PGW(Dy)32(PEM)

Castell Malgwyn  

II*  

01/02/2022  

Designated  

Pembrokeshire  

Manordeifi  

221782  

243262  

Gardens, Parks and Urban Spaces  

Small park; gardens; pleasure grounds and walks; walled kitchen garden.  

1791-1811; 1837-49; 1860s-1914.  

The grounds at Castell Malgwyn are registered for the survival, almost in its entirety, of intricate and highly picturesque landscaping dating mainly to about 1795-1811. The grounds have historical associations with Charles Price of Llechryd, one of the few Welsh professional landscapers, who carried out some of the landscaping. The setting for this landscaping is one of extreme beauty and picturesqueness, with the contrasting valleys of the Teifi and Morgenau included in the grounds. The picturesque walks laid out in these valleys are a rare survival and can be compared with Piercefield (Monmouthshire) and Hafod (Ceredigion). Castell Malgwyn has other landscaping features of interest, including, remains of a detached ornamental garden, which includes a large fountain. The registered area encompasses the gardens, pleasure grounds, walled garden, the park and model farm and has group value with the late eighteenth century county house (LB: 14507) and other estate buildings and structures of eighteenth and nineteenth century date. Castell Malgwyn is a substantial Georgian mansion situated on the south bank of the river Teifi, just to the south-west of the village of Llechryd. The house was built by Sir Benjamin Hammett (C.1736-1800) a wealthy entrepreneur from Taunton, who took over the Penygored tinplate works, situated between the house and the river, in the 1790s. The house is set within its garden, extensive pleasure grounds and a small park. The park, gardens and grounds were created in two main phases, in 1791–1811 and 1837–49. Some further work took place later in the nineteenth century. The greater part of the landscaping was undertaken by Sir Benjamin Hammet in the first phase. The park lies to the east of the house and its pleasure grounds. Just inside the north boundary are traces of a former canal built to service the nearby tinplate works, out of use by 1810 (NPRN: 404580). The drive to the house runs westwards along the north side of the park, from the entrance just south of Llechyrd Bridge (scheduled monument CD002; LB: 9895). The wide entrance is flanked by substantial, rectangular gate piers of local stone (LB: 15120) with a lodge to the north (LB: 15119 – built for Abel Lewes Gower of Castle Malgwyn c.1844-45, contemporary with the stables and gatepiers). The gently curving drive runs westwards on a raised revetted embankment, flanked by mature ornamental trees, lime, beech and oak. It divides before the house and two late eighteenth or early nineteenth century bridges (LB: 14510; 14511) carry the drive over the Afon Morgennau, giving access to a small forecourt, at the south front of the house, with a branch to the service court. The ground drops gently northwards towards the river and is now mostly pasture fields in which stand various clumps and a few isolated deciduous trees, including five limes on the north near the lodge. A narrow belt of ornamental trees runs along the west side of the Llechryd-Boncath road bounding the park on the east and there is a strip of woodland along the north side of the Garnon’s Mill Road on the south side. At the south end of the west side of the park is a cricket ground and tennis courts with pavilion. Castell Malgwyn Farm lies in the south-east corner of the park (LB: 11979), and nearby are enclosed garden areas (NPRN 265250). The garden and pleasure grounds lie around the house and, although contiguous, they divide into three distinct areas. First, there is the main garden next to the house. Secondly there are the woodland pleasure grounds further away which fall into two parts. There is additionally a detached garden on the far side of the park, close to the kitchen garden. The main garden lies to the east and south of the house. To the east the ground slopes down towards the Morgenau valley; to the south it slopes gently upwards towards a plateau between the two valleys. On the east, it consists mainly of a large croquet lawn cut into the slope, with a small wooden pavilion at its south end. The drive crosses the north end of the area and to its north is a bank of mixed trees and shrubs, dominated by mature beech under-planted with rhododendrons and holly. From the forecourt a section of drive curves around the south end of the croquet lawn, backed by a low drystone wall. The southern boundary of the lawn to the south, and of the lawn south of the house, is planted with a belt of mixed ornamental trees and shrubs, including conifers. The outer area of pleasure grounds is quite different in character from the main garden. The two valleys, naturally wooded but enhanced with extra planting of trees and, near the garden, rhododendrons and laurel, present a more picturesque style. Walks have been threaded through the landscape, and a few built structures added, in order to open up and show off its natural attributes. The scenery here is unspoilt and of exceptional beauty; landscaping has had a minimal impact on its appearance. Although both valleys are steep-sided and wooded they are otherwise of contrasting character, enhancing the overall appeal of the pleasure grounds. At the house the Teifi flows first west, flanked by the drive and park, then turns to run southwards along the west side of the pleasure grounds. The valley sides are precipitous and lightly wooded with mixed deciduous trees, dominated by beech. The broad, dark river occupies the entire valley floor. At the north end, near the garden, ornamental planting grades into natural, with mixed planting of oak, beech, conifers, sweet chestnut, holly, rhododendrons and bamboos. The east side of the valley is transected by a complex network of paths, mostly following the contours, sometimes cut into rock but linked by steep zig-zag stretches. They extend to the south towards an area of quarries to the north-east of Cilgerran. At the north end, near the house, a branch track fringing the lawn, joins the north–south track along the western lip of the Morgenau valley where landscaping also consisted of opening up the valley with walks and bridges. This track, at its north end, drops down to the river, cut into the rock. The main path then runs up the west side of the river for most of its length, at the north end branching off opposite the lawn near the house. Aside from some local slumping most of the walk is passable and well preserved. It is partly cut into the rock and in places revetted. Upstream, to the south, the walk crosses the river on a single-arched stone bridge with low parapet. Other footbridges, shown on historic mapping, appear to have gone. Further south, the path on the east side of the valley climbs steeply, rock-cut, with a flight of four cut stone steps. The track along the western lip of the valley branches into the Teifi valley but the main line continues south to the road near Hammet Bridge. The kitchen garden was located some distance away from the house, about 1.5km to the south-east, to the immediate east of Castell Maelgwyn farm buildings. It probably dates to the period 1791-1811 when the house, park and gardens were created. The kitchen garden is a ‘D’-shaped enclosure, its south side straight and forming the north wall of the adjacent ornamental garden (NPRN 265250). It lies in a dip, the ground sloping down from the east and west to a pool in the centre, once at the intersection of cross paths. The garden is enclosed by stone walls mostly standing to their full height of about 4m. The north, east and west walls are internally lined with brick. The south wall has a stone core and is faced with brick on both sides and is supported on the outside by stone buttresses. The pool in the centre of the garden is oval, about 1m deep and is lined with a drystone revetment wall. A flight of ruinous stone steps leads down into it on its north-west side. . Evidence of fruit-growing against the walls survives in the form of innumerable nails and many lead labels still fixed to them. In addition to the garden and pleasure grounds around and below the house, there was another, quite separate, ornamental garden to the south of Castle Malgwyn Farm, created in the 1840s. It lies immediately south of the former kitchen garden. The roughly rectangular area, long axis east by west, is now a pasture field with a few deciduous trees. The west end of the area, at the foot of the slope, is marked by a fountain at the centre of a circular pool. The east end of the garden area is levelled, with a scarp on its south side. It is bounded on the north by a 3.5m high wall, the back wall of a range of glasshouses, now gone. A small, sunken, circular pool, now dry, lies close to this. On the north side of the wall is a range of single-storey stone bothies, now in agricultural use. At the east end of the area is Gardens Cottage at the end of a track along the north side of the garden. The internal layout and the arrangement of paths across and around both parts of the garden have now gone. Sources: Cadw 2002: Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in Wales, Carmarthenshire, Ceredigion and Pembrokeshire, 172-8 (ref: PGW(Dy)32(PEM)). Ordnance Survey first-edition 25-inch map, sheet Cardiganshire XXXVIII.10 (1886). Ordnance Survey second-edition six-inch map, sheet Cardiganshire XXXVIII.SW (1904). Additional notes: D.K.Leighton.