The site of Glanusk Park House is located in the upper Usk Valley, west of Crickhowell (nprn 25527). It is notable for its important and picturesque park that survives in its entirety, although the house has now gone .

The house was built for the ironmaster Sir Joseph Bailey on a pre-existing estate he bought in 1825, though its earlier history is unclear. In 1831 he purchased the small neighbouring estate of Penmyarth (16021), on the north side of the river, and incorporated its lands into the estate as a deer park. Glanusk park surrounds the site of the old house on all sides, almost entirely enclosed by a nineteenth-century stone wall. It slopes down to the south side of the river from the south park wall, the open pasture dotted with many mature deciduous trees, including many mature oak, holm oak, beech and chestnut.

The park is entered from the north via the main drive off the A40 road at North Lodge. It crosses the Usk over three-arched Glanusk Bridge ornamented with the Tower Lodge (409530). North of the bridge a branch leads up to Penmyarth. Below it, close to the river, stands the estate chapel which serves as an eyecatcher from the east and south-east (700051). South of the river the drive branches west to the estate offices and to Park Farm beyond. The main drive continues south beneath a lime avenue to the stable court. From an archway here the drive runs south-east past the house site to leave the park at South Lodge (409531). Near the arch, a disused branch runs south to leave the site at West Lodge. From near Tower Lodge an eastern drive branches to the south-east, to run past the gardens before looping round south to north-west towards the old house site.

The ground above the Usk on the south has been landscaped to create a picturesque approach to the house. Terraces and earth banks hide Park Farm and its adjunct buildings from the drive. A raised terrace to the east of the north drive, with a conifer plantation, hides the walled kitchen garden. Further earth banking hides the estate buildings to the south-west from the drive on its approach to the stables.

North of the river, in the parkland south of Penmyarth, a golf course was laid out by 1910 following the removal of deer south into the main park, but it was abandoned in the 1960s. The park extended east towards Gliffaes, an area of mixed woodland and ornamental trees. Lengths of deer fencing survive around this area including a gate. Glanusk and neighbouring Gliffaes, to the west (25543), shared a drive, Green Drive, which opened onto the Llangynidr/Bwlch road, resulting in Gliffaes being drawn into Glanusk during the late nineteenth century. Penmyarth is situated at the higher, north end of the park and from its south side there are fine views across the main park to the south and south-east.

The park remained intact until the Second World War although the east kennels and slaughterhouse were abandoned in the early twentieth century.

Sources:
Cadw 1999: Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in Wales, Powys, 88-95 (ref: PGW (Po)3(POW)).
Additional notes: D.K.Leighton

RCAHMW, 1 March 2022