Llanarth Court, a Georgian mansion (nprn 45005), is located in gently rolling countryside south-east of Llanarth village, between Monmouth and Abergavenny. It is notable as a well-preserved early nineteenth-century landscape park with possible work by designers Samuel Lapidge and J C Loudon, the former draughtsman who had worked for Lancelot ‘Capability’ Brown and who adopted his style. Llanarth Court is also notable as the home of the Jones family, an ancient catholic family who maintained the church of St Mary and St Michael which was disguised as an outbuilding (12993). The house and its surroundings are now used as a private hospital.

Much of the present landscaping dates from the very early nineteenth century when pre-existing formal gardens were swept away and the park was re-landscaped in the style of Brown, with later softening by Loudon and subsequent modifications. The house lies central to the park which covers a roughly rectangular area bounded on the north-west by the village and elsewhere by minor roads, tracks and field boundaries.

The main approach is from the south-west, off the Llanarth-A40 road, from the gatehouse (302246) along a drive partly flanked by woodland, to a wide terraced forecourt on the north front of the house. A second drive approached from the north-west, from gates and gate piers near the village. A further drive entered from a gate on the south boundary, crossing the park over a bridge on a stream by the lake to join the main drive. This is now mostly grassed over but the bridge remains.

The configuration of woodland within and around the park is similar to that of the nineteenth century with the addition of a block north of the house and a few smaller strips. There is a narrow strip of mainly deciduous woodland (The Grove) either side of the main drive, and a few isolated mature trees in the north-west half of the park, but the main ornamental park is to the south-east of the house. Along the south-east edge of the gardens is a long sinuous lake, now more or less silted up and overgrown.

There is group value with Grade II* Listed Llanarth Court, a Georgian mansion, and the nearby Church of St Mary and St Michael (LBs 1925 & 1971), the Grade II Listed cross outside the church (LB 22991), the Grade II Listed gatehouse at the entrance (LB 15661), and the Grade II Listed to the north drive (LB 22994).

The garden lies mainly to the south and south-west of the house, between the house and the lake (265944).

Sources:
Cadw 1994: Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in Wales: Gwent, 64-6 (ref: PGW (Gt)13(MON)).
Additional notes: D.K.Leighton

RCAHMW, 30 March 2022