Trewarren, a Regency period mansion (nprn 407225), fronted by a small park (700211), is situated about 0.5km to the west of the village of St Ishmael’s, on the south coast of Pembrokeshire. The ground is gently rolling, falling generally to the south, towards the sea, with a valley running southwards from Trewarren down to Monk Haven. There are two distinct areas of garden at Trewarren: the garden east and west of the house; and the more extensive area of pleasure grounds in the valley between Trewarren and Monk Haven.

The garden west of the house is a rectangular area, enclosed by walls 1.7m high, the north wall corresponding to the north end of the house and the south end being an extension of the revetment wall, separating garden from park. Around the edge of the garden are earthen terraces, best preserved on the north, with a steep scarp down to the sunken centre. The east terrace supports ancient hollies. East of the house a larger area is laid out informally and is bounded by a stone wall. The drive passes through this area from an entrance at the northern apex of the garden. The drive curves gently southwards through a small sycamore wood to a gravel forecourt on the east front. To the south of the forecourt and house is a narrow lawn, beyond which is the park.

The Monk Haven valley was ornamented as wooded pleasure grounds and was also used for the kitchen garden (700212). The valley runs north-south and is almost a kilometre long. Although much neglected, paths, walls, ruinous built structures, choked ponds and some of the trees remain to show that the valley was ornamentally laid out with woodland walks leading to water features, garden areas and folly buildings. A tree-lined path runs south through woodland past the kitchen garden from where it turns south-west. The valley sides are wooded, planted with a mixture of deciduous trees which become more sparse, stunted and windblown at the seaward end, the valley floor boggy and overgrown. The track continues down the west side of the valley to an open grass area in front of a massive stone wall at the foot of the valley (410796), the stream is culverted through it to the beach beyond.
A path along the east side of the valley, from the sea wall, branches back up the valley side to a small folly, the Malakov Tower, spectacularly located on the cliff edge in the south-east corner of the pleasure grounds.

Sources:
Cadw 2002: Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in Wales, Carmarthenshire, Ceredigion and Pembrokeshire, 318-21 (ref: PGW(Dy)65(PEM)).
Ordnance Survey first-edition six-inch map, sheet Pembrokeshire XXXII (1874).

RCAHMW, 27 May 2022