Cherie's Place » Belsay Hall

Belsay Hall – Pillar Hall

CherryPie — Thu, 30 Jun 2011 14:23:29 +0000

The spectacular Pillar Hall occupies the centre of the house.

It is meant to evoke the open-roofed atrium, or central courtyard, of a classical villa – a Roman architectural precedent rather than a Greek one. The Northumberland climate meant that it had to be roofed, with natural lighting being provided by roof lights and a clerestory, or upper level of windows. The Pillar Hall functioned both as a reception and a circulation space, giving access to the different parts of the house.. On the ground floor are closely spaced lonic columns with Doric columns on the floor above – a reversal of the usual arrangement in classical buildings.*

The stairs and the gallery have brass balustrades which were designed by Sir Charles’ sister Isabella. The artificial lighting on the upper level was provided by brass lamp stands, which screwed into the top of the balustrade between the Doric columns.

*From the English Heritage guidebook.

Belsay Hall

CherryPie — Wed, 29 Jun 2011 17:40:52 +0000

Belsay Hall was a modern villa with a comfortable library, drawing room and dining room built to overlook a romantic prospect to the south. But its owner, Sir Charles Monck, was obsessed by ancient Greece and owned every book published on Greek architecture. So the details inside and out were derived from the Classical buildings which he had seen on his honeymoon in Athens. Work began on the house in 1807 and finished in 1817. *

*From the English Heritage guide book.

Belsay Hall, Castle and Gardens

CherryPie — Tue, 28 Jun 2011 20:40:10 +0000

This was my first visit to Belsay and it has a bit of everything and comprises of three different elements. A hall inspired by the architecture of ancient Greece, a medieval castle with rare wall paintings and magnificent gardens. The hall was enlarged in the early 17th century and subsequently superseded by a Greek Revival mansion. The two buildings are linked by a garden, much of which was created out of the quarries that supplied the stone for the new house.

Belsay is the creation of the Middleton family, over more than seven centuries. The Middletons were first recorded as owning Belsay in 1270 and although they moved out of the hall in 1962, the estate that surrounds the historic nucleus of the hall, castle and garden remains in their possession. the great fortified tower that still dominates the castle was built both as a statement of family pride and as a response to the conflict and unrest in this border region between England and Scotland. It was then extended into a rambling country house after the union of the tow kingdoms under King James 1 in 1603 brought relative peace. The Middletons lived in the castle until the completion of the new mansion, which was designed by the then owner Sir Charles Monck (1779-1867).*

Under the guardianship agreement which passed the care of the hall into government care in 1980, the hall is displayed without furnishings so that it reveals the fine craftsmanship that went into its construction.

*From the English Heritage guide book.