Clytha House, an early nineteenth century neo-classical mansion built for William Jones the younger (nprn 36684), is located about 5km west of Raglan, south of the village of Llanarth. It is noteworthy for its fine late eighteenth-century landscape park with well-preserved castellated eye-catcher folly (700396), as well as for the structural remains of its ornamental garden (265945) and walled kitchen garden.

The walled kitchen garden was designed and built in the early 1790s by John Davenport. It lies to the rear of out buildings north east of Clytha House. Roughly semi circular in shape the garden is enclosed with a red brick wall pierced with arched gateways. Three glass houses lean against the south facing wall. Two have apparently been repaired and are in use by the present tenant, and one is in poor condition. A possible fourth may have been removed. Heating appears to have been provided by a cavity in the rear wall with a boiler house immediately behind on the outside of the garden. This boiler house is part of a range of buildings running along the external wall. These vary from simple lean to open sheds with roofs supported on pillars to a two storey double fronted house with a slate roof and dressed stone chimneys. The rough stone walls have been limewashed to a pleasent dull yellow colour.

Approximately one third of the interior is used as a garden. The remainder contains a paddock for horses and donkeys and a tennis court. However, the paths in the northern part of the garden have been maintained, some lined with recently planted hornbeam. The centre of the garden is marked by a dipping pool. The cut sandstone edge to this pool has been obscured by an additional line of rough boulders. Wires running anlong the inner wall provide evidence of trained fruit trees some of which have been recently replaced. In addition there are a few espalier trained trees. Sufficient remain to suggest that they may have run right round the garden. The ruined remins of a cold frame remain in the north west corner.
Several of the garden doors have been blocked. There appear to have originally been two entrances side by side in the south west corner. One door, the one still open, leads to a Yew walk linking with the main garden paths. The other, now blocked, connects with a path hidden behind a raised bank covered with shrubs and mature trees. Presumably the inhabitants prefered not to see or meet their gardeners unexpectedly.

Enclosed kitchen gardens became increasingly common from the mid eighteenth century onwards and were an essential part of every estate from about 1820. The garden could be contemporary with the first Clytha House which was also built out of brick. The semi circular shape is curious and hard to explain.
The external range of buildings which runs parallel to the stream supplying the lake are sunk below the level of the surrounding path. The window sills are all but on ground level and there are two steps down to the doors. This could imply than the garden and associated buildings pre date the laying out of the lake and its water supply. However, it is also possible that the stream was embanked at a later date to prevent flooding (NT report, Clytha, E Plunkett Dillon)
see also nprn 265945.

Sources:
Cadw 1994: Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in Wales: Gwent, 25-26 (ref: PGW (Gt)15).
E.Plunkett Dillon, National Trust Report on Clytha.

John Latham & David Leighton, RCAHMW 26 July 2022

Cofnod Safle

Clytha House Kitchen Garden, Raglan