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Bryngarw Country Park is made up of and is situated on the west bank of the Afon Garw, at the mouth of the Garw Valley in the Bridgend County Borough, Wales. The western boundary is marked by the Brynmenyn-Bettws road and the River Garw is its eastern boundary. 18 hectares of open meadowlands, which are the subject of grazing tenancy agreements and hence not open to the public, surrounds the Country Park. The Country Park and Bryngarw House occupies the remaining 30 hectares of the estate. Bryngarw House and its associated formal gardens (including the lawn, shrubbery, lake and oriental gardens) account for 1.5 hectares of the park. The rest of the park is predominantly wooded (broadleaf, coniferous and mixed woodland) with areas of meadow, wetland and freshwater, formal garden and areas for amenity use. Bryngarw Country Park's mission statement is “Through the provision and maintenance of a mosaic of habitats, rich natural environments and historic formal gardens, with targeted access and interpretation; to provide a ‘Bridge’ for visitors, linking people and nature, past and present, urban and countryside, heritage and natural history And so to give access to the full range of physical, mental and social health benefits which that connection brings.” The park appears to be achieving this as it currently receives between 50,000 and 70,000 visitors per year; with visits made by local schools for educational and interpretative sessions run by the ranger team contributing between 1,500 and 2,000 children a year.” In addition to school visits, the ranger team provide a range of other interpretive events aimed at the general public. In 2010, the park won its first (Green Flag ) award for providing outstanding levels of conservation, preservation, sustainability and provision of public amenities and services. The park has again been deemed worthy of this prestigious award in 2011. Bryngarw Park is a Grade II listed Historic Park and Garden with the house being a Grade II listed building and lies within the Strategic Coalfield Plateau, Landscape Conservation Area, described in local legislation (Ogwr Borough Local Plan and emerging Urban Development Plan). This designation refers to the wooded, gently sloping agricultural and parkland landscape that characterises the park. In 2010, the park was designated as a Key Strategic Site under the Valleys Partnership Initiative Action Programme and is subsequently receiving funding from the Wales Assembly Government (WAG) Environmental Improvement Grant and Bridgend County Borough Council's Strategic Regeneration Fund. The park has also been awarded grant money from ‘One Historic Garden’ Centre of Excellence Scheme and has been designated one of eight ‘Visit Wales Sustainable Tourism, Historic Gardens Centre of Excellence’ sites. This money from both funds will be used in autumn of 2011 to update and expand the existing visitor centre, refurbish the café and toilets, improve the existing car park and to significantly enhance the oriental gardens ==History of the estate== Bryngarw House is thought to have been built in the 15th century and used as a farmhouse; although there is no documentation there is some architectural evidence to support this theory. The first recorded date of the existence of the house is in 1743. In 1775 John Popkin gave the house and its grounds to his sister Frances as a wedding present when she married into the Traherne family; the building appears to have been extensively modified during their residence. The last member of the Traherne family to occupy the house was Captain Onslow Powell Traherne, a well travelled Victorian industrialist, who apparently renovated and extended the house and laid out the existing formal gardens between 1910 and 1920, introducing many exotic species (including many species of rhododendron, magnolia, tulip tree, handkerchief trees, sugar maple, paperbark dogwood, sequoia and gingko biloba). Towards the end of his residence Captain Traherne experienced money troubles and sold the estate to a local business man R.S.Hayes in the late 1940s. He and his family then occupied the house until his death in 1959 when it was again sold. In 1961, the house fell into public ownership and was divided into nine flats used as council accommodation. Thirty-two residential caravans were later installed in the former kitchen garden area (now used as the park's car park). These accommodations were used until 1980 when Bryngarw was designated a future Country Park. Starting in 1982, a Manpower Services Commission team carried out construction and reclamation work throughout the site over a five-year period. This work included; installation of a network of paths and other access infrastructure around the park, the recovery of the lake and formal gardens (after 25 years of neglect), installation of a permanent car park and construction of public amenities (toilets, café and visitor centre).〔 Bryngarw Country Park was then officially opened May 23, 1986.〔 In 1980, the house had been abandoned due to dry and wet rot rendering it in a poor state of repair. Its dilapidation continued until 1987 when work partially restored the building and created a self-contained flat to accommodate the Assistant Ranger of the Country Park. However, thanks to European funding, gained in 1993, the house was renovated to its present condition.〔 Image:Captain Onslow Powel Traherne and dogs.jpg|Captain Onslow Powell Traherne Image:bryngarw Country Park, Japanese Garden 1940s 2.jpg|Oriental Garden circa 1940 Image:Bryngarw House Early 60s.jpg|Bryngarw House circa 1960 Image:Bryngarw House Early 80s.jpg|Bryngarw House circa 1980 Image:BG house early 90s.jpg|Bryngarw House circa 1990 Image:Bryngarw House, 2011.jpg|Bryngarw House 2011 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Bryngarw Country Park」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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