwyn and the rocky north side of the Dee valley. Sources: Cadw 1995: Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in Wales, Clwyd, 266-8 (ref: PGW(C)65(DEN)). Ordnance Survey six-inch map (1880)