Clytha House, an early nineteenth century neo-classical building (nprn 36684), is located about 5km west of Raglan, south of the village of Llanarth. It is noteworthy for its fine late eighteenth-century landscape park with well-preserved castellated eye-catcher folly, as well as for the structural remains of its ornamental garden and walled kitchen garden (265945; 421164). It has historical associations with the eighteenth century architect and garden designer from Shropshire, John Davenport.
The present park was largely made by William Jones the elder in the 1790s. Much work was carried out for him on the grounds and garden in the early 1790s by Davenport. He provided both plants and plans, including that for the walled garden.

Clytha Park is a medium-sized landscape park, above the east bank of the river Usk. The northern part, where the house lies, is low-lying gently undulating ground in the river valley, the southern part on higher ground above it rising to the knoll on which the folly, Clytha Castle, stands (36682). The two areas are separated by the road from Raglan to Aberffrwd (the old A40).
The main entrance to the park is at the Gothick gateway, screen and lodge (36685) on the north side of the Aberffrwd road. A winding drive leads north-eastwards to the south-west front of the house, continuing round the east side of the kitchen garden, to an exit into a lane leading to Chapel Farm. 

The former drive from the house to Clytha Castle branches off the main drive to the east of the house and runs southwards through woodland up to the old A40 cutting. Now reduced to an earthen path, its course is still clear. To the south of the cutting it continues southwestwards as a track across fields and arriving just east of the folly. The high ground of the folly is separated from the field below by a ha-ha.

Jones also did a considerable amount of tree planting, some of which survives, including beeches at the north-west end of the park, the cedar in front of the house, and possibly the plane trees in the southern part of the park. The perimeter of the l790s park was planted with trees, and much of this perimeter woodland survives. Further tree planting took place in the nineteenth century, including limes, Spanish chestnuts and horse chestnuts. Many of these trees survive as fine mature, mostly isolated, specimens. The southern part of the park is particularly well wooded. The strip of woodland to the south-east of the house, along the east boundary, was called the 'shrubbery' in a map of l862.

Gardens lie around the house, separated from the park to the south and west of the house by a ha-ha,  probably built at the same time as the new house in the l820s.

Sources:
Cadw 1994: Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in Wales: Gwent, 25-26 (ref: PGW (Gt)15).
Ordnance Survey first-edition six-inch map, sheet: Monmouthshire XIII.10 (1882).  

RCAHMW, 26 July 2022