Maesllwch Castle, a Victorian grand castle in a picturesque setting (nprn 81398), is sited on a terrace on the north-west flank of the Wye valley, overlooking the valley, the village of Glasbury and the Black Mountains beyond. It is the third house on this ancient site.

The park around the house is roughly square in shape, covers 300 acres (121.5 ha), and is set on the south and east facing sides of a hill, the slope increasing as the ground descends towards the floodplain of the Wye. Though its early history is unclear the park mainly occupies land enclosed from common open fields in the late eighteenth century.
The park is crossed by drives on the east and south-west sides, the former now the main approach, from an entrance and lodge off the minor road to Ffynnon Gynydd. It is enclosed from the east entrance to the south-west drive by stretches of stone wall (1.2m high), fencing and hedges, and also by more recent concrete block walling; and on the west by woodland, 'The Nursery'. The northern and southern boundaries are formed by the steep roads giving access to Ffynnon Gynydd hamlet to the north-west.

The Nursery is one of three mixed woodlands in the park, the others being Castle Wood (partly enclosed by a ha-ha), behind the house, and Gas House Wood on the east. Trees, mostly oak and horse chestnuts, are dotted across the open parkland, some of them in rows suggesting former field boundaries. In 1948 an oak was recorded with a girth of 6.4m. Rare native Black Poplars have also been recorded. Elsewhere, Gas House Wood contains nineteenth-century plantings which include Monkey Puzzle and Douglas Fir. The south-west drive is planted with an oak and horse chestnut avenue, replacing an earlier one of elm lost to disease. Nearby, towards the east end of the drive, are various ornamentals including lime, copper beech and deodar cedar. In the southern park is a circular clump surrounding a circular pool, the only one of several that were once planned.

To the immediate north, north-west and south of the house are the pleasure grounds and gardens (86245), within which lies a walled kitchen garden (700343).

Source:
Cadw 1999: Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in Wales, Powys, 170-75 (ref: PGW (Po)18(POW)).

RCAHMW, 29 June 2022