Stone and Plaque About 200 Yards West-north-west of Belmont House
STONE AND PLAQUE ABOUT 200 YARDS WEST-NORTH-WEST OF BELMONT HOUSE, Perry Hill Court, Ruckhall Lane, Belmont, Hereford
Listed on the National Heritage List for England. Search over 400,000 listed places
Overview
- Heritage Category:
- Listed Building
- Grade:
- II
- List Entry Number:
- 1099702
- Date first listed:
- 22-Oct-1986
- List Entry Name:
- Stone and Plaque About 200 Yards West-north-west of Belmont House
- Statutory Address:
- STONE AND PLAQUE ABOUT 200 YARDS WEST-NORTH-WEST OF BELMONT HOUSE, Perry Hill Court, Ruckhall Lane, Belmont, Hereford
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Location
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Discover moreOfficial list entry
- Heritage Category:
- Listed Building
- Grade:
- II
- List Entry Number:
- 1099702
- Date first listed:
- 22-Oct-1986
- Date of most recent amendment:
- 17-Dec-2012
- List Entry Name:
- Stone and Plaque About 200 Yards West-north-west of Belmont House
- Statutory Address 1:
- STONE AND PLAQUE ABOUT 200 YARDS WEST-NORTH-WEST OF BELMONT HOUSE, Perry Hill Court, Ruckhall Lane, Belmont, Hereford
The scope of legal protection for listed buildings
This List entry helps identify the building designated at this address for its special architectural or historic interest.
Unless the List entry states otherwise, it includes both the structure itself and any object or structure fixed to it (whether inside or outside) as well as any object or structure within the curtilage of the building.
For these purposes, to be included within the curtilage of the building, the object or structure must have formed part of the land since before 1st July 1948.
The scope of legal protection for listed buildings
This List entry helps identify the building designated at this address for its special architectural or historic interest.
Unless the List entry states otherwise, it includes both the structure itself and any object or structure fixed to it (whether inside or outside) as well as any object or structure within the curtilage of the building.
For these purposes, to be included within the curtilage of the building, the object or structure must have formed part of the land since before 1st July 1948.
Location
- Statutory Address:
- STONE AND PLAQUE ABOUT 200 YARDS WEST-NORTH-WEST OF BELMONT HOUSE, Perry Hill Court, Ruckhall Lane, Belmont, Hereford
The building or site itself may lie within the boundary of more than one authority.
- District:
- County of Herefordshire (Unitary Authority)
- Parish:
- Belmont Rural
- National Grid Reference:
- SO4748538794
Summary
A sandstone rock with inset metal plaque which was carved and placed in 1813.
Reasons for Designation
The Stone and Plaque about 200 yards west-north-west of Belmont House are listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:
* Historic Interest: the stone and plaque reflect the history of the estate in the C18 when it was owned by John Matthews (a friend of Richard Uvedale Price) who built his house and laid out the park to take advantage of the Picturesque potential of this riverside setting;
* Group Value: the stone and plaque form part of the context for Belmont House, a country house designed by James Wyatt, which forms the core of the present house. They also form an ensemble with the walled garden and its ancillary buildings.
History
The Old Hill estate was bought by John Matthews in 1788 and he immediately employed James Wyatt to build a new house for him. At the same time he started to lay out the landscape. He is later believed to have employed Humphry Repton to help with designs in the 1790s, but this plaque shows that Matthews was making alterations to his park from the start and that he was on cordial terms with a neighbour who was to become a noted commentator on landscaping.
Foxley was the estate of the Herefordshire land owner Sir Uvedale Price (1747-1829). He published his ‘Essay on the Picturesque, As Compared With The Sublime and The Beautiful’ in 1794, and this, together with a poem 'The Landscape' published by another neighbour, Sir Richard Payne Knight, in the same year, had a profound effect upon the perception of natural scenery in England.
Details
A sandstone rock with inset metal plaque which was manufactured and set in place in 1813. The boulder has been left in its raw state to the majority of its surface, but a recessed rectangular panel has been carved in the eastern face to receive a cast iron plaque, which bears the following wording in raised lettering:
THE ACORN FROM WHICH / THIS OAK SPRANG / WAS SOWN AT / FOXLEY / AD / 1773 / THE SAPLING WAS PLANTED AT / BELMONT / BY / JOHN MATTHEWS ESQ / AD / 1788 / IT MEASURED FIVE FEET / SIX INCHES / IN / CIRCUMFERENCE / AD / 1813.
There is now no oak tree standing near to the boulder and plaque, but there are two headstones for dog graves c. 5 metres to the north.
Legacy
The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.
- Legacy System number:
- 155347
- Legacy System:
- LBS
Sources
Books and journals
Brooks, A, Pevsner, N, The Buildings of England: Herefordshire, (2012), 100
Whitehead, D, The Picturesque in Belmont, Herefordshire The Development Of A Picturesque Estate , (), 1-8
Whitehead, D, The Picturesque in Belmont, Herefordshire The Development Of A Picturesque Estate , (), 1-11
Legal
This building is listed under the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 as amended for its special architectural or historic interest.
Map
This map is for quick reference purposes only and may not be to scale. This copy shows the entry on 18-Jun-2026 at 20:23:07.
Download a full scale map (PDF)End of official list entry
All text content is available under the Open Government Licence v3.0 , except where otherwise stated. Any supplied maps are © Crown Copyright [and database rights] 2026 OS AC0000815036 and may not be reproduced without permission.