Dewstow House
Dewstow House, Caldicot, Monmouthshire, Wales, is an early nineteenth century villa in a Neoclassical style. The house is notable as the site of "one of the strangest gardens in Wales."[1] The building itself is plain; described by architectural writer John Newman as a "simple three-bay villa",[2] it has extensive views over the Severn Estuary. The house is a Grade II listed building, while the garden is listed at the highest grade, Grade I, on the Cadw/ICOMOS Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in Wales.
| Dewstow House | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Type | House |
| Location | Caerwent, Monmouthshire |
| Coordinates | 51.5958°N 2.7683°W |
| Built | C.1800 |
| Architectural style(s) | Georgian |
| Governing body | Privately owned |
| Official name | Dewstow House Garden |
| Designated | 1 February 2022 |
| Reference no. | PGW(Gt)44(Mon) |
| Listing | Grade I |
Listed Building – Grade II | |
| Official name | Dewstow House |
| Designated | 28 October 1976 |
| Reference no. | 23039 |
Listed Building – Grade II* | |
| Official name | Grotto to the SE of the house |
| Designated | 29 March 2000 |
| Reference no. | 23059 |
Listed Building – Grade II* | |
| Official name | Terrace, wall, grotto and underground garden to the NW of the house |
| Designated | 29 March 2000 |
| Reference no. | 23060 |
Listed Building – Grade II* | |
| Official name | Grotto, underground garden and bridge to the W of the house |
| Designated | 29 March 2000 |
| Reference no. | 23061 |
  Location of Dewstow House in Wales | |
History and description
Dewstow House is a simple, two-storey villa.[3] It is notable for its "network of very rare and unusual underground gardens" constructed in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.[4] Comprising "underground passages and top-light chambers with artificial rock-work and stalactites,"[2] the garden structures have three separate Grade II* listings as a result of their importance.[5][6][7]
After the death of the garden's creator, Harry Oakley, in 1940, the gardens were gradually abandoned.[8] In the 1960s, during the construction of the M4 motorway and the Severn Bridge, soil from these sites was used to fill in the grottoes and pools.[8] The gardens were rediscovered, excavated and restored at the beginning of the twenty first century and are now open to the public.[9] They are registered Grade I on the Cadw/ICOMOS Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in Wales.[10]
Gallery
Notes
- Whittle 1992, p. 78.
- Newman 2000, p. 161.
- Cadw. "Dewstow House (Grade II) (23039)". National Historic Assets of Wales. Retrieved 17 April 2022.
- "Dewstow House Garden (266053)". Coflein. RCAHMW. Retrieved 12 February 2012.
- Cadw. "Grotto about 30m to the south east of Dewstow House (Grade II*) (23059)". National Historic Assets of Wales. Retrieved 17 April 2022.
- Cadw. "Grotto, Underground Garden and Bridge about 60m to west of Dewstow House (Grade II*) (23061)". National Historic Assets of Wales. Retrieved 12 February 2012.
- Cadw. "Terrace, Wall, Grotto and Underground Garden about 5m to north west of Dewstow House (Grade II*) (23060)". National Historic Assets of Wales. Retrieved 12 February 2012.
- Attlee 2009, p. 94.
- Wareham, Anne (January 1996). "Digging Deep-The Pulham Legacy". Garden Magazine. Retrieved 16 February 2016.
- Cadw. "Dewstow House Garden (PGW(Gt)44(MON))". National Historic Assets of Wales. Retrieved 4 February 2023.
References
- Attlee, Helena (2009). The Gardens of Wales. London: Frances Lincoln. ISBN 978-0-7112-2882-5.
- Newman, John (2000). Gwent/Monmouthshire. The Buildings of Wales. London: Penguin. ISBN 0-14-071053-1.
- Whittle, Elisabeth (1992). The Historic Gardens of Wales. Cardiff: CADW. ISBN 9780117015784.
External links
