Belmont Castle, England
Encyclopedia
Belmont Castle was a neo-Gothic
mansion near Grays
in the English
county of Essex
. Built circa 1795 to designs by the little-known Thomas Jeffery, and surrounded by extensive pleasure grounds, it was the most prominent building in the parish, but was demolished in 1943 to make way for a chalk quarry. The castle and its occupants had played a significant role in the town's life for over a hundred years.
quarry. During the 1840s, when the property was occupied by the Webb family, it was the seat of local cricket
matches as well as a circle of music lovers mentioned by the pianist and writer Alice Diehl in her memoirs. One of its later owners, Edward R. Parker, who lived at Belmont Castle from 1880 until 1900, was chairman of the local county board. During his time there, Belmont's park was often used for local events, including a political rally in support of the Franchise Bill
attended by 2000-3000 people. In the 20th century, the house was only sporadically occupied and chalk quarries increasingly encroached upon the pleasure grounds, although they were still used for charity fetes into the 1930s. When the Dobree family, the last tenants of the entire house, departed in 1930, the mansion was divided into individual rented flats and meeting rooms. The remaining land was let out to local farmers for grazing cattle and to the Tilbury Gas Company who used the North Lawn as a sports field and rented part of the mansion to use for changing rooms. The last owner of the property was the Associated Portland Cement Company, who had the mansion demolished in 1943 to make way for yet another chalk quarry.
s and a four-story tower overlooking the River Thames
. Early visitors commented on the luxuriousness and elegance of its interior fittings which matched the neo-Gothic style of its exterior. The library was oval shaped with fitted book cases and mouldings and opened out to a double flight of stone steps descending to a terrace. Its grounds contained a large walled kitchen garden
which included fruit trees and a hothouse. Surrounding the house were extensive pleasure grounds, landscaped with forest trees, shrubs, and plants. These terminated on the west side at a Gothic temple and on the east with an orchard and paddock. The house had two approaches: the first from a lodge (also built in the Gothic style) on the south lawn near the road between West Thurrock
and Grays, and the second from the north lawn via the road from Stifford
village. The estate was situated over a medieval rural settlement and had several dene holes which were covered over during the landscaping of the pleasure grounds.
Gothic Revival architecture
The Gothic Revival is an architectural movement that began in the 1740s in England...
mansion near Grays
Grays
Grays is the largest town in the borough and unitary authority of Thurrock in Essex and one of the Thurrock's traditional parishes...
in the English
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...
county of Essex
Essex
Essex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England, and one of the home counties. It is located to the northeast of Greater London. It borders with Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent to the South and London to the south west...
. Built circa 1795 to designs by the little-known Thomas Jeffery, and surrounded by extensive pleasure grounds, it was the most prominent building in the parish, but was demolished in 1943 to make way for a chalk quarry. The castle and its occupants had played a significant role in the town's life for over a hundred years.
History
Belmont Castle was built circa 1795 for Zachariah Button, a wealthy local landowner, who also owned a neighbouring chalkChalk
Chalk is a soft, white, porous sedimentary rock, a form of limestone composed of the mineral calcite. Calcite is calcium carbonate or CaCO3. It forms under reasonably deep marine conditions from the gradual accumulation of minute calcite plates shed from micro-organisms called coccolithophores....
quarry. During the 1840s, when the property was occupied by the Webb family, it was the seat of local cricket
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
matches as well as a circle of music lovers mentioned by the pianist and writer Alice Diehl in her memoirs. One of its later owners, Edward R. Parker, who lived at Belmont Castle from 1880 until 1900, was chairman of the local county board. During his time there, Belmont's park was often used for local events, including a political rally in support of the Franchise Bill
Representation of the People Act 1884
In the United Kingdom, the Representation of the People Act 1884 and the Redistribution Act of the following year were laws which further extended the suffrage in Britain after the Disraeli Government's Reform Act 1867...
attended by 2000-3000 people. In the 20th century, the house was only sporadically occupied and chalk quarries increasingly encroached upon the pleasure grounds, although they were still used for charity fetes into the 1930s. When the Dobree family, the last tenants of the entire house, departed in 1930, the mansion was divided into individual rented flats and meeting rooms. The remaining land was let out to local farmers for grazing cattle and to the Tilbury Gas Company who used the North Lawn as a sports field and rented part of the mansion to use for changing rooms. The last owner of the property was the Associated Portland Cement Company, who had the mansion demolished in 1943 to make way for yet another chalk quarry.
Architecture
The house was designed as an imitation of a medieval baronial castle with battlementBattlement
A battlement in defensive architecture, such as that of city walls or castles, comprises a parapet , in which portions have been cut out at intervals to allow the discharge of arrows or other missiles. These cut-out portions form crenels...
s and a four-story tower overlooking the River Thames
River Thames
The River Thames flows through southern England. It is the longest river entirely in England and the second longest in the United Kingdom. While it is best known because its lower reaches flow through central London, the river flows alongside several other towns and cities, including Oxford,...
. Early visitors commented on the luxuriousness and elegance of its interior fittings which matched the neo-Gothic style of its exterior. The library was oval shaped with fitted book cases and mouldings and opened out to a double flight of stone steps descending to a terrace. Its grounds contained a large walled kitchen garden
Kitchen garden
The traditional kitchen garden, also known as a potager, is a space separate from the rest of the residential garden - the ornamental plants and lawn areas...
which included fruit trees and a hothouse. Surrounding the house were extensive pleasure grounds, landscaped with forest trees, shrubs, and plants. These terminated on the west side at a Gothic temple and on the east with an orchard and paddock. The house had two approaches: the first from a lodge (also built in the Gothic style) on the south lawn near the road between West Thurrock
West Thurrock
West Thurrock is a traditional Church of England parish and town in Thurrock, Essex, England, located 17.5 miles east south-east of Charing Cross, London.-Location:...
and Grays, and the second from the north lawn via the road from Stifford
Stifford
Stifford is a place in the unitary authority of Thurrock, Essex. The traditional parish of Stifford is divided by the A13 trunk road into two communities known respectively as North and South Stifford.-Origin of name:...
village. The estate was situated over a medieval rural settlement and had several dene holes which were covered over during the landscaping of the pleasure grounds.
Sources
- Carney, T. J., "A Picturesque Object", the story of Belmont Castle, Grays, originally published in Panorama, No. 28, Thurrock Local History Society, 1986
- Coller, Duffield William, The people's history of Essex, Meggy and Chalk, 1861, p. 358
- Colvin, HowardHoward ColvinSir Howard Montagu Colvin, CVO, CBE , was a British architectural historian who produced two of the most outstanding works of scholarship in his field.-Life and works:...
, A Biographical Dictionary of British Architects, 1600-1840, 3rd ed. 1995, s.v. "Jeffery,Thomas". - Diehl, Alice M. The True Story of my Life, J. Lane, 1908
- Essex County Council, Essex Thames Gateway Historic Environment Characterisation, 2007, pp. 73-74
- Hughson, David, London; being an accurate history and description of the British metropolis and its neighbourhood: to thirty miles extent, from an actual perambulation, Volume 6, J. Stratford, 1809, p. 210
- Powell, W. R. (editor), A History of the County of Essex, Volume 8, 1983, pp. 35-56