 The former 16th and 17th @-@ century gardens of Raglan Castle are still visible in the form of several long terraces to the north of the castle , overlooking the lower ground beyond . First created in the second half of the 16th @-@ century , these terraces would originally have included a number of knot gardens , probably with Italianate sculpture and carved stone balustrades . The gardens at their peak would have probably resembled those at Nonsuch Palace , where the Somersets also had an interest as the royal keepers . The valley below retains some signs of the drainage ditches that once formed part of the water gardens that flooded the bottom of the site , although the original " water @-@ parterre " to the north @-@ west of the castle , another water garden in the south , and the extensive gardens around the south @-@ west of the castle are now no longer visible . The castle 's bowling green still survives , on a terrace just beyond the South Gate entrance . The castle 's parks reverted to agricultural use by the 19th century , and Raglan is now surrounded by fields . 
