The original deer park was probably medieval although the heart of the present park most likely dates back to the seventeenth century, with enlargement and landscaping probably late eighteenth and early nineteenth century.
The herd was over forty around 1960, but in 1963 an exceptionally bad winter caused snow to drift to the top of the high fences and the deer escaped. They can still be seen in the area with a her of over one-hundred.
There is a stone tower on a hill in the park known as the ‘watch tower’ (and another smaller one closer to Hywel Sele Lodge, in a worse condition). These seemed to be part of a series of towers used to signal the arrival of visitors (as they are all visible to each other).
The ‘Summer House‘ seems to have been used as one of these stations too, although it is also possible that the tower was just another one of the follies or ‘eye-catchers’ built in the early nineteenth century.
The Large Stone Pillar in The Nannau Deer Park
The Small Stone Pillar in The Nannau Deer Park
