What to See in England
By Gordon Home

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Public Domain Books

Belvoir Castle

THE SEAT OF THE DUKE OF RUTLAND

=How to get there.=–Train from King’s Cross. Great Northern Rly. =Nearest Station.=–Grantham (7 miles from Belvoir Castle). =Distance from London.=–105-1/4 miles. =Average Time.=–Varies between 2 and 2-3/4 hours.

                     1st      2nd     3rd
=Fares.=–Single  15s. 10d.   ...   8s. 9d.
          Return  31s.  8d.   ...  17s. 6d.

=Accommodation Obtainable.=–"Angel Hotel,” etc., at Grantham. =Alternative Route.=–None.

Belvoir Castle, the Leicestershire seat of the Duke of Rutland, stands on a lofty eminence, commanding a magnificent view over the rich vale of Belvoir. It was originally founded by Robert de Todeni, a Norman noble, and a standard-bearer to William the Conqueror. In the reign of Henry III. the property passed to Robert de Roos, and in the time of Henry VIII. to the family of Manners, who have held it ever since. The building suffered much damage during the Wars of the Roses and the Parliamentary Civil War. James I. was entertained there in 1603, on his way from Scotland to London, by Roger, the fifth Earl. In 1814, George IV., then Prince Regent, visited the castle, in commemoration of which one of the towers was named Regent Tower. In 1816, alterations were being carried out in the interior, under the direction of James Wyatt, the architect, when a fire broke out and almost entirely destroyed the castle. The picture gallery and the grand staircase perished utterly, and the damage was reckoned at £120,000. The final restoration was completed by Matthew Wyatt, who succeeded in building one of the finest palaces in the length and breadth of England. One of the features of the mansion is a magnificent picture gallery in which hang priceless works by Nicolas Poussin, Claude, Murillo, Reynolds, Gainsborough, and other old masters. The name “Belvoir” is derived from the magnificent prospects lying around it in all directions, the view extending over the level country for 30 miles; more than 170 towns and villages are visible within its horizon. The castle is situated in the midst of a fine sporting country, the Belvoir hounds being one of the finest packs in the country.

Near the mansion, and below it, are some remains of a priory also founded by the Norman owner, Robert de Todeni, about 1076. This priory was dedicated to St. Mary, and was annexed to the Abbey of St. Albans.

[Illustration: G.W. Wilson & Co. BELVOIR CASTLE.

It was originally founded by Robert de Todeni, a standard-bearer to William the Conqueror.]

Continue...

Preface  •  Ham House and Petersham  •  Walton-On-Thames (scold’s Bridle)  •  Harrow  •  Holwood House, Keston  •  Chigwell, Essex  •  Waltham Abbey and Cross  •  Downe  •  Epsom: Its Races and Its Salts  •  Epping Forest  •  Hampton Court  •  Rye House, Broxbourne  •  Hatfield House, Herts  •  Runnymead, the Signing of Magna Charta  •  The Oldest Brass in England  •  St. Albans  •  Stoke Poges Church, Bucks  •  Windsor  •  Jordans and William Penn  •  Knole House and Sevenoaks  •  Greenstead Church  •  Chalfont St. Giles  •  Westerham  •  Guildford, Surrey  •  Gad’s Hill  •  Ightham Mote, Kent  •  Penshurst  •  St. Michael’s Mount and Marazion  •  Rochester Cathedral  •  Tunbridge Wells  •  The Quintain Post At Offham and Malling Abbey  •  Eversley  •  Farnham, Surrey  •  Hindhead, Surrey  •  Shottermill  •  Penn’s Chapel At Thakeham, Sussex  •  Chawton the Home of Jane Austen  •  Selborne  •  Elstow  •  Lewes, Sussex  •  Bodiam Castle, Sussex  •  Colchester, Essex  •  Layer Marney  •  Battle Abbey  •  Cambridge  •  Arundel Castle  •  Olney, Bucks  •  Wantage and the Country of Alfred the Great  •  Canterbury and Its Cathedral  •  Reculvers  •  Oxford  •  Midhurst  •  Pevensey Castle  •  Savernake Forest  •  Ely Cathedral  •  St. Ives, Huntingdonshire  •  Winchelsea and Rye  •  Blenheim Palace  •  Peterborough Cathedral and Crowland  •  Peterborough  •  Southampton  •  Helmingham Hall  •  Stonehenge, Wiltshire  •  Netley Abbey  •  Salisbury and Its Cathedral  •  Sandwich, Kent  •  New Forest, Hampshire  •  Osborne House  •  Carisbrooke Castle  •  Lutterworth  •  Compton Wynyates  •  Kenilworth Castle  •  Belvoir Castle  •  Bath  •  Boston and the Pilgrim Fathers  •  Warwick  •  Gloucester and Its Cathedral  •  Norfolk Broads  •  Norwich Cathedral  •  Lichfield  •  Sherborne and Its Abbey Church  •  Newark  •  Wells and Its Cathedral  •  Stratford-On-Avon  •  Burnham Thorpe, Norfolk  •  Lulworth Cove, Dorsetshire  •  Corfe Castle  •  Lincoln and Its Cathedral  •  Somerset, the Birthplace of Tennyson  •  Glastonbury Abbey  •  Walsingham, Norfolk  •  Cheddar Caves, Cheddar, Somerset  •  Newstead Abbey  •  The Wessex of Thomas Hardy’s Romances  •  Tintern Abbey  •  Chesterfield, Derbyshire  •  Dukeries  •  Haddon Hall, Derbyshire  •  The Isle of Athelney, and Sedgemoor  •  Raglan Castle  •  Dovedale  •  Wellington and the Wrekin, Shropshire  •  Wroxeter and the Roman City of Uriconium, Salop  •  Buildwas Abbey, Shropshire  •  Ludlow and Its Castle  •  Shrewsbury  •  Buxton and the Peak District  •  Tewkesbury  •  Exeter and Its Cathedral  •  Market Drayton, Salop  •  Chester  •  Exmoor  •  Knutsford  •  Torr Steps On the Barle, Somerset  •  Cleeve Abbey, Somerset  •  Hawarden  •  York Minster  •  Coxwold, Yorkshire  •  Llangollen and Valle Crucis Abbey  •  Knaresborough, Dripping Well  •  Fountains Abbey  •  Ripon Cathedral  •  Dartmoor  •  Haworth  •  Rievaulx Abbey  •  Brixham, Devon  •  Conway Castle  •  The Doone Valley, Exmoor  •  Llandovery, South Wales  •  Dartmouth, Devon  •  Richmond, Yorkshire  •  Tintagel  •  Whitby  •  Carnarvon Castle  •  Plymouth  •  Durham and Its Cathedral  •  Raby Castle, Durham  •  Snowdon  •  Harlech Castle  •  Grasmere and Rydal Mount  •  The Lake District  •  St. Davids Cathedral  •  Furness Abbey, Lancashire  •  Monkwearmouth, Near Jarrow  •  The Isle of Man  •  Brantwood  •  Fowey  •  Hexham and Hadrian’s Wall  •  The Lake District  •  Keswick  •  Alnwick Castle  •  Lanercost Priory, Cumberland  •  Lanercost Priory and Stepping-Stones.]  •  St. Ives, Cornwall  •  Bamborough Castle, Northumberland

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What to see in England;: A guide to places of historic interest, natural beauty or literary association,
By Gordon Home
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