Lymore Park is a large area of parkland to the east of Montgomery, associated with the former Lymore Hall, now demolished (nprn 29550). It is notable as a well-preserved and attractive deer and landscape park dating to at least the late seventeenth century. It contains a series of relict hedgelines and ridge and furrow earthworks (407824), coverts, and established parkland trees including ancient oaks and sweet chestnuts. Three lakes also survive, including a rare example of a duck decoy pond dating to the late eighteenth-early nineteenth century.

The original house (‘Lymore Lodge’) lay in a deerpark, possibly with medieval origins, before it passed into the Powis estate during the eighteenth century. The main episodes of building and landscaping were during the later seventeenth century and in the period 1786-1828. The first documentary evidence for the park dates from 1785. 

In character Lymore is a medium-sized landscape park, bounded on the east by the low bank of Offa’s Dyke (92494; 306866), which runs north-north-west by south-south-east in a straight line, on the west by the B4385, and elsewhere by field boundaries. The park lies on gently rolling ground with higher ground to the west, laid out with isolated trees and woods of varying ages, and with a string of ponds along its western side. The size of some of the oaks and sweet chestnuts in the park suggests they were planted when the house was built, when the park was essentially a deer park.

There are no formal entrances to the park. The main approach is from the north, along a winding road and drive off the B4386 which starts just east of Montgomery. The drive enters the park, turns south skirting the west side of the park, passing a large pond, the Lower Pool, before swinging eastwards towards the former house with a short branch to the farm buildings. The drive continues through an area of former ponds to the north-west corner of the former garden, the main drive continuing eastwards through the park, first along the north side of the former garden and then past a cricket ground to the north. It continues straight to the park boundary, across the Dyke and on to Whitley farm.

The eastern side of the park is open grassland, sub-divided by fences, and with several discrete, mixed, woods, the largest of which are Dudston Covert, in the north-east corner, and Boardyhall Wood, south of the drive, with an irregular duck-pond with a central island. A further wood, New Plantation, lies beyond the park to the south. To the west of the woodland is open grassland, dotted to the north of the drive with fine, mature, isolated parkland trees, mostly oak. To the north are three further, smaller deciduous woods. South of the cricket ground is an ancient clump of huge sweet chestnut and oak trees. From here there is a fine view of Montgomery to the west.

Of the string of ponds (to the north and south of the drive) three survive: two to the south of the house site and one to the north. The southernmost is the decoy pond, situated in mixed woodland and plantation. It is a classic decoy pond - circular in shape with five well-preserved curving inlets extending outwards from its banks. The pond is dammed on its north-east with a bypass channel into the Upper Pool below. To the east of the latter are the remains of an orchard. The northernmost surviving pond, Lower Pool, is roughly circular, fringed with alder and willow, and dammed along its north end. The two other ponds survive as sunken overgrown areas.

The park is still used as a recreation area by the people of Montgomery, and the cricket club has been established in the park since the mid-nineteenth century. A short-lived golf course was established at the beginning of the twentieth century.

Sources:
Cadw 1999: Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in Wales, Powys, 162-5 (ref: PGW (Po)14(POW)).
Ordnance Survey 25-inch maps: sheets Montgomery XXXVII (editions of 1884 & 1901).
Additional notes: D.K.Leighton

RCAHMW, 2 March 2022.