Hilston House (nprn 37087) stands on the top of a ridge to the west of the Monnow valley, about a mile South-west of Skenfrith. There has been a house on the site since at least the seventeenth century. During the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries it was owned by the Needham family. The house was severely damaged by fire in 1836 and was sold to a Mr. Cave in 1838 who carried out the main phase of rebuilding, in about 1840, at the same time that the park was made (700380) and the gardens and pleasure grounds were laid out.

The garden and pleasure grounds lie to the southeast and southwest of the house. They were made at the same time as the house was rebuilt in about 1840 by Mr Cave. To the southeast of the house is a levelled lawn bounded by a grass scarp. A further lawn and former rose garden lies to the east of the main lawn. In the middle are the remains of a circular stone-lined pool and fountain. This feature appears to be first shown on the Ordnance Survey map surveyed in 1918. To the south of this area, in the corner of the garden, are the remains of an ice-house. The garden is bounded on the east by a stone revetment wall and on the south by a ha-ha and some iron parkland fencing. From the south front of the house there are panoramic views of the park.

A grass path on the west of the main lawn runs down to the pleasure grounds and lake. The lake is dammed at its south end. The path is shown on the six-inch OS (1886) leading to a boathouse, now a ruin, approached by stone steps and a simple domed alcove ‘grotto’ set into a rustic wall. The stone revetted lake has a sinuous outline with a long inlet on the west side, at the end of which are steps up to a rustic stone arch leading to the south drive. There are two stone revetted islands in the lake ornamentally planted with evergreens. The woodland around the lake is planted with a mixture of deciduous and coniferous trees and shrubs including pine, monkey puzzle, cypress, yew and laurel.

Immediately north-east of the house is the kitchen garden (700381).

Sources:
Cadw 1994: Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in Wales: Gwent, 53-54 (ref: PGW (Gt)22).
RCAHMW air photos: 94-CS 0374-5, 1362-3; 945053/41-3; 945155/48-9; 965071/47.

RCAHMW, 19 July 2022