St Fagans Castle

The main phases of the site are around 1098, 1560-96, 1855-1870s and 1898-1935.

St Fagan's Castle has one of the most important historic gardens in Wales. It is a multi-period, extensive garden in compartments and terraces. There is an underlying Tudor structure, but the layout is now predominantly Victorian and Edwardian, retaining much of its structural planting.

The formalised ponds may be medieval in origin and were certainly in existence in the 16th century. To their north is a water garden designed and built by the famous Victorian rockwork and water garden designers, Pulham and Co. There is also the partial survival of an unusual experimental woodland laid out with axial rides at the beginning of the 20th century.

The first castle was built on the strategically defensive site in the 12th century. The earliest known gardens on the site date to the late-16th century. In the 1560s, the estate was bought by a Dr. John Gibbon. It is thought that he, or Nicholas Herbert, the next incumbent of the site, built the new mansion. The site was bought by Edward Lewis in 1616, and he spent a substantial amount on improving the buildings and gardens. The property stayed in the Lewis family until it passed by marriage to the Plymouth/Windsor family in 1730. The castle was little used until the 1850s, at which time the buildings and grounds were substantially improved.

Although the garden designs of the 19th and early-20th centuries have made a substantial impact on the landscape, the layouts of earlier years have not been completely removed. An estate map of 1766 shows the house, with geometric compartments to the north, fruit trees to the west and rectangular ponds in the valley. The trees are shown planted in lines along the length of the slope. Such planting probably made use of terracing which may have dated to the Tudor period, at which point such terracing was in fashion.

Although the family spent little time at the castle, it appears that in the mid-18th century tenants such as Madam Morgan of Llanrumney invested a substantial amount in the site (see Hilary Thomas, references). However, by the early-mid 19th century the gardens were becoming neglected. Retrospectively, however, this neglect preserved the earlier components of the gardens, which thereby escaped more structural ‘improvements'.

The Plymouth/ Windsor family suffered several early deaths of heirs to the estate, compounding the neglect of St Fagan's. In 1852, Robert Windsor-Clive married Mary Bridgeman, and their intention was to make St Fagan's their family home. However, Robert died in 1859, and his mother and widow saw through the initial restoration plans. The next heir, Robert George, and his wife Alberta completed the restoration, bringing the garden into its late-19th century splendour.

Type

Garden

Purpose

Ornamental

Principal Building

Domestic / Residential

Period

Victorian (1837-1901)

Survival

Extant

Open to the public

Yes