Garth Hall, a now demolished eighteenth-century house designed by Loudon, was set in parkland (86050).
The design and position of any gardens here is difficult to ascertain as little archive evidence survives. The walled kitchen garden lies to the south-west of the house site. The date of this garden is unknown but it is clearly recorded as 'Garden' on the 1840 tithe map. It may predate the Loudon house but this is unclear.

The garden is square and lies on a south-facing slope. It covers about 2 acres (0.8ha) and is enclosed by red brick walls standing 2.5m-4m high. The north-west and north-east corners curve and were probably used as fruit walls. Nail holes cover all of the walls. Service doors are located near the north-west and northeast corners, the door in the north-west retains a wooden door, the north-east a modern wicket. A more formal central doorway with a central stone keystone detail is located in the southern wall.

Internally the garden was on two levels and an east-west wall ran along this division. This wall has been virtually demolished though an overgrown fruit tree survives which was probably trained against it. Early maps show a layout of perimeter and cross paths which are no longer evident. In the south-east corner there is a simple, single-storey brick bothy or potting shed, now used for storage. The north wall is a hollow, heated wall. There is no clear evidence for glasshouses or lean-to frames on the inside of the garden but along the outside north wall are traces of rooflines and the footings of a stock hole/boiler house.

Some overgrown fruit trees grow against the external west and south walls of the garden. Standard plum or damson trees also stand on the east side of the farm track that runs down the east side of the garden. Other overgrown fruit trees grow along the west and east walls. The interior is now used as for sheep grazing.

Sources:
Cadw 1995: Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in Wales, Powys (ref: PGW(Po)38).
Ordnance Survey first-edition six-inch map: Montgomeryshire XV.SE (1884).
Additional Notes: D.K.Leighton.

RCAHMW, 5 July 2022

Site Record

The Garth Kitchen Garden, Guilsfield