The Belvedere, Claremont

Listed on the National Heritage List for England. Search over 400,000 listed places

Overview

Heritage Category:: Scheduled Monument
List Entry Number:: 1005931
Date first listed:: 13-Jan-1951

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Official list entry

Heritage Category:: Scheduled Monument
List Entry Number:: 1005931
Date first listed:: 13-Jan-1951

Location

The building or site itself may lie within the boundary of more than one authority.

County:: Surrey
District:: Elmbridge (District Authority)
Parish:: Non Civil Parish
National Grid Reference:: TQ 13310 63285

Summary

The Belvedere in Claremont Park, 279m south-east of Wyngates.

Reasons for Designation

A belvedere is a raised structure or tower erected over the roof of a dwelling-house or on a vantage-point in a landscape from which scenery may be viewed. The Belvedere in Claremont Park survives well and forms a significant part of the landscape of a registered Park and Garden. As such it has a high degree of group value with the nearby Grade I, Grade II* and Grade II listed buildings within the park. The Belvedere provides commanding views over the extensive pleasure grounds, park, woodland and former kitchen gardens. It is an important surviving representative of the earliest designed landscape by Sir John Vanburgh, which was later altered by Lancelot Brown among others and is well-recorded in documentary sources. The Belvedere was a symbol of the distinguished status of the owners of Claremont Park, widely visible from the surrounding area, and displays the architectural fashions and aspirations of early 18th century aristocracy.

History

See Details.

Details

This record was the subject of a minor enhancement on 26 November 2014. The record has been generated from an "old county number" (OCN) scheduling record. These are monuments that were not reviewed under the Monuments Protection Programme and are some of our oldest designation records.

The monument includes a belvedere built in 1717 by Sir John Vanbrugh. It is situated at the summit of a natural ridge and commands a view in all directions over the surrounding area. The Belvedere is a two storey brick tower with stone dressings and a tiled roof. It is H-shaped in plan with four square battlemented corner towers. There are three bays on each side of the tower with large circular headed windows, most of which are now blocked. In 1709, Sir John Vanburgh built a small villa at Chargate Farm near Esher. He later sold this to his friend and patron, Thomas Pelham-Holles, Earl of Clare (later created Duke of Newcastle), who changed the name to Claremont. Vanbrugh was then employed to transform the house into a country mansion and, with the assistance of Charles Bridgeman, design the surrounding garden and plantations including the Belvedere Tower in 1715. It is Grade II* listed.

Claremont Park is a Grade I registered Park and Garden

Legacy

The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.

Legacy System number:: SU 122
Legacy System:: RSM - OCN

Sources

Other
Surrey HER 3744. NMR TQ16SW27. PastScape 397810

Legal

This monument is scheduled under the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979 as amended as it appears to the Secretary of State to be of national importance. This entry is a copy, the original is held by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.