ABOUT THE WALLED GARDEN
Penty Park Walled Garden – Do You Have Photographs? Pembrokeshire has very few walled gardens and one of them, Penty Park in Walton East, is currently in a state of disrepair. Local business woman, Lesley Lewis, plans to reverse its decline by restoring the garden with a sympathetic approach to its history and ecology. This will be a sensitive attempt to preserve our Pembrokeshire heritage.

Lesley has been the owner of The George’s, Haverfordwest for the last eighteen years and has proved her environmental and imaginative credentials in the way she has developed her business. She wants to extend her preference for sustainable and organic development to her new restoration project.

The garden, once the productive fruit and vegetable area for the Penty Park Estate, has a chequered planning history. In the 1960s and 70s consent existed for a caravan park within the gardens: fortunately this never happened but was replaced with consent for a large executive dwelling which breached one of the historic walls. Lesley has no such plans!

She would like to restore the garden walls, develop the ruins of the gardener’s cottage into a small dwelling using the original materials where possible and eventually move on to the Victorian dipping pool, the orangery, greenhouses and the old boiler houses which heated them. The garden itself will one day produce local food again – organic herbs and leaves for the George’s Restaurant though much of the area will retain its natural peace and beauty as parkland nurturing wildlife, birds and its ancient shrubs and trees.

Work started this summer (2007) to clear the wall and restore the garden, this is a large and exciting project but much of the original structures are in ruins. Local information to guide the project is vital. This will be a long project, perhaps a life’s work, shared and enjoyed when possible by the team at The George’s. As the early stages of clearance take place, it is important to gather together as much information as possible to guide and inform the work as it progresses.

Do You Have any Photographs?
Do you have information, particularly photographs, of the garden in the past which could guide the renovations? Lesley is happy to copy and return any precious records and would much appreciate contact from anyone who can add to her knowledge. She is already familiar with the book by Cecilia Jenkin, nee Philipps Lloyd, who grew up at Penty Park in the early part of the 20th century but information from local families or workers on the state with memories of the garden would be very useful. You may also have skills which could assist in this important attempt to preserve Pembrokeshire’s heritage.

If you can help, contact Lesley Lewis or Kay Fuller at