Dewstow House, Caldicot, Monmouthshire,

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

, is an earlier nineteenth century villa in a Neoclassical style. The house is notable as the site of "one of the strangest gardens in Wales." The building itself is plain; described by architectural writer John Newman as a "simple three-bay villa", it has extensive views over the

Severn Estuary The Severn Estuary ( cy, Aber Hafren) is the estuary of the River Severn, flowing into the Bristol Channel between South West England and South Wales. Its high tidal range, approximately , means that it has been at the centre of discussions in t ...

. It is a

Grade II listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Ir ...

. Within, and under, the grounds lies a "network of very rare and unusual underground gardens" constructed in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Comprising "underground passages and top-light chambers with artificial rock-work and stalactities," the garden structures have three separate

Grade II* In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

listings as a result of their importance. After the death of the garden's creator, Harry Oakley, in 1940, the gardens were gradually abandoned. In the 1960s, during the construction of the M4 motorway and the

Severn Bridge The Severn Bridge ( cy, Pont Hafren) is a motorway suspension bridge that spans the River Severn between South Gloucestershire in England and Monmouthshire in South East Wales. It is the original Severn road crossing between England and Wale ...

, soil from these sites was used to fill in the grottoes and pools. The gardens were rediscovered, excavated and restored at the beginning of the twenty first century and are now open to the public. They are registered Grade I on the Cadw/ICOMOS Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in Wales.

Gallery

File:Grotto, Dewstow Gardens - geograph.org.uk - 656357.jpg File:Dewstow Gardens - geograph.org.uk - 656373.jpg File:Dewstow Gardens - geograph.org.uk - 656367.jpg File:Dewstow Gardens & Grottoes, the Lion Grotto-461268361.jpg File:Grotto, Dewstow Gardens - geograph.org.uk - 659344.jpg File:Grotto in Dewstow underground gardens - geograph.org.uk - 154167.jpg File:Grotto, Dewstow Gardens - geograph.org.uk - 659342.jpg File:Entrance to the rock garden, Dewstow Gardens - geograph.org.uk - 656361.jpg File:Rock Garden at Dewstow Gardens, near Caerwent-geograph-2892173.jpg File:Part of the ornamental gardens at Dewstow-geograph-2427209.jpg

Notes

References

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External links

{{Commonscat, Dewstow House, Monmouthshire, Wales
Dewstow Gardens & Grottoes
official website.
Parks & Gardens UK

Dewstow Gardens info on Pulham.org.uk

Gardens and Grottoes. The story so far.
Grade II listed buildings in Monmouthshire Grade II* listed buildings in Monmouthshire Country houses in Monmouthshire Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in Wales