THE HISTORIC Victorian gardens at The Hill have finally been recognised by CADW.

CADW the Welsh Assembly body that aims to protect, conserve, and to promote the built heritage of Wales have entered the grounds of the former Coleg Gwent campus at Grade II in the CADW / ICOMOS register of landscapes, parks and gardens of special historic interest in Wales.

Entrepreneur Dr Olinga Ta'eed has leased the building and grounds to open Primo Balletto, Wales' only residential ballet school.

He will soon become the owner of the site which includes a mansion, a walled garden, conference centre and 50 bedrooms for 80 students.

About 20 volunteers have formed the Friends of Gardd-y-Bryn to restore the overgrown walled garden to its former glory while a group from Abergavenny Climate Action is managing the woodland.

The CADW / ICOMOS register gives details of some of The Hill's owners and how they developed the buildings, grounds and gardens through the ages. It reveals an almost forgotten bridge, ancient trees and features such as an overgrown mound and rockery, a field with the mysterious name of 'Castle Piece', and disused tennis and croquet courts.

The register entry says, "the gardens, grounds and relict parkland of The Hill are a rare example of a type that is not often well preserved. Their principal character is that of an early 19th-century miniature country estate."

One rare and interesting feature is the curved part of the walled garden, the line of which dates to at least 1798 as shown on a property survey carried out for the then owner Thomas Morgan.

It highlights the association with the distinguished horticulturist, John Wedgwood (of the famous potters' family), who rented The Hill from 1829 to 1835 / 36, John Wedgwood was one of the founders in 1804 of the Royal Horticultural Society. His family was closely connected to the Darwins.

And it says that "of exceptional historical interest is the fact that his gardening diary, now kept at the RHS's Lindley Library in London, covers the period when John lived at The Hill. The first entries from The Hill date to November 27, 1829 when he "began trenching the (walled) garden which I found like a goat's field. It contains rather more than an acre and is surrounded by a wall of 12 ft in height having peach or nectarine trees."

A spokeswoman for the Friends' group said, "The Hill was shut down as a Coleg Gwent campus last year and the college authorities refused to allow volunteers into the once magnificent and lovingly tended walled garden which had been open under the National Garden Scheme. Contractors cut back the gardens on one occasion but the garden became overgrown which led to an outcry

"We were delighted when Dr Ta'eed was able to allow us entry once he had reached agreement in principle with Coleg Gwent and we would like to thank him for that.

"It's also fantastic that the grounds have been added to the register and their historic importance recognised."

The group of volunteers is mainly made up of former students and the Chair is Dr Nicola Perkins, head of Mulberry Centre.

•For more information on how to become a member of the Friends, telephone the secretary, Mrs Irena Morgan on 01873 853957.