The park, as well as the mansion and gardens, at Cilwendeg occupy part of the gently south-facing plateau above the north side of the Dulas valley at an average height of about 145 m AOD (see nprns 21782, 265246 & 412007). They date from the late eighteenth century onwards.
The park lies to the west of the mansion and is separated from the house and formal gardens by planting. The house is approached by drives off the B4332 between Newchapel and Boncath. The main drive, from the west through the double Boncath lodges, bisects the park. An earlier drive, now a track, approached from the east at New Chapel. Also with twin lodges, it approaches in a westerly and then southerly arc, following the 120m contour line. Both drives are over 1.5km long.
The flat open park is kept grazed by sheep retained by temporary fences. Shelter plantations of mixed native conifers and hardwoods, almost completely surround the 79 or so acres of park, retaining nearly the same configuration as those shown in 1848. Recent satellite imagery indicates that two `island' clumps of trees to the north and south of the drive, shown in 1887, survive. But most of the lone parkland trees have gone though an occasional specimen tree still breaks up the pasture.
Separating the shelter belts from the open park is an estimated 2,414m (1.25 miles) of ha-ha, the wall mostly of slate and the ditch still surviving. The wall stands to an average of 1m high and the ditch varies from 0.75 - 0.5m deep.To the north of the park the ha-ha is almost continuous, but to the south is discontinuous having been built to protect specific areas of trees. Towards the east, where the drive passes through a plantation before sweeping northwards to the house, the ha-ha has been replaced with iron park railings.
North and east of the house, around the walled garden (xxxxxx), nineteenth century maps suggest it may once have been parkland traversed by the east drive. Plantations remain but clumps of trees and individual plantings have now gone.
Cadw 2002: Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in Wales, Carmarthenshire, Ceredigion and Pembrokeshire, 186-90 (ref: PGW(Dy)17(PEM)).
Ordnance Survey first-edition six-inch map: sheet Pembrokeshire VII.SW (1887).
Additional notes: D.K.Leighton
RCAHMW, 2 November 2020