Tredegar House Country Park

Tredegar House Country Park is a landscaped park in the community of Coedkernew, in Newport, Wales. The park forms the grounds of Tredegar House, for over 500 years the home of the Morgan family. The park was first laid-out in the 1660s in a formal style. Beginning in the 1790s, when the park reached its circa 1,000-acre (400 ha) greatest extent, Adam Mickle (c. 1747–1811) deformalised the park and added the lake. Encroaching building developments in the 20th-century caused the park to become fragmented, today spanning only 90-acre (36 ha). In 1951, the Morgan family sold Tredegar House and Park to the Sisters of St. Joseph who used the property as a school until 1974, when it was bought by Newport County Council. Since 2012 it has been managed by the National Trust as part of a 50-year lease agreement with the council. It is Grade II*-listed on the Cadw/ICOMOS Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in Wales for "the survival of parts of grand late seventeenth-century layout, including garden walls, gatescreen, inorganic parterres and avenue." History The park is centred around Tredegar House, where the Morgan family have lived since at least 1402; the earliest description of a house at Tredegar is of "a faire place of stone", recorded by John Leland in around 1540. In an 1882 paper for the Monmouthshire and Caerleon Antiquarian Association, Octavius Morgan, gives a tracing for a "Wilderness or Maze" taken from a 1660s plan of Tredegar House and Park, which he states was "probably laid out in the time of Queen Elizabeth". Cadw states that William Morgan was the first to lay-out a landscaped park at Tredegar after 1664, which included four compartments of walled gardens, seven great axial avenues of trees, and encompassed an Iron Age Hill Fort at its north. Around the same time, he demolished much of the stone house recorded by Leland, building in its place a grand red-brick house in the Restoration style: this is the present-day Tredegar House. To the rear of the stable block built around this time is an orangery, probably built after 1715. The orangery was built surrounded by one of the aforementioned walled gardens, subsequently known as the "Orangery Garden" and laid-out formally with "inorganic parterre with central and perimeter paths plus a small mount in the west corner". Of the seven tree avenues, only one remains, running across the park from the north-west wing of Tredegar House; this is known as "Oak Avenue". Beginning in the 1790s, the park was landscaped by Adam Mickle (c. 1747–1811), who had worked under Capability Brown. Mickle deformalised the park, removing many of the tree avenues and adding a lake ("Great Pool") to the north of the house. The park reached its greatest extent at this time, spanning around 1000-acres (400 ha). In the 1920s, a small Italianate sunken rose garden was added to the south of Mickle's lake. In May 1949, Tredegar House and Park were inherited by John Morgan, later the sixth and last Lord Tredegar. Owing to taxation and extravagant spending, the Morgan fortune was in decline, and the property had not been occupied for some years. There was a possibility at this time that Tredegar House and Park would be transferred to the National Trust in lieu of death-duties. A May 1950 report on the property by the Chief District Valuer for Newport on behalf of the Trust records of the park, "The kitchen gardens are fairly well maintained, but the ornamental gardens are somewhat neglected." The report also notes that at this time the park spanned 270-acres (110 ha). The plan for the property to be transferred to the National Trust did not go ahead, and in 1951, John Morgan sold Tredegar House and Park to the Sisters of St. Joseph who used the property as a school. In 1974, it was bought by Newport County Council. Since 2012 it has been managed by the National Trust as part of a 50-year lease agreement with the council. In 2022, it was designated as Grade II* on the Cadw/ICOMOS Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in Wales. Separation and redevelopment In the 20th-century, the park became fragmented and much reduced. One instance of fragmentation occurred in 1922, when Lord Tredegar gave part of the park near Pye Corner for use as a golf-course, which in the 21st-century was redeveloped into the Carnegie Court housing estate. Similar reduction occurred in 1927 when Lord Tredegar gave a further 70-acres (28 ha) flanked by the A48 to Newport for recreational use, which subsequently became known as "Tredegar Park Recreation Ground". The park was further fragmented following the sale of Tredegar House and Estate in 1951 and 1957 respectively: the remaining avenue of trees was intercepted during the building of the M4 motorway in the late 1960s, and a 96-acre (39 ha) portion of the park was developed into the Duffryn housing estate in 1978. This separation of the park precludes it of Grade I status; today it spans only 90-acres (36 ha). Parkrun Parkrun (a UK-wide running series) takes place in the grounds of the park each Saturday at 9am. The first event was hosted in 2011. As of May 2024, 586 runs have been held, attracting 20,284 runners. An average of over 300 people compete each week, however some events have attracted up to 700 competitors. National Eisteddfods It is planned to hold the 2027 Urdd National Eisteddfod in the grounds of Tredegar House. The National Eisteddfod of Wales had previously been held here in 2004. See also List of gardens in Wales External links Official Tredegar House website References