The Monks Garden

In summer the social center of The Anchorage is the large patio garden in front of the house onto which two front doors open. This is known as The Monks Garden. It is a delightful place for breakfast, coffee and sundowner gatherings in seclusion with its surrounding of trees, birds and flowers. It has now been equipped with a brick and slate BBQ for evening gatherings.

The idea for The Monks Garden was taken from recent archaeological work on Haverfordwest Priory which is open to the public and can be reached along Quay Street of Haverfordwest. Excavations and clearing of the site revealed an extensive set of gardens along the river bank. They were characterised by stone lined boxes of soil in which the plants grew and are separated by gravel paths. Within the Haverfordwest gardens is the Abbots garden which had its own wall and gate. These are Elizabethan gardens and from studying them the owner concluded that the monks may have been fat gentlemen not given to bending over to smell flowers. Rather, their pleasure was to have the flowers raised in stone boxes where they could be studied and smelled at face level. The Monks Garden at The Anchorage is a modern day copy of the Elizabethan garden that can be inspected at the now conserved Haverfordwest Priory.