Client: The National Trust

Location: Powys, Wales

Services Provided

• Heritage Consultancy

• Landscape Architecture

• Archival Research

The Challenge

Powis Castle is a Grade I listed medieval castle, surrounded by equally significant gardens and historic parkland. The dramatic terraced gardens—originating in the 17th century—have evolved over centuries, but the extent and significance of the earlier water gardens and medieval walled gardens remained poorly understood. The National Trust required a clear conservation framework to guide future landscape management and interpretation, rooted in a robust understanding of the site’s historical layers.

The Solution

Using the established methodology from James Semple-Kerr’s The Conservation Plan and Historic England guidance, we undertook a four-step process:

1. Understanding the site through extensive archival research, historic mapping, site surveys, and visual analysis.

2. Assessing significance, identifying what aspects of the landscape held local, national, or international importance.

3. Identifying risks and opportunities, from visitor pressures to lost historic features.

4. Defining policies and actions to guide future management in a way that is both conservation-led and operationally feasible.

This work was led by our historic parks and gardens team, integrating landscape architecture and heritage expertise throughout.

The Result

Our research uncovered and contextualised the lost water gardens and medieval walled enclosures, including generating artist’s impressions of their former form and spatial layout. This significantly enriched understanding of the site’s historic development and directly informed the Conservation Management Plan.

The resulting plan provided the National Trust with a clear, actionable framework for the stewardship of Powis Castle’s landscape—balancing conservation priorities, operational needs, and interpretive potential for future generations.