Dewstow House, Caldicot,

Monmouthshire Monmouthshire ( ; ) is a Principal areas of Wales, county in the South East Wales, south east of Wales. It borders Powys to the north; the English counties of Herefordshire and Gloucestershire to the north and east; the Severn Estuary to the s ...

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

, is an early 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 () is the estuary of the River Severn, flowing into the Bristol Channel between South West England (from North Somerset, Bristol and South Gloucestershire) and South Wales (from Cardiff, Newport to Monmouthshire). Its very h ...

. The house is a

Grade II listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, H ...

, while the garden is listed at the highest grade, Grade I, on the

Cadw/ICOMOS Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in Wales The Cadw/ICOMOS Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in Wales is a heritage register of significant historic parks and gardens in Wales. It is maintained by Cadw, the historic environment service of the Welsh Government and ...

History and description

Dewstow House is a simple, two-storey villa. It is notable for its "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 stalactites," the garden structures have three separate

Grade II* In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, H ...

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 The M4, originally the London-South Wales Motorway, is the third longest motorway in the United Kingdom, running from west London to southwest Wales. The English section to the Severn Bridge was constructed between 1961 and 1971; the Welsh ele ...

and the

Severn Bridge The Severn Bridge () is a Controlled-access highway, motorway suspension bridge that spans the River Severn between South Gloucestershire in England and Monmouthshire in South East Wales. It is the original Severn crossing, Severn road crossi ...

, 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 were opened to the public. At the end of the 2024 season, the owners announced that Dewstow would be permanently closed. The gardens They are registered Grade I on the

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

* * *

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 Registered historic parks and gardens in Monmouthshire