Introduction
The site of Nash Manor has been inhabited since the 15th century. The house dates in part from the 16th century and there are signs of an early formal garden layout, visible from the air. The main walled enclosure is now a single lawn with a central rectangular fishpond. Some earlier features remain, including part of a 19th-century yew walk and a copper beech.
The aerial photograph shows further enclosures to the south of the main garden. One is known as the Victorian Walk, and has a central path bordered by yew hedges. This feature still partially survives. There is also a sunken area laid out as a Union Jack, but this layout is now gone and the area is laid to grass. Oral history indicates that the Union Jack garden was laid out using rose bushes some time before World War 1. It is thought to have been used as a vegetable parterre at a later date.
Mrs. Isabel Nicholl Carne moved from Nash to Great House, Llanblethian in around 1950, and the long-standing connection with the Carne family was ended. The gardens have changed considerably in the latter part of the 20th century. The main walled enclosure is now a single lawn with a central rectangular fishpond. There is a gravelled courtyard to the south. Remnants from earlier years include the south lawn, the Victorian Walk, the remains of the glasshouses and a fine copper beech to the south of the house.
- Visitor Access, Directions & Contacts
Access contact details
Open through the National Garden Scheme and by appointment for history societies and other groups. Write to owners for appointments.
Directions
Two miles south-west of Cowbridge. West along A48 passing Cowbridge. Turn left at Pentre Meyrick on B4268 signed Llysworney/Llantwit Major. Through Llysworney and Nash Manor is straight ahead.
Owners
Eric and Jennifer Williams
Nash Manor, Nash, nr Cowbridge, Vale of Glamorgan, CF71 7NS
- History
The house, though much modified throughout the centuries, dates in part from the 16th century. The house lies about half a mile to the south of Llysworney village.
The main family associated with the site are the Carnes. Howell Carne was at Nash in the 1430s, and the family continued to inhabit the site for another 400 years. The family were wealthy and prominent in the area by the 16th century.
It is assumed that the original house would have had associated gardens, but nothing is known of them. It is known that a park for fallow deer was in existence by the 1530s. The park was still extant by the end of the 16th century, and its north-west boundary is still identifiable.
The first definite information about the gardens at Nash dates from 1785. The Reverend John Carne noted some interesting details in his diaries. He notes that the stables were built by his grandfather, Edward and that his father built the little barn. John Carne himself was responsible for building the garden walls, pigeon house and greenhouse, and also for planting mulberry trees in the 1760s and a White Bury Standard Pear in 1771. A productive kitchen garden is implied by occasional references to vegetables.
- Features & Designations
Style
Formal
Features
- House (featured building)
- Description: Parts of the house date from the 16th century.
- Earliest Date:
- Latest Date:
- Garden Wall
- Description: Some of the perimeter walls are intact but many of the internal divisions have been removed.
- Earliest Date:
- Latest Date:
- Glasshouse
- Description: The ruins of the glasshouses survive.
- Earliest Date:
- Latest Date:
- Walk
- Description: The Victorian Walk, parts of which survive.
- Planting
- Description: Sunken area, previously laid out as a Union Jack, but now laid to grass.
- Lawn
- Description: The main walled enclosure is now a single lawn with a central rectangular fishpond.
- Earliest Date:
- Latest Date:
- Fishpond
- Description: The main walled enclosure is now a single lawn with a central rectangular fishpond.
- Earliest Date:
- Latest Date:
- Specimen Tree
- Description: There is a fine copper beech to the south of the house, probably planted by John Carne in the late-18th century.
- Key Information
Type
Garden
Purpose
Ornamental
Principal Building
Domestic / Residential
Survival
Part: standing remains
Open to the public
Yes
- References
References
- Hilary M. Thomas {Historic Gardens of the Vale of Glamorgan} (Welsh Historic Gardens Trust, 2007) 181 Historic Gardens of the Vale of Glamorgan