Belton House
Encyclopedia
Belton House is a Grade I listed country house
in Belton
near Grantham
, Lincolnshire
, England
. The mansion is surrounded by formal gardens and a series of avenues leading to follies
within a larger wooded park
. Belton has been described as a compilation of all that is finest of Carolean
architecture, the only truly vernacular
style of architecture that England had produced since the Tudor period
. The house has also been described as the most complete example of a typical English country house; the claim has even been made that Belton's principal facade was the inspiration for the modern British motorway signs which give directions to stately home
s. Only Brympton d'Evercy
has been similarly lauded as the perfect English country house.
For three hundred years, Belton House was the seat of the Brownlow and Cust family, who had first acquired land in the area in the late 16th century. Between 1685 and 1688 Sir John Brownlow and his wife had the present mansion built. Despite great wealth they chose to build a modest country house rather than a grand contemporary Baroque
palace. The contemporary, if provincial, Carolean style was the selected choice of design. However, the new house was fitted with the latest innovation
s such as sash window
s for the principal rooms, and more importantly completely separate areas for the staff. As the Brownlows rose from baronet
s to baron
s upward to earl
s and then once again became barons, successive generations made changes to the interior of the house which reflected their changing social position and tastes, yet the fabric and design of the house changed little.
Following World War I
(a period when the Machine Gun Corps
was based in the park), the Brownlows, like many of their peer
s, were faced with mounting financial problems. In 1984 they gave the house away—complete with most of its contents. The recipients of their gift, the National Trust
, today fully open Belton to the public. It is in a good state of repair and visited by many thousands of tourists each year.
The Brownlow family, a dynasty of lawyer
s, began accumulating land in the Belton area from approximately 1598. In 1609 they acquired the reversion
of the manor
of Belton itself from the Pakenham family, who finally sold the manor house to Sir John Brownlow I in 1619. The old house was situated near the church in the garden of the present house and remained largely unoccupied, since the family preferred their other houses elsewhere. John Brownlow had married an heiress but was childless. He became attached to two of his more distant blood relations: a great-nephew, also called John Brownlow, and a great-niece, Alice Sherard. The two cousins married each other in 1676 when both were aged 16; three years later, the couple inherited the Brownlow estates from their great-uncle together with an income of £
9,000 per annum (about £ in present day terms) and £20,000 in cash (equivalent to about £ as of now). They immediately bought a town house in the newly fashionable Southampton Square
in Bloomsbury
, and decided to build a new country house at Belton.
Work on the new house began in 1685. The architect thought to have been responsible for the initial design is William Winde
, although the house has also been attributed to Sir Christopher Wren
, while others believe the design to be so similar to Roger Pratt's Clarendon House
, London, that it could have been the work of any talented draughtsman. The assumption popular today, that Winde was the architect, is based on the stylistic similarity between Belton and Coombe Abbey
, which was remodelled by Winde between 1682 and 1685. Further evidence is a letter dated 1690, in which Winde recommends a plasterer
who worked at Belton to another of his patrons.
Whoever the architect, Belton follows closely the design of Clarendon House, completed in 1667. This great London town house (demolished circa 1683) has been one of the most admired buildings of its era due to "its elegant symmetry and confident and common-sensical design". Sir John Summerson
described Clarendon House as "the most influential house of its time among those who aimed at the grand manner" and Belton as "much the finest surviving example of its class". John and Alice Brownlow assembled one of the finest teams of craftsmen available at the time to work on the project. This dream team was headed by the master mason
William Stanton
who oversaw the project. His second in command, John Thompson, had worked with Sir Christopher Wren on several of the latter's London churches, while the chief joiner
John Sturges had worked at Chatsworth
under William Talman
. The wrought-ironworker
John Warren worked under Stanton at Denham Place, Buckinghamshire
, and the fine wrought iron gates and overthrow
at Belton may be his. Thus so competent were the builders of Belton that Winde may have done little more than provide the original plans and drawings, leaving the interpretation to the on-site craftsmen. This theory is further demonstrated by the external appearance of the adjoining stable block. More provincial, and less masterful in proportion, it is known to have been entirely the work of Stanton.
rule, a great flourishing and development in both architecture and the arts began after the restoration of the monarchy
in 1660. Royalist
exiles and wealthy young men who made the Grand Tour
, returned home with new ideas—often extravagant variations on classical themes. This was, for England, the dawn of the Baroque
era. The new wave of architects such as Roger Pratt, John Webb, and Sir Christopher Wren
were not just building vast edifices in Renaissance-inspired styles, but also transforming existing older houses. Representative of the utilisation of older houses is Coleshill House in Berkshire
, where Pratt transformed the medieval, but now redundant, great hall into a classically inspired entrance hall complete with an imperial staircase
. Great Halls were considered redundant now that employers wished to live separately from their servants, and no longer ate with them in a Great Hall. All evidence and odours of cooking and staff were banished from the principal parts of the house. Employers began to live in fine airy rooms, above the ground floor, with privacy from their servants, who were now confined, unless required, to specifically delegated areas—often the ground and uppermost attic floors. This was a period of great social change in British history, and the educated prided themselves on enlightenment and elegance. While Belton is not in the Baroque style, it displays all the traits typical of the new tendencies.
Belton was designed in the restrained almost Palladian-inspired architecture of the time immediately before the full emergence in England of the ornate Baroque. The general form this architecture took was of severely symmetrical, often rectangular houses, with a pediment
over the central bays. This almost rigid concept was to influence the design of innumerable houses, including Belton. Later to be known as the Carolean
style (from "Carolus," the Latin name for the reigning monarch Charles II
), it was popular with the minor aristocracy
and gentry
for both their town and country houses until long after Charles II's death.
Belton is faced with the local Ancaster stone
, with a lighter ashlar
from Ketton
for the quoining
. The "H"-shaped plan was a design which became popular in the late Elizabethan period. However, by the late 16th century, domestic architecture had evolved further than the "one room deep" ranges of the earlier "H" plan houses, such as Montacute House
. The new layout placed rooms back to back, creating a house two rooms deep. This became known as "double pile". As at Belton, this permitted rooms to be not just better lit and heated but also better accessed and related to each other, and with the greatest advantage of all—greater privacy. On the construction side, the double room depth allowed the house to be more compact and under one, more easily constructed, roof, thus lowering building costs. Houses now had the appearance of being more solid, with more than just one or two facades.
s consisting of a withdrawing room, dressing room, and bedroom proceeding from either side of a central saloon
or hall. These rooms were permanently reserved for use by a high ranking guest, such as a visiting monarch. While Belton does have a saloon at its centre, enfilades
of state rooms of lessening grandeur do not flank it. The possible reason for this unusual layout is that, while the Brownlows possessed great wealth, their title was only a baronetcy, and their fortune was barely a century old. They would have been regarded as gentry
, not aristocracy
. As a result, building a suite of state rooms would have been in hope rather than anticipation of a royal guest. However, the lack of a fashionable and formal suite of state apartments coupled with the Brownlows' lack of social credentials did not prevent a visit from King William III
to the newly completed house in 1695. The King occupied the "Best bedchamber", a large room with an adjoining closet, directly above the saloon, that led directly from the second floor Great Dining Chamber.
This design followed the older style of having reception rooms and bedrooms scattered over the two main floors. The layout used followed Roger Pratt's theory that guest and family rooms should be quite separate. As a consequence of this philosophy, the family occupied the rooms on the first and second floors of the west and east wings, with the state rooms in the centre. The great staircase, designed to be grand and imposing, rose to the east side of the house, and formed part of the guest's state route from the Hall and Saloon on the first floor to the principal dining room and bedroom on the second. This older concept is more clearly exemplified at the Elizabethan Hardwick Hall
in neighbouring Derbyshire
.
The principal entrance hall, reception and family bedrooms were placed on the first floor above a low semi-basement
containing service rooms. The two principal entrances to the mansion in the centre of both the north and south facades were accessed by external staircases, originally a single broad flight on the north side and a double staircase on the south. These staircases have since been replaced by simpler designs.
The second floor has a matching fenestration, with windows of equal value to those on the first floor below. The very latest innovation, sash window
s, was used on both floors. The semi-basement and attic
storey used the more old-fashioned mullion
ed and transom
ed windows, indicating the lower status of the occupants of these floors. It was clearly emphasised from without that the two main floors of the house were purely for state and family use, and the staff and service areas were confined to the semi-basement and attic floors. This concept of keeping staff and domestic matters out of sight (when not required) was relatively new and had first been employed by Pratt in the design of Coleshill House in Berkshire. The contemporary social commentator of the day Roger North
lauded back stairs, of which Belton has two examples (5 and 14 on plan), as one of the most important inventions of his day.
The principal room is the large Marble Hall (1) at the centre of the south front; this hall is the beginning of a grand procession of rooms, and corresponds to the former Great Parlour or Saloon
(9) on the north front. The Marble Hall is flanked by the former Little Parlour (11, now the Tapestry Room) and the Great Staircase (2), while the Saloon is flanked by two withdrawing rooms (8, 10). The bedrooms are arranged in individual suites on both floors of the two wings (3, etc.) that flank the state centre of the house. The main staircase, set to one side of the Marble Hall, is one of the few things at Belton which is asymmetrically placed. It has a robust plaster-work ceiling incorporating the Brownlow crest by the London plasterer Edward Goudge, "now looked on as ye best master in England in his profession," William Winde reported in 1690.
Bodily and spiritual needs were balanced symmetrically within the mansion: the kitchen (16) and the chapel (7) were both large two-storied halls, rising from the semi-basement to the first floor. This design not only provided a great and lofty space, but also allowed the servants to worship in the chapel without leaving the service floor, while their employers would worship from a private gallery, complete with fireplace, overlooking the chapel on the first floor.
One of the most Carolean
features of the house is the balustrade
and cupola
surmounting the roof, another element introduced to English architecture by Roger Pratt. The cupola at Belton does not light a lofty domed hall, as is often the case in Europe, but houses a staircase which gives access to a large viewing platform on top of a lead roof, concealed from the ground by the balustrade which tops the more conventional and visible hipped roof. From this vantage point, the owners of Belton could admire the perfect symmetry of their avenues and formal gardens spreading from the house. This feature of the house was removed by the architect James Wyatt
when he modernised the house in the 18th century. It was restored to its original form in the 1870s by the 3rd Earl Brownlow.
Some of Belton's many rooms have been altered over the last 300 years both in use and design. One of the principal rooms, the Marble Hall (1), the first of the large reception rooms, serves as an entrance hall from the south entrance, and takes its name from a chequer board patterned floor of black and white marble tiles. By the time of Belton's conception, the great hall
was no longer a place for the household to eat, but intended as a grand entrance to the house. The hall was originally hung with 28 portraits of Kings, Queens, and Emperors, from William the Conqueror to William III
, intended to give the house an air of dynastic importance. The less numerous and far newer Brownlow family portraits were originally hung in the Great Dining Room immediately above. The room is fully panelled, and parts of the panelling contain lime wood
embellishments attributed to Grinling Gibbons
. In the early 19th century, this room, and some others, were re-modelled by Jeffry Wyatville, who in addition to graining and painting the panelling to imitate oak
inserted fake doors in the panelling to balance real doors already in place.
The second of the principal reception rooms, the Saloon (9), opens from the Marble Hall. This large panelled room is on an axis to the avenues of the formal north gardens. Originally known as the Great Parlour, this has always been the chief reception room of the house. It retains its original marble fireplace and has an ornate plaster ceiling which is a Victorian
copy of the original ceiling by the Carolean plaster
er Edward Goudge. The centrepiece of the room is a large Aubusson
carpet made in 1839 for the 1st Earl Brownlow
.
Either side of the Saloon are two smaller drawing rooms (8, 10), which would originally have served as private withdrawing rooms from the more public activities which would have taken place in the Marble Hall and Saloon. One of these rooms, now called the Tyrconnel Room (10), was transformed into the principal or state bedroom during the occupancy of Lord Tyrconnel
in an attempt to create a more fashionable suite of Baroque state rooms on the first floor. After his death in 1754, it became a Billiard Room, until the 3rd Earl Brownlow
had it refurnished more than a century later. Unusually, the floor is painted with the family arms and crest. The date of the floor is not known for certain but the early nineteenth century has been suggested.
The final large reception room on the first floor is the Hondecoeter Room (16), so named because of the three huge oil paintings by Melchior d'Hondecoeter
(1636–1695), depicting scenes of birds in courtyards, which are fitted into the neo-Carolean panelling. The panelling was introduced to the room by the 3rd Earl Brownlow in 1876, when it was furnished as the principal dining room of the mansion. The room was initially created as a library in 1808 from the upper part of the earlier kitchen which had originally risen two stories. The West staircase (14) was originally a service stairs, and would have been plainer in decor, but by the late nineteenth century it was in regular use by the family.
Either side of the Marble Hall, lie the Great Staircase (2) and the Tapestry Room (11), which contains a collection of early eighteenth century Mortlake tapestries
. The Great Staircase to the east of the Marble Hall is unusually placed at Belton, as in a house of this period one would expect to find the staircase in the hall. The stairs rise in three flights around the west, north, and east walls to the former Great Dining Room above the Marble Hall. Thus the staircase served as an important state procession link between the three principal reception rooms of the house. The Great Dining Room, now the Library, has been greatly altered and all traces of Carolean decoration removed, first by James Wyatt
in 1778 when it was transformed into a drawing room with a vaulted ceiling, and again in 1876, when its use was again changed, this time to a library. The room contains some 6000 volumes, a superb example of book collecting over 350 years. When Lord Tyrconnel died in 1754 a catalogue of his library identified almost 2,300 books. Almost all of these remain in the Belton library today. Rupert Gunnis
attributed the carved marble chimneypiece depicting two Roman goddesses to Sir Richard Westmacott
.
Leading from the Library is the Queen's Room, the former "Best Bed Chamber". This panelled room was redecorated in 1841 for the visit of Queen Adelaide
, widow of William IV
, when its former function as a state bedroom was resurrected. It contains the great canopied Rococo
-style bed in which the Queen slept, complete with the royal monogram
"AR" (Adelaide Regina) embroidered
on the bedhead. Other rooms on the second floor are mostly bedrooms, which include the Chinese Room (directly above the Tyrconnel Room) with its original hand painted 18th century Chinese wallpaper, the Yellow Room (directly above the Blue Room), and the Windsor Bedroom (directly above the School Room), so called following its use by King Edward VIII of the United Kingdom
, who became the Duke of Windsor
after the abdication crisis of 1936
. Edward visited Belton in the 1930s with his mistress Wallis Simpson, and the 6th Baron Brownlow
was heavily involved in the crisis thanks to his position as the King's Lord-in-waiting
. Today, Belton has a permanent exhibition devoted to that event. Another royal visitor, Charles, Prince of Wales
, also used the room frequently while a cadet at nearby RAF Cranwell
.
s (4 km²) to transform into a park, with a grant to keep deer. There is evidence to suggest that some of this area had been a park since at least 1580. The park was laid out with avenues, including the still surviving Eastern Avenue which led east from the house. Brownlow also had a large pond or lake dug and planted 21,400 ash trees, 9,500 oak trees, and 614 fruit trees. It is thought that William Winde may have advised on the layout of the gardens. Closer to the house were a series of more formal gardens, including canal ponds bordered by plantations containing symmetrical walks resembling the "rond-points" (circular clearings in a garden from which straight paths radiate) introduced by the landscape gardener André Le Nôtre
. By the end of the eighteenth century, these formal parterre
s had been removed and the canal ponds filled in.
Sir John Brownlow was succeeded at Belton by his brother, who was content to permit Brownlow's widow, Alice, to remain in occupation. She spent the remainder of her life at Belton arranging advantageous marriages for her five daughters. On her death in 1721, the house passed to her husband's nephew (and her son-in-law) Sir John Brownlow III (later Viscount Tyrconnel)
. Tyrconnel, a dilettante of no great intellect, was responsible for many of the architectural features which survive in the park and garden. Between 1742 and 1751, a series of follies
, including a Gothic
ruin, a cascade, and a prospect or belvedere
known as the Belmount Tower, were constructed for him. When built the tower had two small wings flanking each side, since removed.
, the son of previous owner Viscount Tyrconnel's widowed sister. Cust was a distinguished politician active during the politically turbulent 1760s, and his monument at Belton blames his death at the age of 51 to the "unusual fatigues of his office". His heir
was created Lord Brownlow in 1776, and Belton was owned by successive Lords Brownlow for the next 200 years.
In the last three decades of the 19th century the 3rd Earl Brownlow spent much time and money restoring Belton, and consequently the house entered the 20th century in a good state of repair and preservation. However, the 20th century was to present Belton and its estate with serious problems. These included the introduction of income tax
and death duties which would leave the finances of the Brownlow family severely depleted.
At the beginning of World War I
, like many other British landowners, the 3rd Earl Brownlow offered his house and park to the Government for war service. The offer was accepted, and the largest and most drastic changes were made in the park since the time of Viscount Tyrconnel's folly building. In 1915, the home depôt and training ground of the Machine Gun Corps
were established in the southern part of Belton park. The lie of the land there, where the River Witham
passes between the Lower Lincolnshire Limestone and the Upper Lias mudstone, lent itself to the development of the necessary firing ranges close to good communications by way of the Great North Road and the East Coast main line railway station at Grantham
. The depôt was closed in 1919, the site cleared and the land restored to Lord Brownlow in 1920. Little sign of the Machine Gun Corps's stay remains in the park, but plaques and inscriptions can be followed from the south gate of Belton park to the memorial gate on the way from there to the town centre and in the north aisle of Grantham parish church.
Belton again saw war service during World War II
. From 1942, part of the Royal Air Force Regiment was housed in nissen hut
s at the park in a facility named RAF Belton Park
. The RAF Regiment had its headquarters at nearby RAF Alma Park
, with additional accommodation at nearby RAF Folkingham
and RAF North Witham
airfields.
The years following World War I were severely testing for the owners of many great estates. The staff both indoor and outdoor, which had previously been plentiful, essential, and cheap, were now in short supply. Millions of men had left private service to join the army, and very few returned. Female domestic staff had been called up for war service in factories, and now realised there was an easier and better paid existence outside of the gates of the great country houses. With both fortunes and staff depleted many owners of country houses now fought a losing battle to retain them.
Belton House remained relatively untouched during this period, largely owing to the failing fortunes of the Brownlow family. The 3rd Earl Brownlow and his Countess lived for only a few months of the year at Belton, where they came for the fox-hunting, and divided the remainder of their time between their house in London and Ashridge
, another country house in Hertfordshire
. Ashridge, a huge Gothic revival pile, had come to the Brownlows in the 19th century through the Egerton family
. It was sold, with its art collection and furnishings, to pay the death duties arising on the death of the 3rd Earl in 1921. Hence Belton became the Brownlow's sole country home. Further death duties were incurred in 1927 on the death of the 3rd Earl's successor, his second cousin Adelbert Cust, 5th Baron Brownlow.
In the ensuing period many thousands of country houses of great architectural value were demolished, or had whole wings razed to the ground. In 1955 alone one house was demolished every five days. In this respect Belton was fortunate to survive at all, as in addition to the family's problems, the house deteriorated to such an extent that in 1961 the 6th Baron employed the architect Francis Johnson
to oversee a large restoration program lasting three years. Not only was the roof repaired but much of the panelling taken down and repaired, and new cornices installed. Also attempts were made to curtail serious infestations of dry rot
. By the time of the death of the 6th Baron in 1978, the resultant death duties, coupled with the rising costs of the upkeep, made Belton too much for the Brownlow family.
, a charitable body experienced in the management of historic properties. The National Trust further purchased at a cost of eight million pounds (worth about £ today) 1,317 acres (5.3 km²) of parkland and much of the remaining contents with a grant from the National Heritage Memorial Fund
.
The Trust quickly produced a guide book for the 1984 season and opened to the public. A priority was the establishment of a restaurant, which would not only augment the estate's income, but also encourage people to spend more time at Belton, and travel greater distances to visit. Though the house, its contents and outbuildings were in an adequate state of repair at the time of the gift, they have since become part of an ongoing program of conservation and restoration. At the same time the National Trust has introduced new features and attractions such as a silver exhibition which displays a collection of silver amassed by the Brownlow family, dating from 1698. Further revenue is raised from the use of the property as a filming location, and from licensing the Marble Hall and Tapestry Room for civil weddings. The house is featured in the BBC's 1988 adaptation of Moondial. and also as "Rosings Park" in the BBC
's 1995 television version of Pride and Prejudice
.
The owners of Belton are buried in the village of Belton
's parish
church close to the house. Their tombs are collectively one of the most complete sets of family memorials in England—continuous generation to generation for almost 350 years. The earliest Brownlow buried here is the founder of the family fortune the lawyer Richard Brownlow (1555–1638), and one of the most recent is the 6th Baron Brownlow (1899–1978).
The owners of Belton House have been:
English country house
The English country house is a large house or mansion in the English countryside. Such houses were often owned by individuals who also owned a London house. This allowed to them to spend time in the country and in the city—hence, for these people, the term distinguished between town and country...
in Belton
Belton, Lincolnshire
Belton is a village in the civil parish of Belton and Manthorpe, in the South Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England. It lies north of Grantham, on the A607 road.The Saxon meaning of Belton is a bell-shaped hollow.-The Village:...
near Grantham
Grantham
Grantham is a market town within the South Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England. It bestrides the East Coast Main Line railway , the historic A1 main north-south road, and the River Witham. Grantham is located approximately south of the city of Lincoln, and approximately east of Nottingham...
, Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire is a county in the east of England. It borders Norfolk to the south east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south west, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire to the west, South Yorkshire to the north west, and the East Riding of Yorkshire to the north. It also borders...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. The mansion is surrounded by formal gardens and a series of avenues leading to follies
Folly
In architecture, a folly is a building constructed primarily for decoration, but either suggesting by its appearance some other purpose, or merely so extravagant that it transcends the normal range of garden ornaments or other class of building to which it belongs...
within a larger wooded park
Park
A park is a protected area, in its natural or semi-natural state, or planted, and set aside for human recreation and enjoyment, or for the protection of wildlife or natural habitats. It may consist of rocks, soil, water, flora and fauna and grass areas. Many parks are legally protected by...
. Belton has been described as a compilation of all that is finest of Carolean
Restoration style
Restoration style, also known as Carolean style Restoration style, also known as Carolean style Restoration style, also known as Carolean style (from the Latin Carolus (Charles), refers to the decorative arts popular in England from the restoration of the monarchy in 1660 to the late 1680s after...
architecture, the only truly vernacular
Vernacular architecture
Vernacular architecture is a term used to categorize methods of construction which use locally available resources and traditions to address local needs and circumstances. Vernacular architecture tends to evolve over time to reflect the environmental, cultural and historical context in which it...
style of architecture that England had produced since the Tudor period
Tudor period
The Tudor period usually refers to the period between 1485 and 1603, specifically in relation to the history of England. This coincides with the rule of the Tudor dynasty in England whose first monarch was Henry VII...
. The house has also been described as the most complete example of a typical English country house; the claim has even been made that Belton's principal facade was the inspiration for the modern British motorway signs which give directions to stately home
Stately home
A stately home is a "great country house". It is thus a palatial great house or in some cases an updated castle, located in the British Isles, mostly built between the mid-16th century and the early part of the 20th century, as well as converted abbeys and other church property...
s. Only Brympton d'Evercy
Brympton d'Evercy
Brympton d'Evercy is a manor house near Yeovil in the county of Somerset, England. It has been described as the most beautiful house in England, in a country of architecturally pleasing country houses; whatever the truth of that statement, in 1927 the British magazine Country Life published a set...
has been similarly lauded as the perfect English country house.
For three hundred years, Belton House was the seat of the Brownlow and Cust family, who had first acquired land in the area in the late 16th century. Between 1685 and 1688 Sir John Brownlow and his wife had the present mansion built. Despite great wealth they chose to build a modest country house rather than a grand contemporary Baroque
Baroque
The Baroque is a period and the style that used exaggerated motion and clear, easily interpreted detail to produce drama, tension, exuberance, and grandeur in sculpture, painting, literature, dance, and music...
palace. The contemporary, if provincial, Carolean style was the selected choice of design. However, the new house was fitted with the latest innovation
Innovation
Innovation is the creation of better or more effective products, processes, technologies, or ideas that are accepted by markets, governments, and society...
s such as sash window
Sash window
A sash window or hung sash window is made of one or more movable panels or "sashes" that form a frame to hold panes of glass, which are often separated from other panes by narrow muntins...
s for the principal rooms, and more importantly completely separate areas for the staff. As the Brownlows rose from baronet
Baronet
A baronet or the rare female equivalent, a baronetess , is the holder of a hereditary baronetcy awarded by the British Crown...
s to baron
Baron
Baron is a title of nobility. The word baron comes from Old French baron, itself from Old High German and Latin baro meaning " man, warrior"; it merged with cognate Old English beorn meaning "nobleman"...
s upward to earl
Earl
An earl is a member of the nobility. The title is Anglo-Saxon, akin to the Scandinavian form jarl, and meant "chieftain", particularly a chieftain set to rule a territory in a king's stead. In Scandinavia, it became obsolete in the Middle Ages and was replaced with duke...
s and then once again became barons, successive generations made changes to the interior of the house which reflected their changing social position and tastes, yet the fabric and design of the house changed little.
Following World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
(a period when the Machine Gun Corps
Machine Gun Corps
The Machine Gun Corps was a corps of the British Army, formed in October 1915 in response to the need for more effective use of machine guns on the Western Front in World War I. The Heavy Branch of the MGC was the first to use tanks in combat, and the branch was subsequently turned into the Tank...
was based in the park), the Brownlows, like many of their peer
Peer group
A peer group is a social group consisting of humans. Peer groups are an informal primary group of people who share a similar or equal status and who are usually of roughly the same age, tended to travel around and interact within the social aggregate Members of a particular peer group often have...
s, were faced with mounting financial problems. In 1984 they gave the house away—complete with most of its contents. The recipients of their gift, the National Trust
National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty
The National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, usually known as the National Trust, is a conservation organisation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland...
, today fully open Belton to the public. It is in a good state of repair and visited by many thousands of tourists each year.
Early history
Lawyer
A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...
s, began accumulating land in the Belton area from approximately 1598. In 1609 they acquired the reversion
Reversion (law)
A reversion is a type of "remainder" interest created when incomplete ownership in property is alienated subject to a condition subsequent. Upon the fulfillment of the condition subsequent, the incomplete possessory rights cease to exist and exclusive ownership returns to the holder of the...
of the manor
Manor house
A manor house is a country house that historically formed the administrative centre of a manor, the lowest unit of territorial organisation in the feudal system in Europe. The term is applied to country houses that belonged to the gentry and other grand stately homes...
of Belton itself from the Pakenham family, who finally sold the manor house to Sir John Brownlow I in 1619. The old house was situated near the church in the garden of the present house and remained largely unoccupied, since the family preferred their other houses elsewhere. John Brownlow had married an heiress but was childless. He became attached to two of his more distant blood relations: a great-nephew, also called John Brownlow, and a great-niece, Alice Sherard. The two cousins married each other in 1676 when both were aged 16; three years later, the couple inherited the Brownlow estates from their great-uncle together with an income of £
Pound sterling
The pound sterling , commonly called the pound, is the official currency of the United Kingdom, its Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, British Antarctic Territory and Tristan da Cunha. It is subdivided into 100 pence...
9,000 per annum (about £ in present day terms) and £20,000 in cash (equivalent to about £ as of now). They immediately bought a town house in the newly fashionable Southampton Square
Bloomsbury Square
Bloomsbury Square is a garden square in Bloomsbury, Camden, London.- Geography :To the north of the square is Great Russell Street and Bedford Place, leading to Russell Square. To the south is Bloomsbury Way. To the west is the British Museum and Holborn tube station is the nearest underground...
in Bloomsbury
Bloomsbury
-Places:* Bloomsbury is an area in central London.* Bloomsbury , related local government unit* Bloomsbury, New Jersey, New Jersey, USA* Bloomsbury , listed on the NRHP in Maryland...
, and decided to build a new country house at Belton.
Work on the new house began in 1685. The architect thought to have been responsible for the initial design is William Winde
William Winde
Captain William Winde was an English gentleman architect, whose Royalist military career, resulting in fortifications and topographical surveys but lack of preferment, and his later career, following the Glorious Revolution, as designer or simply "conductor" of the works of country houses, has...
, although the house has also been attributed to Sir Christopher Wren
Christopher Wren
Sir Christopher Wren FRS is one of the most highly acclaimed English architects in history.He used to be accorded responsibility for rebuilding 51 churches in the City of London after the Great Fire in 1666, including his masterpiece, St. Paul's Cathedral, on Ludgate Hill, completed in 1710...
, while others believe the design to be so similar to Roger Pratt's Clarendon House
Clarendon House
Clarendon House was a town mansion which stood on Piccadilly in London, England from the 1660s to the 1680s. It was built for the powerful politician Edward Hyde, 1st Earl of Clarendon and was the grandest private London residence of its era.-History:...
, London, that it could have been the work of any talented draughtsman. The assumption popular today, that Winde was the architect, is based on the stylistic similarity between Belton and Coombe Abbey
Coombe Abbey
Coombe Abbey is a hotel which has been developed from an historic grade I listed building and former country house. It is located roughly midway between Coventry and Brinklow in the countryside of Warwickshire, England...
, which was remodelled by Winde between 1682 and 1685. Further evidence is a letter dated 1690, in which Winde recommends a plasterer
Plasterer
A plasterer is a tradesman who works with plaster, such as forming a layer of plaster on an interior wall or plaster decorative moldings on ceilings or walls...
who worked at Belton to another of his patrons.
Whoever the architect, Belton follows closely the design of Clarendon House, completed in 1667. This great London town house (demolished circa 1683) has been one of the most admired buildings of its era due to "its elegant symmetry and confident and common-sensical design". Sir John Summerson
John Summerson
Sir John Newenham Summerson CH CBE was one of the leading British architectural historians of the 20th century....
described Clarendon House as "the most influential house of its time among those who aimed at the grand manner" and Belton as "much the finest surviving example of its class". John and Alice Brownlow assembled one of the finest teams of craftsmen available at the time to work on the project. This dream team was headed by the master mason
Masonry
Masonry is the building of structures from individual units laid in and bound together by mortar; the term masonry can also refer to the units themselves. The common materials of masonry construction are brick, stone, marble, granite, travertine, limestone; concrete block, glass block, stucco, and...
William Stanton
William Stanton (mason)
William Stanton was an English mason and sculptor. He is known particularly for monumental masonry.-Life:He was son of Edward Stanton, and nephew of the mason Thomas Stanton...
who oversaw the project. His second in command, John Thompson, had worked with Sir Christopher Wren on several of the latter's London churches, while the chief joiner
Joiner
A joiner differs from a carpenter in that joiners cut and fit joints in wood that do not use nails. Joiners usually work in a workshop since the formation of various joints generally requires non-portable machinery. A carpenter normally works on site...
John Sturges had worked at Chatsworth
Chatsworth House
Chatsworth House is a stately home in North Derbyshire, England, northeast of Bakewell and west of Chesterfield . It is the seat of the Duke of Devonshire, and has been home to his family, the Cavendish family, since Bess of Hardwick settled at Chatsworth in 1549.Standing on the east bank of the...
under William Talman
William Talman (architect)
William Talman was an English architect and landscape designer. A pupil of Sir Christopher Wren, in 1678 he and Thomas Apprice gained the office of King's Waiter in the Port of London...
. The wrought-ironworker
Wrought iron
thumb|The [[Eiffel tower]] is constructed from [[puddle iron]], a form of wrought ironWrought iron is an iron alloy with a very low carbon...
John Warren worked under Stanton at Denham Place, Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan home county in South East England. The county town is Aylesbury, the largest town in the ceremonial county is Milton Keynes and largest town in the non-metropolitan county is High Wycombe....
, and the fine wrought iron gates and overthrow
Overthrow (structure)
In wrought ironwork, the overthrow, particularly popular in the Baroque era commencing in the 17th century, refers to the crowning section of ornamental wrought ironwork which forms a decorative crest above a wrought iron gate; the overthrow provides some stabilizing structure tying together...
at Belton may be his. Thus so competent were the builders of Belton that Winde may have done little more than provide the original plans and drawings, leaving the interpretation to the on-site craftsmen. This theory is further demonstrated by the external appearance of the adjoining stable block. More provincial, and less masterful in proportion, it is known to have been entirely the work of Stanton.
Ethos
The late 17th century in England was a time of great progress in design. Following the austere years of CommonwealthCommonwealth of England
The Commonwealth of England was the republic which ruled first England, and then Ireland and Scotland from 1649 to 1660. Between 1653–1659 it was known as the Commonwealth of England, Scotland and Ireland...
rule, a great flourishing and development in both architecture and the arts began after the restoration of the monarchy
English Restoration
The Restoration of the English monarchy began in 1660 when the English, Scottish and Irish monarchies were all restored under Charles II after the Interregnum that followed the Wars of the Three Kingdoms...
in 1660. Royalist
Cavalier
Cavalier was the name used by Parliamentarians for a Royalist supporter of King Charles I and son Charles II during the English Civil War, the Interregnum, and the Restoration...
exiles and wealthy young men who made the Grand Tour
Grand Tour
The Grand Tour was the traditional trip of Europe undertaken by mainly upper-class European young men of means. The custom flourished from about 1660 until the advent of large-scale rail transit in the 1840s, and was associated with a standard itinerary. It served as an educational rite of passage...
, returned home with new ideas—often extravagant variations on classical themes. This was, for England, the dawn of the Baroque
Baroque
The Baroque is a period and the style that used exaggerated motion and clear, easily interpreted detail to produce drama, tension, exuberance, and grandeur in sculpture, painting, literature, dance, and music...
era. The new wave of architects such as Roger Pratt, John Webb, and Sir Christopher Wren
Christopher Wren
Sir Christopher Wren FRS is one of the most highly acclaimed English architects in history.He used to be accorded responsibility for rebuilding 51 churches in the City of London after the Great Fire in 1666, including his masterpiece, St. Paul's Cathedral, on Ludgate Hill, completed in 1710...
were not just building vast edifices in Renaissance-inspired styles, but also transforming existing older houses. Representative of the utilisation of older houses is Coleshill House in Berkshire
Berkshire
Berkshire is a historic county in the South of England. It is also often referred to as the Royal County of Berkshire because of the presence of the royal residence of Windsor Castle in the county; this usage, which dates to the 19th century at least, was recognised by the Queen in 1957, and...
, where Pratt transformed the medieval, but now redundant, great hall into a classically inspired entrance hall complete with an imperial staircase
Imperial staircase
An Imperial staircase is the name given to a staircase with divided flights. Usually the first flight rises to a half-landing and then divides into two symmetrical flights both rising with an equal number of steps and turns to the next floor. The feature is reputed to have first been used at El...
. Great Halls were considered redundant now that employers wished to live separately from their servants, and no longer ate with them in a Great Hall. All evidence and odours of cooking and staff were banished from the principal parts of the house. Employers began to live in fine airy rooms, above the ground floor, with privacy from their servants, who were now confined, unless required, to specifically delegated areas—often the ground and uppermost attic floors. This was a period of great social change in British history, and the educated prided themselves on enlightenment and elegance. While Belton is not in the Baroque style, it displays all the traits typical of the new tendencies.
Belton was designed in the restrained almost Palladian-inspired architecture of the time immediately before the full emergence in England of the ornate Baroque. The general form this architecture took was of severely symmetrical, often rectangular houses, with a pediment
Pediment
A pediment is a classical architectural element consisting of the triangular section found above the horizontal structure , typically supported by columns. The gable end of the pediment is surrounded by the cornice moulding...
over the central bays. This almost rigid concept was to influence the design of innumerable houses, including Belton. Later to be known as the Carolean
Restoration style
Restoration style, also known as Carolean style Restoration style, also known as Carolean style Restoration style, also known as Carolean style (from the Latin Carolus (Charles), refers to the decorative arts popular in England from the restoration of the monarchy in 1660 to the late 1680s after...
style (from "Carolus," the Latin name for the reigning monarch Charles II
Charles II of England
Charles II was monarch of the three kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland.Charles II's father, King Charles I, was executed at Whitehall on 30 January 1649, at the climax of the English Civil War...
), it was popular with the minor aristocracy
Aristocracy
Aristocracy , is a form of government in which a few elite citizens rule. The term derives from the Greek aristokratia, meaning "rule of the best". In origin in Ancient Greece, it was conceived of as rule by the best qualified citizens, and contrasted with monarchy...
and gentry
Gentry
Gentry denotes "well-born and well-bred people" of high social class, especially in the past....
for both their town and country houses until long after Charles II's death.
Belton is faced with the local Ancaster stone
Ancaster stone
Ancaster stone is Middle Jurassic oolitic limestone, quarried around Ancaster, Lincolnshire, England. There are three forms of this limestone, Weather Bed, Hard White and Freestone...
, with a lighter ashlar
Ashlar
Ashlar is prepared stone work of any type of stone. Masonry using such stones laid in parallel courses is known as ashlar masonry, whereas masonry using irregularly shaped stones is known as rubble masonry. Ashlar blocks are rectangular cuboid blocks that are masonry sculpted to have square edges...
from Ketton
Ketton
Ketton is a village and civil parish in the county of Rutland in the East Midlands of England. It is located about eight miles east of Oakham and three miles west of Stamford in Lincolnshire...
for the quoining
Quoin (architecture)
Quoins are the cornerstones of brick or stone walls. Quoins may be either structural or decorative. Architects and builders use quoins to give the impression of strength and firmness to the outline of a building...
. The "H"-shaped plan was a design which became popular in the late Elizabethan period. However, by the late 16th century, domestic architecture had evolved further than the "one room deep" ranges of the earlier "H" plan houses, such as Montacute House
Montacute House
Montacute House is a late Elizabethan country house situated in the South Somerset village of Montacute. This house is a textbook example of English architecture during a period that was moving from the medieval Gothic to the Renaissance Classical; this has resulted in Montacute being regarded as...
. The new layout placed rooms back to back, creating a house two rooms deep. This became known as "double pile". As at Belton, this permitted rooms to be not just better lit and heated but also better accessed and related to each other, and with the greatest advantage of all—greater privacy. On the construction side, the double room depth allowed the house to be more compact and under one, more easily constructed, roof, thus lowering building costs. Houses now had the appearance of being more solid, with more than just one or two facades.
Design
The plan of the rooms at Belton was passé for a grand house of its time. Following the Restoration and the influx of European ideas, it had become popular for large houses to follow the continental fashion of a suite of state roomState room
A state room in a large European mansion is usually one of a suite of very grand rooms which were designed to impress. The term was most widely used in the 17th and 18th centuries. They were the most lavishly decorated in the house and contained the finest works of art...
s consisting of a withdrawing room, dressing room, and bedroom proceeding from either side of a central saloon
Drawing room
A drawing room is a room in a house where visitors may be entertained. The name is derived from the sixteenth-century terms "withdrawing room" and "withdrawing chamber", which remained in use through the seventeenth century, and made its first written appearance in 1642...
or hall. These rooms were permanently reserved for use by a high ranking guest, such as a visiting monarch. While Belton does have a saloon at its centre, enfilades
Enfilade (architecture)
In architecture, an enfilade is a suite of rooms formally aligned with each other. This was a common feature in grand European architecture from the Baroque period onwards, although there are earlier examples, such as the Vatican stanze...
of state rooms of lessening grandeur do not flank it. The possible reason for this unusual layout is that, while the Brownlows possessed great wealth, their title was only a baronetcy, and their fortune was barely a century old. They would have been regarded as gentry
Gentry
Gentry denotes "well-born and well-bred people" of high social class, especially in the past....
, not aristocracy
Aristocracy
Aristocracy , is a form of government in which a few elite citizens rule. The term derives from the Greek aristokratia, meaning "rule of the best". In origin in Ancient Greece, it was conceived of as rule by the best qualified citizens, and contrasted with monarchy...
. As a result, building a suite of state rooms would have been in hope rather than anticipation of a royal guest. However, the lack of a fashionable and formal suite of state apartments coupled with the Brownlows' lack of social credentials did not prevent a visit from King William III
William III of England
William III & II was a sovereign Prince of Orange of the House of Orange-Nassau by birth. From 1672 he governed as Stadtholder William III of Orange over Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht, Guelders, and Overijssel of the Dutch Republic. From 1689 he reigned as William III over England and Ireland...
to the newly completed house in 1695. The King occupied the "Best bedchamber", a large room with an adjoining closet, directly above the saloon, that led directly from the second floor Great Dining Chamber.
This design followed the older style of having reception rooms and bedrooms scattered over the two main floors. The layout used followed Roger Pratt's theory that guest and family rooms should be quite separate. As a consequence of this philosophy, the family occupied the rooms on the first and second floors of the west and east wings, with the state rooms in the centre. The great staircase, designed to be grand and imposing, rose to the east side of the house, and formed part of the guest's state route from the Hall and Saloon on the first floor to the principal dining room and bedroom on the second. This older concept is more clearly exemplified at the Elizabethan Hardwick Hall
Hardwick Hall
Hardwick Hall , in Derbyshire, is one of the most significant Elizabethan country houses in England. In common with its architect Robert Smythson's other works at both Longleat House and Wollaton Hall, Hardwick Hall is one of the earliest examples of the English interpretation of the Renaissance...
in neighbouring Derbyshire
Derbyshire
Derbyshire is a county in the East Midlands of England. A substantial portion of the Peak District National Park lies within Derbyshire. The northern part of Derbyshire overlaps with the Pennines, a famous chain of hills and mountains. The county contains within its boundary of approx...
.
The principal entrance hall, reception and family bedrooms were placed on the first floor above a low semi-basement
Basement
__FORCETOC__A basement is one or more floors of a building that are either completely or partially below the ground floor. Basements are typically used as a utility space for a building where such items as the furnace, water heater, breaker panel or fuse box, car park, and air-conditioning system...
containing service rooms. The two principal entrances to the mansion in the centre of both the north and south facades were accessed by external staircases, originally a single broad flight on the north side and a double staircase on the south. These staircases have since been replaced by simpler designs.
The second floor has a matching fenestration, with windows of equal value to those on the first floor below. The very latest innovation, sash window
Sash window
A sash window or hung sash window is made of one or more movable panels or "sashes" that form a frame to hold panes of glass, which are often separated from other panes by narrow muntins...
s, was used on both floors. The semi-basement and attic
Attic
An attic is a space found directly below the pitched roof of a house or other building . Attic is generally the American/Canadian reference to it...
storey used the more old-fashioned mullion
Mullion
A mullion is a vertical structural element which divides adjacent window units. The primary purpose of the mullion is as a structural support to an arch or lintel above the window opening. Its secondary purpose may be as a rigid support to the glazing of the window...
ed and transom
Transom (architectural)
In architecture, a transom is the term given to a transverse beam or bar in a frame, or to the crosspiece separating a door or the like from a window or fanlight above it. Transom is also the customary U.S. word used for a transom light, the window over this crosspiece...
ed windows, indicating the lower status of the occupants of these floors. It was clearly emphasised from without that the two main floors of the house were purely for state and family use, and the staff and service areas were confined to the semi-basement and attic floors. This concept of keeping staff and domestic matters out of sight (when not required) was relatively new and had first been employed by Pratt in the design of Coleshill House in Berkshire. The contemporary social commentator of the day Roger North
Roger North (17th century)
Roger North, KC , English lawyer, biographer, and amateur musician, was the sixth son of t he fourth Baron North....
lauded back stairs, of which Belton has two examples (5 and 14 on plan), as one of the most important inventions of his day.
The principal room is the large Marble Hall (1) at the centre of the south front; this hall is the beginning of a grand procession of rooms, and corresponds to the former Great Parlour or Saloon
Drawing room
A drawing room is a room in a house where visitors may be entertained. The name is derived from the sixteenth-century terms "withdrawing room" and "withdrawing chamber", which remained in use through the seventeenth century, and made its first written appearance in 1642...
(9) on the north front. The Marble Hall is flanked by the former Little Parlour (11, now the Tapestry Room) and the Great Staircase (2), while the Saloon is flanked by two withdrawing rooms (8, 10). The bedrooms are arranged in individual suites on both floors of the two wings (3, etc.) that flank the state centre of the house. The main staircase, set to one side of the Marble Hall, is one of the few things at Belton which is asymmetrically placed. It has a robust plaster-work ceiling incorporating the Brownlow crest by the London plasterer Edward Goudge, "now looked on as ye best master in England in his profession," William Winde reported in 1690.
Bodily and spiritual needs were balanced symmetrically within the mansion: the kitchen (16) and the chapel (7) were both large two-storied halls, rising from the semi-basement to the first floor. This design not only provided a great and lofty space, but also allowed the servants to worship in the chapel without leaving the service floor, while their employers would worship from a private gallery, complete with fireplace, overlooking the chapel on the first floor.
One of the most Carolean
Restoration style
Restoration style, also known as Carolean style Restoration style, also known as Carolean style Restoration style, also known as Carolean style (from the Latin Carolus (Charles), refers to the decorative arts popular in England from the restoration of the monarchy in 1660 to the late 1680s after...
features of the house is the balustrade
Baluster
A baluster is a moulded shaft, square or of lathe-turned form, one of various forms of spindle in woodwork, made of stone or wood and sometimes of metal, standing on a unifying footing, and supporting the coping of a parapet or the handrail of a staircase. Multiplied in this way, they form a...
and cupola
Cupola
In architecture, a cupola is a small, most-often dome-like, structure on top of a building. Often used to provide a lookout or to admit light and air, it usually crowns a larger roof or dome....
surmounting the roof, another element introduced to English architecture by Roger Pratt. The cupola at Belton does not light a lofty domed hall, as is often the case in Europe, but houses a staircase which gives access to a large viewing platform on top of a lead roof, concealed from the ground by the balustrade which tops the more conventional and visible hipped roof. From this vantage point, the owners of Belton could admire the perfect symmetry of their avenues and formal gardens spreading from the house. This feature of the house was removed by the architect James Wyatt
James Wyatt
James Wyatt RA , was an English architect, a rival of Robert Adam in the neoclassical style, who far outdid Adam in his work in the neo-Gothic style.-Early classical career:...
when he modernised the house in the 18th century. It was restored to its original form in the 1870s by the 3rd Earl Brownlow.
Interior and contents
Great hall
A great hall is the main room of a royal palace, nobleman's castle or a large manor house in the Middle Ages, and in the country houses of the 16th and early 17th centuries. At that time the word great simply meant big, and had not acquired its modern connotations of excellence...
was no longer a place for the household to eat, but intended as a grand entrance to the house. The hall was originally hung with 28 portraits of Kings, Queens, and Emperors, from William the Conqueror to William III
William III of England
William III & II was a sovereign Prince of Orange of the House of Orange-Nassau by birth. From 1672 he governed as Stadtholder William III of Orange over Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht, Guelders, and Overijssel of the Dutch Republic. From 1689 he reigned as William III over England and Ireland...
, intended to give the house an air of dynastic importance. The less numerous and far newer Brownlow family portraits were originally hung in the Great Dining Room immediately above. The room is fully panelled, and parts of the panelling contain lime wood
Tilia
Tilia is a genus of about 30 species of trees native throughout most of the temperate Northern Hemisphere. The greatest species diversity is found in Asia, and the genus also occurs in Europe and eastern North America, but not western North America...
embellishments attributed to Grinling Gibbons
Grinling Gibbons
Grinling Gibbons was an English sculptor and wood carver known for his work in England, including St Paul's Cathedral, Blenheim Palace and Hampton Court Palace. He was born and educated in Holland where his father was a merchant...
. In the early 19th century, this room, and some others, were re-modelled by Jeffry Wyatville, who in addition to graining and painting the panelling to imitate oak
Oak
An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus Quercus , of which about 600 species exist. "Oak" may also appear in the names of species in related genera, notably Lithocarpus...
inserted fake doors in the panelling to balance real doors already in place.
The second of the principal reception rooms, the Saloon (9), opens from the Marble Hall. This large panelled room is on an axis to the avenues of the formal north gardens. Originally known as the Great Parlour, this has always been the chief reception room of the house. It retains its original marble fireplace and has an ornate plaster ceiling which is a Victorian
Victorian era
The Victorian era of British history was the period of Queen Victoria's reign from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. It was a long period of peace, prosperity, refined sensibilities and national self-confidence...
copy of the original ceiling by the Carolean plaster
Plaster
Plaster is a building material used for coating walls and ceilings. Plaster starts as a dry powder similar to mortar or cement and like those materials it is mixed with water to form a paste which liberates heat and then hardens. Unlike mortar and cement, plaster remains quite soft after setting,...
er Edward Goudge. The centrepiece of the room is a large Aubusson
Aubusson, Creuse
Aubusson is a commune in the Creuse department in the Limousin region in central France.-Geography:...
carpet made in 1839 for the 1st Earl Brownlow
John Cust, 1st Earl Brownlow
John Cust, 1st Earl Brownlow, GCH was a British Peer and Tory politician.Cust was the eldest son of the 1st Baron Brownlow and his second wife, Frances. In 1802, he was elected as MP for Clitheroe and held the seat until he succeeded to his father's title in 1807. In May, 1805 he was elected a...
.
Either side of the Saloon are two smaller drawing rooms (8, 10), which would originally have served as private withdrawing rooms from the more public activities which would have taken place in the Marble Hall and Saloon. One of these rooms, now called the Tyrconnel Room (10), was transformed into the principal or state bedroom during the occupancy of Lord Tyrconnel
John Brownlow, 1st Viscount Tyrconnel
John Brownlow, 1st Viscount Tyrconnel KB , known as Sir John Brownlow, 5th Baronet, from 1701 to 1718, was a British Member of Parliament....
in an attempt to create a more fashionable suite of Baroque state rooms on the first floor. After his death in 1754, it became a Billiard Room, until the 3rd Earl Brownlow
Adelbert Brownlow-Cust, 3rd Earl Brownlow
Adelbert Wellington Brownlow-Cust, 3rd Earl Brownlow GCVO, PC, VD, DL, JP , was a British soldier, courtier and Conservative politician.-Background and education:...
had it refurnished more than a century later. Unusually, the floor is painted with the family arms and crest. The date of the floor is not known for certain but the early nineteenth century has been suggested.
The final large reception room on the first floor is the Hondecoeter Room (16), so named because of the three huge oil paintings by Melchior d'Hondecoeter
Melchior d'Hondecoeter
Melchior d'Hondecoeter , Dutch animalier painter, was born in Utrecht and died in Amsterdam. After the start of his career, he painted virtually exclusively bird subjects, usually exotic or game, in park-like landscapes...
(1636–1695), depicting scenes of birds in courtyards, which are fitted into the neo-Carolean panelling. The panelling was introduced to the room by the 3rd Earl Brownlow in 1876, when it was furnished as the principal dining room of the mansion. The room was initially created as a library in 1808 from the upper part of the earlier kitchen which had originally risen two stories. The West staircase (14) was originally a service stairs, and would have been plainer in decor, but by the late nineteenth century it was in regular use by the family.
Either side of the Marble Hall, lie the Great Staircase (2) and the Tapestry Room (11), which contains a collection of early eighteenth century Mortlake tapestries
Mortlake Tapestry Works
Mortlake Tapestry Works were established alongside the River Thames at Mortlake, then outside, but near west London in 1619 by Sir Francis Crane.-Royal Patronage:...
. The Great Staircase to the east of the Marble Hall is unusually placed at Belton, as in a house of this period one would expect to find the staircase in the hall. The stairs rise in three flights around the west, north, and east walls to the former Great Dining Room above the Marble Hall. Thus the staircase served as an important state procession link between the three principal reception rooms of the house. The Great Dining Room, now the Library, has been greatly altered and all traces of Carolean decoration removed, first by James Wyatt
James Wyatt
James Wyatt RA , was an English architect, a rival of Robert Adam in the neoclassical style, who far outdid Adam in his work in the neo-Gothic style.-Early classical career:...
in 1778 when it was transformed into a drawing room with a vaulted ceiling, and again in 1876, when its use was again changed, this time to a library. The room contains some 6000 volumes, a superb example of book collecting over 350 years. When Lord Tyrconnel died in 1754 a catalogue of his library identified almost 2,300 books. Almost all of these remain in the Belton library today. Rupert Gunnis
Rupert Gunnis
Rupert Forbes Gunnis was an English collector and historian of British sculpture. He is best known for his Dictionary of British Sculptors 1660-1851, which "revolutionized the study of British sculpture, providing the foundation for all later studies on the subject".-Life:Born in Cadogan Square,...
attributed the carved marble chimneypiece depicting two Roman goddesses to Sir Richard Westmacott
Richard Westmacott
Sir Richard Westmacott, Jr., RA was a British sculptor.-Life and career:He studied under his father, Richard Westmacott the Elder, before going to Rome in 1793 to study under Antonio Canova...
.
Leading from the Library is the Queen's Room, the former "Best Bed Chamber". This panelled room was redecorated in 1841 for the visit of Queen Adelaide
Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen
Princess Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen was the queen consort of the United Kingdom and of Hanover as spouse of William IV of the United Kingdom. Adelaide, the capital city of South Australia, is named after her.-Early life:Adelaide was born on 13 August 1792 at Meiningen, Thuringia, Germany...
, widow of William IV
William IV of the United Kingdom
William IV was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and of Hanover from 26 June 1830 until his death...
, when its former function as a state bedroom was resurrected. It contains the great canopied Rococo
Rococo
Rococo , also referred to as "Late Baroque", is an 18th-century style which developed as Baroque artists gave up their symmetry and became increasingly ornate, florid, and playful...
-style bed in which the Queen slept, complete with the royal monogram
Monogram
A monogram is a motif made by overlapping or combining two or more letters or other graphemes to form one symbol. Monograms are often made by combining the initials of an individual or a company, used as recognizable symbols or logos. A series of uncombined initials is properly referred to as a...
"AR" (Adelaide Regina) embroidered
Embroidery
Embroidery is the art or handicraft of decorating fabric or other materials with needle and thread or yarn. Embroidery may also incorporate other materials such as metal strips, pearls, beads, quills, and sequins....
on the bedhead. Other rooms on the second floor are mostly bedrooms, which include the Chinese Room (directly above the Tyrconnel Room) with its original hand painted 18th century Chinese wallpaper, the Yellow Room (directly above the Blue Room), and the Windsor Bedroom (directly above the School Room), so called following its use by King Edward VIII of the United Kingdom
Edward VIII of the United Kingdom
Edward VIII was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth, and Emperor of India, from 20 January to 11 December 1936.Before his accession to the throne, Edward was Prince of Wales and Duke of Cornwall and Rothesay...
, who became the Duke of Windsor
Duke of Windsor
The title Duke of Windsor was created in the Peerage of the United Kingdom in 1937 for Prince Edward, the former King Edward VIII, following his abdication in December 1936. The dukedom takes its name from the town where Windsor Castle, a residence of English monarchs since the Norman Conquest, is...
after the abdication crisis of 1936
Edward VIII abdication crisis
In 1936, a constitutional crisis in the British Empire was caused by King-Emperor Edward VIII's proposal to marry Wallis Simpson, a twice-divorced American socialite....
. Edward visited Belton in the 1930s with his mistress Wallis Simpson, and the 6th Baron Brownlow
Peregrine Cust, 6th Baron Brownlow
Peregrine Francis Adelbert Cust, 6th Baron Brownlow , was a British peer. He was the son of Adelbert Salusbury Cockayne Cust, 5th Baron Brownlow, and his wife Maud Buckle.-Education and World War I service:...
was heavily involved in the crisis thanks to his position as the King's Lord-in-waiting
Lord-in-Waiting
Most Lords in Waiting are Government whips in the House of Lords who are members of the Royal Household of the Sovereign of the United Kingdom. As members of the Royal Household their duties are nominal, though they are occasionally required to meet visiting political and state leaders on visits...
. Today, Belton has a permanent exhibition devoted to that event. Another royal visitor, Charles, Prince of Wales
Charles, Prince of Wales
Prince Charles, Prince of Wales is the heir apparent and eldest son of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. Since 1958 his major title has been His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales. In Scotland he is additionally known as The Duke of Rothesay...
, also used the room frequently while a cadet at nearby RAF Cranwell
RAF Cranwell
RAF Cranwell is a Royal Air Force station in Lincolnshire close to the village of Cranwell, near Sleaford. It is currently commanded by Group Captain Dave Waddington...
.
Gardens and the park
In 1690, Sir John Brownlow was granted permission to enclose an area of 1000 acreAcre
The acre is a unit of area in a number of different systems, including the imperial and U.S. customary systems. The most commonly used acres today are the international acre and, in the United States, the survey acre. The most common use of the acre is to measure tracts of land.The acre is related...
s (4 km²) to transform into a park, with a grant to keep deer. There is evidence to suggest that some of this area had been a park since at least 1580. The park was laid out with avenues, including the still surviving Eastern Avenue which led east from the house. Brownlow also had a large pond or lake dug and planted 21,400 ash trees, 9,500 oak trees, and 614 fruit trees. It is thought that William Winde may have advised on the layout of the gardens. Closer to the house were a series of more formal gardens, including canal ponds bordered by plantations containing symmetrical walks resembling the "rond-points" (circular clearings in a garden from which straight paths radiate) introduced by the landscape gardener André Le Nôtre
André Le Nôtre
André Le Nôtre was a French landscape architect and the principal gardener of King Louis XIV of France...
. By the end of the eighteenth century, these formal parterre
Parterre
A parterre is a formal garden construction on a level surface consisting of planting beds, edged in stone or tightly clipped hedging, and gravel paths arranged to form a pleasing, usually symmetrical pattern. Parterres need not have any flowers at all...
s had been removed and the canal ponds filled in.
Sir John Brownlow was succeeded at Belton by his brother, who was content to permit Brownlow's widow, Alice, to remain in occupation. She spent the remainder of her life at Belton arranging advantageous marriages for her five daughters. On her death in 1721, the house passed to her husband's nephew (and her son-in-law) Sir John Brownlow III (later Viscount Tyrconnel)
John Brownlow, 1st Viscount Tyrconnel
John Brownlow, 1st Viscount Tyrconnel KB , known as Sir John Brownlow, 5th Baronet, from 1701 to 1718, was a British Member of Parliament....
. Tyrconnel, a dilettante of no great intellect, was responsible for many of the architectural features which survive in the park and garden. Between 1742 and 1751, a series of follies
Folly
In architecture, a folly is a building constructed primarily for decoration, but either suggesting by its appearance some other purpose, or merely so extravagant that it transcends the normal range of garden ornaments or other class of building to which it belongs...
, including a Gothic
Gothic architecture
Gothic architecture is a style of architecture that flourished during the high and late medieval period. It evolved from Romanesque architecture and was succeeded by Renaissance architecture....
ruin, a cascade, and a prospect or belvedere
Belvedere (structure)
Belvedere is an architectural term adopted from Italian , which refers to any architectural structure sited to take advantage of such a view. A belvedere may be built in the upper part of a building so as to command a fine view...
known as the Belmount Tower, were constructed for him. When built the tower had two small wings flanking each side, since removed.
Later history
In 1754, Belton was inherited by Sir John CustSir John Cust, 3rd Baronet
Sir John Cust, 3rd Baronet PC was a British politician. He served as Speaker of the House of Commons from 1761 to 1770....
, the son of previous owner Viscount Tyrconnel's widowed sister. Cust was a distinguished politician active during the politically turbulent 1760s, and his monument at Belton blames his death at the age of 51 to the "unusual fatigues of his office". His heir
Brownlow Cust, 1st Baron Brownlow
Brownlow Cust, 1st Baron Brownlow FRS , known as Sir Brownlow Cust, 4th Baronet, from 1770 to 1776, was a British Tory Member of Parliament....
was created Lord Brownlow in 1776, and Belton was owned by successive Lords Brownlow for the next 200 years.
In the last three decades of the 19th century the 3rd Earl Brownlow spent much time and money restoring Belton, and consequently the house entered the 20th century in a good state of repair and preservation. However, the 20th century was to present Belton and its estate with serious problems. These included the introduction of income tax
Income tax
An income tax is a tax levied on the income of individuals or businesses . Various income tax systems exist, with varying degrees of tax incidence. Income taxation can be progressive, proportional, or regressive. When the tax is levied on the income of companies, it is often called a corporate...
and death duties which would leave the finances of the Brownlow family severely depleted.
At the beginning of World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, like many other British landowners, the 3rd Earl Brownlow offered his house and park to the Government for war service. The offer was accepted, and the largest and most drastic changes were made in the park since the time of Viscount Tyrconnel's folly building. In 1915, the home depôt and training ground of the Machine Gun Corps
Machine Gun Corps
The Machine Gun Corps was a corps of the British Army, formed in October 1915 in response to the need for more effective use of machine guns on the Western Front in World War I. The Heavy Branch of the MGC was the first to use tanks in combat, and the branch was subsequently turned into the Tank...
were established in the southern part of Belton park. The lie of the land there, where the River Witham
River Witham
The River Witham is a river, almost entirely in the county of Lincolnshire, in the east of England. It rises south of Grantham close to South Witham, at SK8818, passes Lincoln at SK9771 and at Boston, TF3244, flows into The Haven, a tidal arm of The Wash, near RSPB Frampton Marsh...
passes between the Lower Lincolnshire Limestone and the Upper Lias mudstone, lent itself to the development of the necessary firing ranges close to good communications by way of the Great North Road and the East Coast main line railway station at Grantham
Grantham
Grantham is a market town within the South Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England. It bestrides the East Coast Main Line railway , the historic A1 main north-south road, and the River Witham. Grantham is located approximately south of the city of Lincoln, and approximately east of Nottingham...
. The depôt was closed in 1919, the site cleared and the land restored to Lord Brownlow in 1920. Little sign of the Machine Gun Corps's stay remains in the park, but plaques and inscriptions can be followed from the south gate of Belton park to the memorial gate on the way from there to the town centre and in the north aisle of Grantham parish church.
Belton again saw war service during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. From 1942, part of the Royal Air Force Regiment was housed in nissen hut
Nissen hut
A Nissen hut is a prefabricated steel structure made from a half-cylindrical skin of corrugated steel, a variant of which was used extensively during World War II.-Description:...
s at the park in a facility named RAF Belton Park
RAF Belton Park
RAF Belton Park was a Royal Air Force corps accommodation depot during World War II and is notable as the first depot of the Royal Air Force Regiment...
. The RAF Regiment had its headquarters at nearby RAF Alma Park
RAF Alma Park
RAF Alma Park was a Royal Air Force corps headquarters and training facility during World War II and is notable as the birthplace of the Royal Air Force Regiment...
, with additional accommodation at nearby RAF Folkingham
RAF Folkingham
RAF Folkingham is a former World War II Royal Air Force flying station in Lincolnshire, England. The airfield is located south west of Folkingham and due east of Lenton village, approximately due south of county town Lincoln and north of London...
and RAF North Witham
RAF North Witham
RAF Station North Witham is a former World War II airfield in Lincolnshire, England. The airfield is located in Twyford Wood, approximately east-southeast of Cotgrave; about north-northwest of London...
airfields.
The years following World War I were severely testing for the owners of many great estates. The staff both indoor and outdoor, which had previously been plentiful, essential, and cheap, were now in short supply. Millions of men had left private service to join the army, and very few returned. Female domestic staff had been called up for war service in factories, and now realised there was an easier and better paid existence outside of the gates of the great country houses. With both fortunes and staff depleted many owners of country houses now fought a losing battle to retain them.
Belton House remained relatively untouched during this period, largely owing to the failing fortunes of the Brownlow family. The 3rd Earl Brownlow and his Countess lived for only a few months of the year at Belton, where they came for the fox-hunting, and divided the remainder of their time between their house in London and Ashridge
Ashridge
Ashridge is an estate and house in Hertfordshire, England; part of the land stretches into Buckinghamshire and it is close to the Bedfordshire border. It is situated in the Chiltern Hills, an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, about two miles north of Berkhamsted and twenty miles north west of...
, another country house in Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England. The county town is Hertford.The county is one of the Home Counties and lies inland, bordered by Greater London , Buckinghamshire , Bedfordshire , Cambridgeshire and...
. Ashridge, a huge Gothic revival pile, had come to the Brownlows in the 19th century through the Egerton family
Earl of Bridgewater
-History:The earldom was first created in 1538 for Henry Daubeny, 9th Baron Daubeny. The Daubeney family descended from Elias Daubeny, who in 1295 was summoned by writ to the Model Parliament as Lord Daubeny. The eighth Baron was created Baron Daubeny by letters patent in the Peerage of England in...
. It was sold, with its art collection and furnishings, to pay the death duties arising on the death of the 3rd Earl in 1921. Hence Belton became the Brownlow's sole country home. Further death duties were incurred in 1927 on the death of the 3rd Earl's successor, his second cousin Adelbert Cust, 5th Baron Brownlow.
In the ensuing period many thousands of country houses of great architectural value were demolished, or had whole wings razed to the ground. In 1955 alone one house was demolished every five days. In this respect Belton was fortunate to survive at all, as in addition to the family's problems, the house deteriorated to such an extent that in 1961 the 6th Baron employed the architect Francis Johnson
Francis Johnson (architect)
See Francis Johnston for Irish architect of similar name.Francis Frederick Johnson CBE, , was an English architect, born in Bridlington in the East Riding of Yorkshire.-Education and Early career:...
to oversee a large restoration program lasting three years. Not only was the roof repaired but much of the panelling taken down and repaired, and new cornices installed. Also attempts were made to curtail serious infestations of dry rot
Dry rot
Dry rot refers to a type of wood decay caused by certain types of fungi, also known as True Dry Rot, that digests parts of the wood which give the wood strength and stiffness...
. By the time of the death of the 6th Baron in 1978, the resultant death duties, coupled with the rising costs of the upkeep, made Belton too much for the Brownlow family.
National Trust
The seventh Baron attempted to retain the house and estate by opening to the public. An adventure playground was built in the nearby woods to attract families to the house as a tourist attraction. However, the financial difficulties were too great and in January 1984 he transferred ownership of the house, garden and some of the contents to the National TrustNational Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty
The National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, usually known as the National Trust, is a conservation organisation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland...
, a charitable body experienced in the management of historic properties. The National Trust further purchased at a cost of eight million pounds (worth about £ today) 1,317 acres (5.3 km²) of parkland and much of the remaining contents with a grant from the National Heritage Memorial Fund
National Heritage Memorial Fund
The National Heritage Memorial Fund is a non-departmental public body set up under the National Heritage Act 1980 in memory of people who gave their lives for the United Kingdom....
.
The Trust quickly produced a guide book for the 1984 season and opened to the public. A priority was the establishment of a restaurant, which would not only augment the estate's income, but also encourage people to spend more time at Belton, and travel greater distances to visit. Though the house, its contents and outbuildings were in an adequate state of repair at the time of the gift, they have since become part of an ongoing program of conservation and restoration. At the same time the National Trust has introduced new features and attractions such as a silver exhibition which displays a collection of silver amassed by the Brownlow family, dating from 1698. Further revenue is raised from the use of the property as a filming location, and from licensing the Marble Hall and Tapestry Room for civil weddings. The house is featured in the BBC's 1988 adaptation of Moondial. and also as "Rosings Park" in the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
's 1995 television version of Pride and Prejudice
Pride and Prejudice (1995 TV serial)
Pride and Prejudice is a six-episode 1995 British television drama, adapted by Andrew Davies from Jane Austen's 1813 novel Pride and Prejudice. Jennifer Ehle and Colin Firth starred as Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy. Produced by Sue Birtwistle and directed by Simon Langton, the serial was a BBC...
.
Owners
Until its acceptance by the National Trust, Belton House was always in the ownership of the family of its builder, though the failure of three generations to produce a son and heir caused the ownership to pass sideways and sometimes through the female line.The owners of Belton are buried in the village of Belton
Belton, Lincolnshire
Belton is a village in the civil parish of Belton and Manthorpe, in the South Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England. It lies north of Grantham, on the A607 road.The Saxon meaning of Belton is a bell-shaped hollow.-The Village:...
's parish
Parish
A parish is a territorial unit historically under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of one parish priest, who might be assisted in his pastoral duties by a curate or curates - also priests but not the parish priest - from a more or less central parish church with its associated organization...
church close to the house. Their tombs are collectively one of the most complete sets of family memorials in England—continuous generation to generation for almost 350 years. The earliest Brownlow buried here is the founder of the family fortune the lawyer Richard Brownlow (1555–1638), and one of the most recent is the 6th Baron Brownlow (1899–1978).
The owners of Belton House have been:
- Sir John Brownlow I (1594–1679) Bequeathed Belton to his great-nephew John Brownlow II.
- Sir John Brownlow IISir John Brownlow, 3rd BaronetSir John Brownlow, 3rd Baronet was an English Member of Parliament.-Life:Brownlow was the eldest surviving son of Sir Richard Brownlow, 2nd Baronet of Humby, and Elizabeth Freke. He was educated at Westminster School...
(1659–1697). Builder of Belton House - Sir William BrownlowSir William Brownlow, 4th BaronetSir William Brownlow, 4th Baronet was a British Member of Parliament.-Life:Brownlow was the younger son of Sir Richard Brownlow, 2nd Baronet, and Elizabeth Freke. He was educated at Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge...
(1665–1702). Brother of Sir John Brownlow II, permitted his widowed sister-in-law Alice to retain Belton. - Sir John Brownlow IIIJohn Brownlow, 1st Viscount TyrconnelJohn Brownlow, 1st Viscount Tyrconnel KB , known as Sir John Brownlow, 5th Baronet, from 1701 to 1718, was a British Member of Parliament....
(1690–1754). Created Viscount TyrconnelViscount TyrconnelViscount Tyrconnel was a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created in 1718 for Sir John Brownlow, 5th Baronet, Member of Parliament for Grantham and Lincolnshire. He was made Baron Charleville, in the County of Cork, at the same time, also in the Peerage of Ireland...
in 1718. Nephew and son-in-law of Sir John Brownlow II. - Sir John Cust, 3rd BaronetSir John Cust, 3rd BaronetSir John Cust, 3rd Baronet PC was a British politician. He served as Speaker of the House of Commons from 1761 to 1770....
(1718–1770). SpeakerSpeaker of the British House of CommonsThe Speaker of the House of Commons is the presiding officer of the House of Commons, the United Kingdom's lower chamber of Parliament. The current Speaker is John Bercow, who was elected on 22 June 2009, following the resignation of Michael Martin...
of the House of CommonsBritish House of CommonsThe House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which also comprises the Sovereign and the House of Lords . Both Commons and Lords meet in the Palace of Westminster. The Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 650 members , who are known as Members...
and nephew of Tyrconnel. - Sir Brownlow CustBrownlow Cust, 1st Baron BrownlowBrownlow Cust, 1st Baron Brownlow FRS , known as Sir Brownlow Cust, 4th Baronet, from 1770 to 1776, was a British Tory Member of Parliament....
(1744–1807). Created Baron BrownlowBaron BrownlowBaron Brownlow, of Belton in the County of Lincoln, is a title in the Peerage of Great Britain. It was created in 1776 for Sir Brownlow Cust, 4th Baronet. The Cust family descends from Richard Cust who represented Lincolnshire and Stamford in Parliament. In 1677 he was created a Baronet, of...
in 1776. Son of Sir John Cust. - John, 2nd Baron BrownlowJohn Cust, 1st Earl BrownlowJohn Cust, 1st Earl Brownlow, GCH was a British Peer and Tory politician.Cust was the eldest son of the 1st Baron Brownlow and his second wife, Frances. In 1802, he was elected as MP for Clitheroe and held the seat until he succeeded to his father's title in 1807. In May, 1805 he was elected a...
(1779–1853). Created 1st Earl Brownlow in 1815. Son of Sir Brownlow Cust. - John Egerton-Cust, 2nd Earl Brownlow (1842–1867) Grandson of John, 2nd Baron Brownlow.
- Adelbert, 3rd (and last) Earl BrownlowAdelbert Brownlow-Cust, 3rd Earl BrownlowAdelbert Wellington Brownlow-Cust, 3rd Earl Brownlow GCVO, PC, VD, DL, JP , was a British soldier, courtier and Conservative politician.-Background and education:...
(1844–1921). Brother of John, 2nd Earl Brownlow. - Adelbert Salusbury Cockayne Cust, 5th Baron Brownlow (1867–1927). Second cousin of Adelbert, 3rd Earl Brownlow.
- Peregrine Cust, 6th Baron BrownlowPeregrine Cust, 6th Baron BrownlowPeregrine Francis Adelbert Cust, 6th Baron Brownlow , was a British peer. He was the son of Adelbert Salusbury Cockayne Cust, 5th Baron Brownlow, and his wife Maud Buckle.-Education and World War I service:...
(1899–1978). Son of the 5th Baron Brownlow. - Edward Cust, 7th Baron Brownlow (born 1936). Son of the 6th Baron Brownlow.
- The National TrustNational Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural BeautyThe National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, usually known as the National Trust, is a conservation organisation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland...
(1984 onwards).