In 1792 Elizabeths’ Great-great-great-great grandfather Benjamin Waddington bought what his daughter described as ‘an ill-built Welsh farmhouse’!
By the turn of the century the farmhouse boasted an elegant neoclassical front and a Ha-Ha which created a continuous view blending the garden into the surrounding parkland.
Cascades were built, to link the ponds and to simultaneously add movement and sound.
Streams were diverted to wind their way between lawns and beneath arches which framed the views.
A unique round garden, with a wall embracing the dovecote, a curved pond denoting the final arc and deep herbaceous borders was designed.
In the 1830s, Benjamin Waddingtons youngest daughter, best known as Lady Llanover enclosed the park within a stone wall with three gated entrance lodges.
Her grandson, Lord Treowen planted the avenue of sweet chestnut trees in 1922. Successive generations have planted spring bulbs and encouraged wildflowers to flourish beneath the trees.
During WW2 the park was requisitoned by the American army preparing for the D-Day landings before becoming POW Camp and finally a temporary home for local residents waiting for new houses to be built in the village.
More recently Elizabeths’ father, Robin Herbert former President of the Royal Horticultural Society, planted trees noted for their superb autumn colour, rare shrubs and early flowering magnolias
Since 1999, Ross and Elizabeth the seventh generation to live at Llanover, have continued to plant, plant and plant! The herbaceous borders are constantly reviewed, new areas devised and the arboreta extended.
Llanover is now a listed historic garden but also a dynamic and constantly evolving environment, which regularly features in magazines, on television and welcomes visitors by appointment.
