Court Colman (nprn 18413) is a large nineteenth-century house situated on elevated ground in the Ffornwg valley, a few miles to the north-west of Bridgend, and lies within a small park (700133). Its surrounding grounds provide a setting for the house.
The grounds are notable for the eclectic Victorian garden with its many features, including conifer and rhododendron planting, an informal woodland area with artificial waterfall, ferns and bamboos, and some formal features including Italian marble ornaments of the 1830s-40s and 1870s-90s.
The garden lies all around the house, each aspect having a different character. South of the house steps down from the terraced forecourt lead onto a sloping lawn, bounded by a curving ha-ha on the south and by the wall of the kitchen garden on the east. It is planted with ornamental trees, a stone sundial set below the drive, and an oval marble bowl near the house. East of the house the garden is highly ornamented and formal. A narrow lawn is flanked by a revetted raised terrace on which are the remains of an elaborate pergola. Sloping ground is laid out with flights of steps, a pool and an ornamented marble fountain, and to the east a sloping lawn is backed by deciduous woodland.
The garden north of the house is lawn partly planted with specimen trees and shrubs, partly converted to a carpark. Near the north end is an ironwork arbour with an arched superstructure. Other features include an Italian marble wellhead on a circular plinth, and an octagonal stone pier. West of the house is an informal woodland area of garden, partly now in separate ownership. A continuation of the front terrace is revetted with a former building against it above a valley of mixed woodland below. It is accessed by a narrow path. Below the building is an artificial waterfall descending the steep slope in a series of steps and pools, the stream passing beneath the drive.
The kitchen garden lies a short distance south-east of the house (700134).
Sources:
Cadw 2000: Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in Wales, Glamorgan, 6-9 (ref: PGW(Gm)7(BRI)).
Ordnance Survey Second Edition 25-inch map, sheet: Glamorgan XL (editions of 1876-1919).
RCAHMW, 5 May 2022