Hilston Park
| Hilston Park | |
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Hilston House and Park
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| General information | |
| Type | Palladian mansion |
| Location | Skenfrith, Monmouthshire |
| Country | Wales |
| Coordinates | 51°51′52″N 2°48′18″W / 51.86444°N 2.80500°WCoordinates: 51°51′52″N 2°48′18″W / 51.86444°N 2.80500°W |
| Completed | 1838 |
| Designations | Grade II* listed |
Hilston Park is a country house and estate located between the villages of Newcastle and Skenfrith, in Monmouthshire, Wales, close to the border with Herefordshire, England. The house and park are situated in the Monnow valley, beside the B4347 road, 7.9 miles (12.7 km) by road northwest of Monmouth and just over 1 mile (1.6 km) southwest of Skenfrith.
The Palladian mansion, built in 1838 for Bristolian banker George Cave, is a Grade II* listed building and the park's flower meadow is a Site of Special Scientific Interest. The park includes two early 20th century lodges at both entrance gates, a ruined coach house, a lake and boathouse, a pond, and several streams, several gardens and areas of woodland, and Hilston Tower, a late 18th-century folly made of red sandstone in the northeastern corner of the grounds. The house now serves as a residential outdoor education centre run by Gwent Outdoor Centres, an organisation jointly supported by the local authorities of Newport, Torfaen, Blaenau Gwent and Monmouthshire.
Hilston House was for many years the principal estate and mansion in the parish of St. Maughans. In the 17th and 18th centuries it was the residence of the Needham family, although Henry Milbourne, an important 17th century magistrate of the county, is also reported to have lived here at one time. Sebastian Needham is said to have been buried at Skenfrith, on 26 March 1723, having fathered nine children. The house remained in the family, who were Catholic, for four generations. Following this stable period of ownership, accounting for about a century, the estate then changed hands a considerable number of times within the next 70 years. It was eventually sold by John Needham, a barrister of Grays Inn, to Sir William Pilkington when Needham moved to Somerset. Pilkington sold it to James Jones of the Graig, who sold it to Sir Robert Brownrigg, G.C.B. a distinguished officer in the Peninsula War. He died on 27 May 1833, aged 76 years and his monument may be seen on the south wall of St. Maughan's Church. After his death the house was sold to Thomas Coates of Lancashire. Shortly afterwards, on 12 September 1838, the house was destroyed by fire.
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