Fort Belvedere, Surrey
Fort Belvedere | |
---|---|
Location | Windsor Great Park, Surrey, England |
Coordinates | 51°24′15.96″N 0°36′44.84″W / 51.4044333°N 0.6124556°W |
Built | 1750–55, 1828 |
Architect | Jeffry Wyatville |
Architectural style(s) | Gothic Revival |
Governing body | Leasehold privately held by the Weston family, freehold owned by the Crown Estate |
Listed Building – Grade II* | |
Official name | Fort Belvedere |
Designated | 17 November 1986[1] |
Reference no. | 1294245 |
Fort Belvedere (originally Shrubs Hill Tower) is a
The fort was occupied by numerous members of the British royal family and associated personages from 1750 to 1976. From 1929 Fort Belvedere was the home of Edward, Prince of Wales, who greatly renovated the house and grounds, and it was the site of his abdication as King Edward VIII in 1936. The property remains part of the Crown Estate, is home to private tenants and is not open to the public.
Location
The Fort Belvedere estate is situated in the extreme south end of Windsor Great Park in the parish of Egham, in the Borough of Runnymede in Surrey. The closest town to the fort is Sunningdale in Berkshire. The fort is situated on Shrub's Hill and overlooks Virginia Water. The fort is 22 miles (35 km) from London, and Edward, Prince of Wales, would boast of being able to see London's St Paul's Cathedral "through a spy-glass" from the fort in the 1930s.
The fort's acquired name of 'Belvedere' (from Italian: 'beautiful view') reflects its status as a vantage point and as an 'eye-catcher' for the park.[2]
Early history
Fort Belvedere was built 1750–1755, by
It was, at first, merely a folly. It was used as a summer-house, and seven counties could be seen, as now, from the top of the flagstaff tower. The triangular turreted structure was set amid a dense plantation of trees and overlooked Virginia Water, a man-made body of water constructed by Thomas and Paul Sandby at the behest of the Duke.
Sir
By 1910 the fort was occupied as a grace and favour residence by Sir Malcolm Murray, the Comptroller to Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn. The Duke was the owner of nearby Bagshot Park.[6] The fort was extended with a new service wing and entrance porch in 1911–12, which was subsequently demolished.[6] The dining and drawing rooms were also extended and new entrance lodges were built.[6] After the departure of Murray, the fort was described as suffering from "dust inches deep, splintered doors and sagging floors" in 1929.[6]
The ruins in the grounds can be seen from the shore of Virginia Water and are part of an ancient temple brought from Leptis Magna near Tripoli. The ruins are located between the south shore and Blacknest Road close to the junction with the A30 London Road and Wentworth Drive.
Edward VIII
In 1929, the building became vacant, and was given to
During Edward's occupancy, extensive renovation of the interior and grounds was carried out.
I came to love the Fort as I loved no other material thing – perhaps because it was so much my own creation. – Edward, Duke of Windsor[7]
He built a swimming pool at the fort between 1931 and 1932, that replaced an old lily pond, and added a tennis court and developed stables in the grounds of the fort.
The relationship between Edward and
Cabinet Office files released in 2013 revealed that during December 1936, the Home Secretary, Sir John Simon, had ordered the General Post Office to intercept Edward's telephone communications between the fort and the European continent.[16] Government officials were caused further alarm by Edward's habit of leaving his official "red boxes" unguarded around the fort.[17]
Following opposition to the potential of Edward's marriage to
Edward continued to pay for the gardeners, insurance and upkeep of the fort in the initial years following his abdication, because it was his wish that he would return there. His possessions from the fort were transferred to the Château de la Croë in the south of France (where he had named the sitting room "The Belvedere") in the spring of 1938, but many were damaged in transit. Edward was informed in March 1940 that the fort was no longer in his possession as his warrant to occupy the grace and favour residence had expired on the termination of his reign and was not to be renewed by the present sovereign, his brother, now George VI. Edward was greatly upset by this, writing in 1940 that "It is crystal clear that this proposed reserving of the Fort by the use of Crown Lands is nothing more than a piece of bluff, and the first excuse that the king has been able to find to deprive me of my right to occupy the place should I ever desire to do so ..." Edward believed that the incident was an example of his 'brother's failure to keep his word to me' after the fort had apparently been reserved for him if he should reside once more in England.[13]
In 1977 the fort was used extensively for the filming of Edward & Mrs. Simpson, an ITV serialisation of Edward and Wallis's relationship.
Post abdication
Fort Belvedere was largely unoccupied during the 20 years following Edward's abdication.
Gerald and Angela Lascelles
In 1953 it was announced that the fort was to be available on a long
1976 sale of the lease
The financial pressure following his divorce caused Gerald Lascelles to put his 78-year remainder of the lease up for sale through estate agents Savills in 1976.[22] Offers for the lease above £200,000 were invited.[22] An advertisement for Fort Belvedere's lease listed the features of the fort as "Hexagonal central hall, fine drawing room, dining room, library, compact domestic quarters, 6 bedrooms, 5 bathrooms, arranged mainly in suites" and the expanse of the estate as "about 59 acres, of which 25 acres is freehold woodland".[23] Three cottages were also included in the lease with the swimming pool and tennis court.[23] The lease was eventually acquired by a son of the Emir of Dubai in 1976.[13]
Galen and Hilary Weston
From the early 1980s until his death in 2021, the lease on Fort Belvedere has been held by the late Canadian billionaire retail magnate Galen Weston and his wife, Hilary.[24][25] It continues to be occupied by his family. The Westons have carried out extensive works on the fort, constructing a polo stud and doubling the size of the lake in the grounds.[26]
The Westons have a close relationship with the
The Crown Estate retains ownership of the freehold, as the property is still part of the Great Park.
Gardens
The grounds of Fort Belvedere are about a hundred acres in size and include forests and a lake. The gardens of Fort Belvedere,
Edward said of the fort that "By the time I came upon it, it had become a pseudo-Gothic hodge-podge. A profusion of yew trees kept one side of the house in perpetual shadow, staining the wall with green acidulous mould. But the half-buried beauty of the place leaped to my eye."[7]
Edward's subsequent passion for landscaping and horticulture briefly eclipsed golf and hunting in his affections,[19] and he would often get his weekend guests, including his brother Bertie, the future George VI, to assist him in the landscaping of the fort.[19] The garden designer Norah Lindsay also worked on the fort's garden at the behest of Edward, he would later describe how her "unusual use of roses in the herbaceous border" had justified her payment.[31] Edward planted roses and irises along the walls of the battlement.[7] Prime Minister Baldwin complimented Edward on the beauty of the garden; commenting on the "silvery radiance of the birch trees and the delicacy of the autumn tints" in late 1936.[13] Edward also mowed hay on the fort's estate in the summer months and built a rock garden with cascading water pumped from Virginia Water.[7]
The Westons have carried out substantial landscaping at the fort, and recruited Rosemary Verey to help with the design of the gardens at Fort Belvedere in the early 1980s.[32] Verey's designs for the rose garden and the 120-foot-long borders along the battlement remain, and have been reworked and maintained by garden designer Tom Stuart-Smith.[32]
Cannon
Thirty-one brass cannon were moved to the north-facing crenelated terrace of the fort from nearby Cumberland Lodge in the early 19th century.[6] The cannon were made by Andrew Schalch at the Royal Brass Foundry in Woolwich in 1729–1749.[5] The cannon were fired for George IV's birthdays and other royal birthdays until 1907, with the cannon fire being answered by a miniature frigate situated on Virginia Water in the early years of their operation.[5] The last Bombardier situated at the fort was Master Gunner Turner of the Royal Artillery.[5] The Bombardier was entrusted with the care of the guns and lived in Bombardier's Cottage, connected to the main house by an archway. The cannon would have been melted down as part of the war effort in 1943 had it not been for the intervention of the head of the Tower Armoury, J. G. Mann.[4] Four guns were removed from the terrace in 1930 and placed in two pairs at the entrances to the fort.[6]
Derivative buildings
Shrubs Hill Tower inspired the building of similar triangular tower follies on various large estates, including:
- Haldon Belvedere, also known as Lawrence Tower (1788), Haldon House, near Exeter, Devon, built by Sir Robert Palk, 1st Baronet (1717–1798), in memory of his friend and patron General Stringer Lawrence (1697–1775).[33]
- Powderham Belvedere (1773) at Powderham Castle, near Exeter, Devon, built by the Earl of Devon.[34]
References
- ^ a b Historic England. "Fort Belvedere (1294245)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 24 July 2014.
- ^ a b Roberts 1997, p. 449.
- ^ See image of 1780 engraving
- ^ a b c Roberts 1997, p. 459.
- ^ a b c d Roberts 1997, p. 453.
- ^ a b c d e f Roberts 1997, p. 455.
- ^ ISSN 0024-3019.
- ^ ISSN 0024-3019.
- ^ a b c d e f g Aslet 2013, p. 179.
- ISBN 978-0-09-954722-8.
- ^ UK Retail Price Index inflation figures are based on data from Clark, Gregory (2017). "The Annual RPI and Average Earnings for Britain, 1209 to Present (New Series)". MeasuringWorth. Retrieved 11 June 2022.
- ^ "Edward VIII: Abdication timeline". BBC News Online. 29 January 2003. Retrieved 24 July 2014.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-349-00108-1.
- ^ Patmore, Derek. Private History: An Autobiography. Jonathan Cape. 1960. page 246.
- ^ a b c Aslet 2013, p. 180.
- ^ Norton-Taylor, Richard (23 May 2013). "Ministers ordered bugging of King Edward VIII's phones, records reveal". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 23 May 2013.
- ISBN 978-0-85773-128-9.
- ^ "No. 34350". The London Gazette. 15 December 1936. p. 8117.
- ^ a b c Aslet 2013, p. 180
- ^ a b c "Three designs for the interior of Fort Belvedere including: The Hall; and Two Views of the Queen's Bedroom". Christie's. Retrieved 21 July 2014.
- ^ a b c "Obituary: Stanley Peters". The Daily Telegraph. London. 20 November 2004. Retrieved 24 July 2014.
- ^ a b Our Estates Correspondent. "Buyer is sought for historic Fort Belvedere". The Times. London, 4 June 1976. pg. 5.
- ^ a b "Property." The Times. London. 23 June 1976. pg. 25.
- ^ Eden, Richard. "Selfridges boss Galen Weston strengthens his fort". The Daily Telegraph. London. Archived from the original on 18 December 2011.
- ISBN 978-1-4050-4859-0.
- ^ London Evening Standard. Retrieved 8 April 2022.
- ISBN 978-0-7864-8980-0.
- ^ Poisson, Jayme (30 April 2012). "Toronto's Hilary Weston dubbed richest person in Ireland — for the fourth year in a row". Toronto Star. Retrieved 8 April 2022.
- ^ "I think I just went to the greatest ball in history". The Spectator. 4 July 2014. Retrieved 24 July 2014.
- ^ Historic England, "The Royal Estate Windsor: Virginia Water (Including Fort Belvedere and the Clockcase) (1001177)", National Heritage List for England, retrieved 10 February 2016
- ^ Lacey, Stephen (7 December 2007). "Norah Lindsay: a begetter of beauty". The Daily Telegraph. London. Retrieved 7 April 2022.
- ^ ISBN 978-1-56792-450-3.
- ^ Cherry & Pevsner 1989, p. 342.
- ^ Cherry & Pevsner 1989, p. 695.
Book sources
- Roberts, Jane (1997). Royal Landscape: The Gardens and Parks of Windsor. Yale University Press. ISBN 978-0-300-07079-8.
- Aslet, Clive (2013). An Exuberant Catalogue of Dreams: The Americans who Revived the Country House in Britain. Aurum Press. ISBN 978-1-78131-094-6.
- ISBN 0-14-071050-7.