Brookland Hall (nprn 21329), to the south-west of Guilsfield, is surrounded by gardens (265522) which include a walled kitchen garden. It is believed to be contemporary with the house (c.1860) and sited near it for convenience, lying immediately to its north-east and connected to it by the service wing.

The garden is rectangular, long axis north-west by south-east, and covers about one acre. The interior is on two levels, the ground rising by about 1m in the centre on a north-west/south-east line. Walling survives on the north-east and south-east sides. Both rise to about 2m and are built of stone lined internally with brick. The north-west side and south-west sides of the garden are now defined by a buildings along their entire length; all glasshouses alongside these walls, inside and out, have now gone.

No formal records of the internal layout of the garden are known to have survived and so it is unclear whether the garden also served an ornamental purpose. In 1931 the garden still contained a peach house and a vinery but it is unclear if one of the walls was heated (no evidence of a heated wall survives). The garden interior is partly grassed over though a small strip of vegetable and soft fruit garden lies on the west side; the remainder is a hard core surface (air photos). Some relict fruit trees remain on the surviving walls.

Sources:
Cadw 1999: Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in Wales, Powys, 26-8 (ref: PGW (Po)37(POW)).
Ordnance Survey first-edition six-inch map: sheet Montgomeryshire XXIII NE (1884).
Additional notes: D.K.Leighton

RCAHMW, 13 June 2022

Site Record

Brookland Hall Walled Garden, Guilsfield