as Historic England, classifying listed buildings into three categories; Grade I, the highest grade, for buildings of “exceptional interest”, Grade II*, the next grade, for buildings of “more than special interest”, and Grade II, the lowest grade, for buildings of “special interest”. Powis Castle is a Grade I listed building. the Outer Gatehouse, the Marquess Gate, the Ballroom Range to the north of the Outer Courtyard and the retaining wall to the south, as well as the Top, Aviary, and Orangery Terraces all have separate Grade I listings. The statues of Fame, and of Hercules are listed Grade II*. The raised terrace to the south-east, the stone vase on the site of the water garden cascade, and the Peacock Statue have Grade II designations as do a number of domestic offices, including the Ice House, the Bothy, the Garden House, four cottages, and a range of garden features. Gardens Elisabeth Whittle, the garden historian, considers the gardens at Powis to be "the most important and magnificent [.] in Wales". They mainly survived the 18th-century reaction against the formality of earlier garden design, and are one of the few remaining Baroque gardens in the UK. Although their exact dating is uncertain, the terraces were likely hewn from the rock at some point between the 1670s and 1705 under the direction of William Winde and later Adrian Duvall, a French gardener from Rouen. The concept of formal terraces was introduced into northern Europe from the gardens of 16th-century Italy. The gardens originally comprised six terraces, descending from the castle, and culminating in a water garden. Winde had earlier worked on a similar terraced layout at Cliveden in Buckinghamshire, a design of which his patron was almost certainly aware. The castle gardens are listed Grade I on the Cadw/ICOMOS Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in Wales. The Water Garden Duvall may have had training in hydraulics, being responsible for the original water gardens which were laid out in a Dutch style. Their design was almost certainly influenced by the gardens of the Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, outside Paris. The chateau was home to James II after his flight from England and was thus well known to the Marquess of Powis and his son. Its grounds were landscaped in an Italianate style comprising gravelled walks between parterres, with fountains and basins. By 1705, despite the Herberts’ absence, the water garden was