Belsay Estate

The following is from the Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest. For the most up-to-date Register entry, please visit The National Heritage List for England (NHLE):

Because of the complexity of this site, the user is advised to consult the references given below for more detailed accounts. Many listed buildings exist within the site, not all of which have been referred to here. Descriptions of these are to be found in the List of Buildings of Special Architectural or Historic Interest produced by the Department of Culture, Media and Sport.

Location, Area, Boundaries, Landform and Setting

Belsay Hall lies 23 km north-west of Newcastle upon Tyne, to the south and west of the A696, Ponteland to Jedburgh road, and situated in a rural stretch of Northumberland. Belsay village lines the east side of the A696 with the park abutting the road's west side. This forms the wooded north-east corner of the park which extends south-westwards to the B6309.

Within the 275 ha park, Raven's Heugh and Bantam Hill are prominent landmarks affording long views out over the Blyth Valley to the east and to the north-west towards the Cheviot Hills. These higher areas contrast with the relatively flat, lower-lying areas extending eastwards from Belsay Castle and Belsay Hall to Belsay village. The park, incorporating these contrasting zones of high and low-lying land, is cut by two water courses, the Coal Burn on its northern boundary and Gallow Burn which flows from the south-west.

Entrances and Approaches

The main approach into the park is from Belsay village where an entrance leads 1km westwards from the Smithy along a wooded drive, past Belsay Buildings. The drive then turns northwards to the north of Hall Park, and past the Fish Pond and Hall Field Lodge, said to have been the prototype of the façade for the Hall (Monck l810-17, listed grade II). The drive then leads to the north-east front of Belsay Hall by way of the North Lodge (Monck early C19, listed grade II). Bantam Wood, to the west of the Hall and Castle, covers the northern slopes of Bantam Hill, with areas of the earlier deer park to its west and south-west. Bantam Hill is surmounted by a prehistoric promontory fort and medieval watch tower (both scheduled ancient monuments) and the remains of Bantam Folly (1757, listed grade II).

Principal Building

The English Heritage web site state that "The Belsay that visitors see today comprises three distinct but related elements: a medieval castle that was enlarged in the early 17th century, a Greek Revival mansion that superseded it as a family residence at the beginning of the 19th century, and an outstanding garden linking the two buildings. Much of this garden was created within the quarries that supplied the stone for the new house".

Belsay Hall, (Monck and John Dobson 1810-17, listed grade I) is in Greek Doric style and, set on a stylobate of two steps, lies at the very centre of the landscape park. The main entrance on the east side has a recessed three-bay centre with giant columns, and a giant entablature with boldly projecting cornice runs full length along the east façade. A simple, grassed turning circle stands at the entrance. The English heritage website states that it is:

"A masterpiece in the Greek Revival style, and one of the earliest examples of its use in domestic architecture in England....The house, built of beautifully dressed sandstone blocks, is exactly 100 feet (30 metres) square and like a Greek temple sits on a crepidoma, or stepped plinth. The two massive Doric columns supporting the inset portico are copied from an ancient temple in Athens – the Theseion".

"Despite its plain façade, the hall has a comfortable interior, arranged round the imposing central two-storey Pillar Hall, a layout inspired by the Roman villa as no suitable Greek precedent existed. The unplastered stone walls and coffered ceiling of the entrance hall create the impression of entering an ancient temple, and the decorative scheme in the main reception rooms is unashamedly Greek. The library boasts a Greek Revival frieze above bookcases, whose design was based on measurements Sir Charles had taken from the Erechttheion, a temple on the Acropolis in Athens.....Work was completed towards the end of 1817".

Historic England describes Belsay Castle as:

"Towerhouse with attached house. c.1370, attached house added 1614, possibly around earlier core, by Thomas Middleton and Dorothy, his wife. Ruined fragments of early C18 west wing attached to left".

"Squared stone and ashlar. Tower has lead roof, house is roofless. Tower of 3 storeys stepped in at first floor. ...Attached to north side of tower is a 2-storey barn, altered C18 and C19 but largely of medieval masonry. It has, on east side, a blocked 2-light mullioned window and several blocked small C16 windows; on the west side, five C18 bays with doorway in 4th bay; all openings have raised surrounds and are now boarded up".

Belsay Manor House (C 13th) was an extension of the castle, currently used for holiday letting .

Gardens and Pleasure Grounds

The 14.5 ha gardens at Belsay form the core of the C19 landscape set out around Belsay Hall and Belsay Castle to the west.

The gardens, laid out by Sir Charles Monck, survive to the south and west of the Hall and are largely unchanged apart from the Winter Garden and Yew Garden, inserted into Monck's landscape structure by Sir Arthur Middleton. The Terraced Gardens (Monck 1810-17, listed grade II) descend the slopes south of the Hall. The Upper Terrace extends as lawn immediately along the south front and around the west front. On the south it is connected to the Lower Terrace by two flights of steps. The Lower Terrace has three central parterre beds where the planting character has been restored to follow Sir Arthur Middleton's plant list of 1923. The ha-ha wall with arched deer shelters beneath (Monck 1810-17, listed grade II) affords an open view across to the lake at Crag Wood to the south. The Rhododendron Garden (1ha) lies on the north-west tip of Crag Lake and many of its mid C19 to early C20 specimens survive.

The Terraces are located on the south side of Belsay Hall. The upper terrace has grass lawns and provides a view of the lake, which is not available on the lower terrace. The lower terrace is reached by steps. It has a formal layout of gravel paths with deep borders and raised beds, edged with stone kerbs. The garden is planted with shrubs and herbaceous perennials. It has been partially reconstructed although many of the original plants remain.

The Winter Garden lies west of Belsay Hall. The borders are planted with a mixture of heathers and flowering shrubs. To the left of the borders are the sunken croquet lawns. Beyond these lawns is a large stone wall with Greek Revival detailing. This provides shelter and is covered in climbing plants during the summer months.

The Yew Garden lies to the south-west of the house. It features clipped yew hedges with topiary finials and formal flowerbeds.

The Quarry Garden is located west of the walled garden and Terrace Gardens and leads to the castle ruins. The quarry was created because of the practical need for stone to build Belsay Hall, but it was excavated to a plan by Sir Charles Monck to create a dramatic canyon. It is enhanced by the planting of yews and pines along the top of the northern cliff and rhododendrons on the canyon floor. Sir Arthur Middleton extended the quarry west, planting an area with native species to convey how the quarry looked before the introduction of exotics.

The West Quarry has been reinstated (1990s) in line with the original picturesque concept as a picturesque landscape feature. This contrasts with the East Quarry, which retains the later, 'gardenesque' influences of Sir Arthur's planting.

To the north of the Quarry lie Belsay Castle, Manor House, and South Castle Field. The Castle and Manor House lie within a ha-ha with grazed paddocks beyond.

Kitchen Garden

The walled kitchen garden (developed by Sir Charles Monck in the early 19th century) lies directly to the north-west of Belsay Hall and the Stables and retains its hot-wall and a significant number of early to mid C19 built features relating to the walled garden.

Park

Belsay Deer Park was associated with Belsay castle. The area became part of the landscape park when Belsay Hall was created.

Illustrations

• S and N Buck, The South View of Belso Castle, in Northumberland, 1728 (reproduced in Hewlings and Anderton 1994)

Archival items

• B Hackett, Some Northumberland Landscapes of the English School Pt II, (1972), pp 7-9 (ZM1.S.39), (Northumberland Record Office)
• The Middleton Papers are held at the Northumberland Record Office and include: Register of Trees and Shrubs in the Grounds of Belsay, 1852-4 (ZM1 S.36); Estate notes and J Robson Survey (ZM1 S.38-39, ZM1 S.70-72 including folders).

Description written: January 2001

Register Inspector: KC

Edited: June 2003