A forgotten walled garden in Abergwili, once the beating heart of a bishop’s estate, is set to bloom again thanks to a £1.2 million grant from The National Lottery Heritage Fund. But it’s not just the bricks, glasshouses or ancient orchard being revived – it’s the memories of the people who lived, worked and grew there.
Parc yr Esgob Trust, which has been managing the restoration at Parc yr Esgob (Bishop’s Park) since 2017, is placing these personal stories at the centre of its ambitious new 30-month Walled Garden Project. As well as rebuilding three historic glasshouses and the gardener’s bothy, the carefully designed restoration will create a multi-functional facility for learning, training, health recovery, wellbeing and celebration events. The project will also bring the stories of those who once lived and worked there vividly back to life
Among the most evocative records are the handwritten diaries of Gwenonwy Davies (1887–1981), eldest daughter of Bishop John Owen, who grew up at the Bishop’s Palace: “We grew pineapples for years,” she wrote. “Also we had a lovely vine house, divided into two parts so that there was a sequence of grapes. Another small house had orchids and lots of maidenhair fern growing in it.”
Her vivid descriptions paint a picture of both elegance and hard work in a delicate ecosystem powered by firewood, furnace boys and the steady hands of skilled gardeners.
The Trust is using these records, along with census documents and more recent oral histories, to build a living archive that honours those who worked behind the scenes. One such story is that of 16-year-old Arthur Sinclair Wolstoncroft, who travelled from Lancashire to Abergwili for the prospects on offer as a member of the Bishop’s staff and is listed on the 1911 census amongst the servants as ‘Page’.
Project Manager Louise Austin reflects: “It’s stories like Arthur’s that really capture people’s imaginations. They remind us that heritage isn’t just grand buildings and big events—it’s about people and their everyday lives.”
“This isn’t just a restoration – it’s a conversation across generations,” continues Louise. “It’s about learning from the past while creating something meaningful for the present. We want visitors and volunteers alike to feel a personal connection to this place, and to draw inspiration and experiences from it that can help them in their own lives today.”
Volunteer Richard is one of the people for whom Parc yr Esgob has brought benefits. “I came here last year with a group from the Wallich to see if we wanted to get involved. The group decided to come once a week for a 10-week programme and learn about gardening and looking after the park. Now I come as an independent volunteer – 3 days every week! Having something to do each day has given me purpose – and it gets me out there. It’s really helped with my mental health. I enjoy being at Bishop’s Park and I work hard to make it look nice for visitors.”
The restored garden will host community celebrations, educational activities, and public performances, all shaped by the living memories of those who have walked its paths before.
A new horticultural trainee programme will carry this storytelling tradition forward. Young gardeners involved in the project will share their experiences, adding fresh voices to the garden’s evolving legacy.
It’s a busy time for the project team, who organised a launch for key stakeholders, project volunteers and journalists on July 30th. Volunteer Archaeologists working with a team from Heneb -The Trust for Welsh Archaeology are now exploring the remains of the heating systems in the ruined greenhouses where pineapples and orchids once grew. You can visit the finished excavation on Saturday 16th August between 2pm and 4pm.
The Walled Garden Project is also receiving match funding of £300,000 from Welsh Government’s Community Facilities Programme, £150,000 from the Garfield Weston Foundation, £100,000 from a heritage philanthropist in Wales and £20,000 from the Pilgrim Trust, as well as much-valued match-funding in kind from volunteer involvement. Altogether the project has a value of around £2 million.
Chair of Parc yr Esgob Trust, Betsan Caldwell, said: “We are thrilled by this opportunity to share not just the garden’s physical beauty, but also to draw on its very soul – the stories, skills and quiet wisdom of those who once made it thrive.”
Details of upcoming events and opportunities to get involved can be found at parcyresgob.org.uk/whats-on.
Notes to Editors
Photographs
Photos of the event can be accessed here: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/oo65c348izlfn510p89zh/AL9LLDu3UICRG-jfaF39QIY?rlkey=puqjh3bedbdtfwe0x0assfg8f&st=zb656ltp&dl=0
About Parc yr Esgob
Parc yr Esgob is part of the former estate of the Bishops of St Davids and today includes Carmarthenshire Museum. It is managed by Parc yr Esgob Trust which was established in 2016 and was awarded the King’s Award for Voluntary Service in 2024.
The Trust is run by a board of 8 local community Trustees. Our long-term vision is “to conserve and harness Parc yr Esgob’s many assets – its heritage, biodiversity, amenities and setting – to secure a sustainable future bringing purpose, learning, wellbeing and pleasure to the lives of the widest range of people.”
https://parcyresgob.org.uk
Follow @ParcYrEsgob on Twitter/X, Facebook and Instagram
More about Gwenonwy
Gwenonwy Davies (nee Owen) (1887-1981) was the eldest daughter of Bishop John Owen (1854-1926) and the National Library of Wales holds two bundles of exercise books containing her memoirs of her time at Bishop’s Park. then the private garden of Bishop Owen, her father.
About The National Lottery Heritage Fund
Our vision is for heritage to be valued, cared for and sustained for everyone, now and in the future. That’s why as the largest funder for the UK’s heritage we are dedicated to supporting projects that connect people and communities to heritage, as set out in our strategic plan, Heritage 2033. Heritage can be anything from the past that people value and want to pass on to future generations. We believe in the power of heritage to ignite the imagination, offer joy and inspiration, and to build pride in place and connection to the past.
Over the next 10 years, we aim to invest £3.6billion raised for good causes by National Lottery players to make a decisive difference for people, places and communities.
heritagefund.org.uk
Follow @HeritageFundUK on Twitter/X, Facebook and Instagram and use #NationalLottery #HeritageFund
About the Welsh Government’s Community Facilities Programme
The Community Facilities Programme grant helps transform spaces where people gather, learn new skills and access support when they need it most. The Programme is open to community and voluntary sector organisations, including social enterprises. The focus of the programme is on increasing opportunity, creating prosperity for all and developing resilient communities where people are engaged and empowered.
Community Facilities Programme | GOV.WALES
Major funding boost transforms spaces where communities gather | Welsh Government News
About Garfield Weston Foundation
Established in 1958, the Garfield Weston Foundation is a family-founded grant-maker that gives money to support a wide variety of charities across the UK. Each year the Foundation gives away its income and donations have continued to grow. Since it was established, it has donated over £1.5 billion, of which over half has been given away in the past ten years. In the most recent financial year the Foundation gave away over £100 million to nearly 1,800 charities across the UK. www.garfieldweston.org
About The Pilgrim Trust
The Pilgrim Trust is an independent grant-making trust that supports the urgent and future needs of the UK. It gives approximately £3 million in grants per year to charities and other public bodies that either focus on preserving the UK’s heritage or on catalysing social change.
Follow us: @ThePilgrimTrust (X), Pilgrim Trust (LinkedIn)
About The Wallich
The Wallich is a charity that provides hope, support and solutions to end homelessness in Wales. It operates under three core objectives: getting people off the streets; keeping people off the streets; and creating opportunities for people.
The Wallich is a charity that provides hope, support and solutions to end homelessness in Wales. It operates under three core objectives: getting people off the streets; keeping people off the streets; and creating opportunities for people.
thewallich.com
A Garden of Memories: National Lottery Heritage Fund grant to bring Abergwili Walled Garden and its hidden stories back to life
Posted: 30/07/2025 by Admin2
A forgotten walled garden in Abergwili, once the beating heart of a bishop’s estate, is set to bloom again thanks to a £1.2 million grant from The National Lottery Heritage Fund. But it’s not just the bricks, glasshouses or ancient orchard being revived – it’s the memories of the people who lived, worked and grew there.
Parc yr Esgob Trust, which has been managing the restoration at Parc yr Esgob (Bishop’s Park) since 2017, is placing these personal stories at the centre of its ambitious new 30-month Walled Garden Project. As well as rebuilding three historic glasshouses and the gardener’s bothy, the carefully designed restoration will create a multi-functional facility for learning, training, health recovery, wellbeing and celebration events. The project will also bring the stories of those who once lived and worked there vividly back to life
Among the most evocative records are the handwritten diaries of Gwenonwy Davies (1887–1981), eldest daughter of Bishop John Owen, who grew up at the Bishop’s Palace: “We grew pineapples for years,” she wrote. “Also we had a lovely vine house, divided into two parts so that there was a sequence of grapes. Another small house had orchids and lots of maidenhair fern growing in it.”
Her vivid descriptions paint a picture of both elegance and hard work in a delicate ecosystem powered by firewood, furnace boys and the steady hands of skilled gardeners.
The Trust is using these records, along with census documents and more recent oral histories, to build a living archive that honours those who worked behind the scenes. One such story is that of 16-year-old Arthur Sinclair Wolstoncroft, who travelled from Lancashire to Abergwili for the prospects on offer as a member of the Bishop’s staff and is listed on the 1911 census amongst the servants as ‘Page’.
Project Manager Louise Austin reflects: “It’s stories like Arthur’s that really capture people’s imaginations. They remind us that heritage isn’t just grand buildings and big events—it’s about people and their everyday lives.”
“This isn’t just a restoration – it’s a conversation across generations,” continues Louise. “It’s about learning from the past while creating something meaningful for the present. We want visitors and volunteers alike to feel a personal connection to this place, and to draw inspiration and experiences from it that can help them in their own lives today.”
Volunteer Richard is one of the people for whom Parc yr Esgob has brought benefits. “I came here last year with a group from the Wallich to see if we wanted to get involved. The group decided to come once a week for a 10-week programme and learn about gardening and looking after the park. Now I come as an independent volunteer – 3 days every week! Having something to do each day has given me purpose – and it gets me out there. It’s really helped with my mental health. I enjoy being at Bishop’s Park and I work hard to make it look nice for visitors.”
The restored garden will host community celebrations, educational activities, and public performances, all shaped by the living memories of those who have walked its paths before.
A new horticultural trainee programme will carry this storytelling tradition forward. Young gardeners involved in the project will share their experiences, adding fresh voices to the garden’s evolving legacy.
It’s a busy time for the project team, who organised a launch for key stakeholders, project volunteers and journalists on July 30th. Volunteer Archaeologists working with a team from Heneb -The Trust for Welsh Archaeology are now exploring the remains of the heating systems in the ruined greenhouses where pineapples and orchids once grew. You can visit the finished excavation on Saturday 16th August between 2pm and 4pm.
The Walled Garden Project is also receiving match funding of £300,000 from Welsh Government’s Community Facilities Programme, £150,000 from the Garfield Weston Foundation, £100,000 from a heritage philanthropist in Wales and £20,000 from the Pilgrim Trust, as well as much-valued match-funding in kind from volunteer involvement. Altogether the project has a value of around £2 million.
Chair of Parc yr Esgob Trust, Betsan Caldwell, said: “We are thrilled by this opportunity to share not just the garden’s physical beauty, but also to draw on its very soul – the stories, skills and quiet wisdom of those who once made it thrive.”
Details of upcoming events and opportunities to get involved can be found at parcyresgob.org.uk/whats-on.
Notes to Editors
Photographs
Photos of the event can be accessed here: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/oo65c348izlfn510p89zh/AL9LLDu3UICRG-jfaF39QIY?rlkey=puqjh3bedbdtfwe0x0assfg8f&st=zb656ltp&dl=0
About Parc yr Esgob
Parc yr Esgob is part of the former estate of the Bishops of St Davids and today includes Carmarthenshire Museum. It is managed by Parc yr Esgob Trust which was established in 2016 and was awarded the King’s Award for Voluntary Service in 2024.
The Trust is run by a board of 8 local community Trustees. Our long-term vision is “to conserve and harness Parc yr Esgob’s many assets – its heritage, biodiversity, amenities and setting – to secure a sustainable future bringing purpose, learning, wellbeing and pleasure to the lives of the widest range of people.”
https://parcyresgob.org.uk
Follow @ParcYrEsgob on Twitter/X, Facebook and Instagram
More about Gwenonwy
Gwenonwy Davies (nee Owen) (1887-1981) was the eldest daughter of Bishop John Owen (1854-1926) and the National Library of Wales holds two bundles of exercise books containing her memoirs of her time at Bishop’s Park. then the private garden of Bishop Owen, her father.
About The National Lottery Heritage Fund
Our vision is for heritage to be valued, cared for and sustained for everyone, now and in the future. That’s why as the largest funder for the UK’s heritage we are dedicated to supporting projects that connect people and communities to heritage, as set out in our strategic plan, Heritage 2033. Heritage can be anything from the past that people value and want to pass on to future generations. We believe in the power of heritage to ignite the imagination, offer joy and inspiration, and to build pride in place and connection to the past.
Over the next 10 years, we aim to invest £3.6billion raised for good causes by National Lottery players to make a decisive difference for people, places and communities.
heritagefund.org.uk
Follow @HeritageFundUK on Twitter/X, Facebook and Instagram and use #NationalLottery #HeritageFund
About the Welsh Government’s Community Facilities Programme
The Community Facilities Programme grant helps transform spaces where people gather, learn new skills and access support when they need it most. The Programme is open to community and voluntary sector organisations, including social enterprises. The focus of the programme is on increasing opportunity, creating prosperity for all and developing resilient communities where people are engaged and empowered.
Community Facilities Programme | GOV.WALES
Major funding boost transforms spaces where communities gather | Welsh Government News
About Garfield Weston Foundation
Established in 1958, the Garfield Weston Foundation is a family-founded grant-maker that gives money to support a wide variety of charities across the UK. Each year the Foundation gives away its income and donations have continued to grow. Since it was established, it has donated over £1.5 billion, of which over half has been given away in the past ten years. In the most recent financial year the Foundation gave away over £100 million to nearly 1,800 charities across the UK. www.garfieldweston.org
About The Pilgrim Trust
The Pilgrim Trust is an independent grant-making trust that supports the urgent and future needs of the UK. It gives approximately £3 million in grants per year to charities and other public bodies that either focus on preserving the UK’s heritage or on catalysing social change.
Follow us: @ThePilgrimTrust (X), Pilgrim Trust (LinkedIn)
About The Wallich
The Wallich is a charity that provides hope, support and solutions to end homelessness in Wales. It operates under three core objectives: getting people off the streets; keeping people off the streets; and creating opportunities for people.
The Wallich is a charity that provides hope, support and solutions to end homelessness in Wales. It operates under three core objectives: getting people off the streets; keeping people off the streets; and creating opportunities for people.
thewallich.com
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