Spencer Perceval by George Francis Joseph

Belsize House was a historic residence in

Belsize Park Belsize Park is a residential area of Hampstead in the London Borough of Camden, in the Inner London, inner North West London, north-west of London, England. The residential streets are lined with Georgian and Victorian villas and mews houses. ...

in what is today the

London Borough of Camden The London Borough of Camden () is a London boroughs, borough in Inner London, England. Camden Town Hall, on Euston Road, lies north of Charing Cross. The borough was established on 1 April 1965 from the former Metropolitan boroughs of the Cou ...

. It was a

country estate An estate is a large parcel of land under single ownership, which generates income for its owner. British context In the United Kingdom, historically an estate comprises the houses, outbuildings, supporting farmland, tenanted buildings, and ...

located south of

Hampstead Hampstead () is an area in London, England, which lies northwest of Charing Cross, located mainly in the London Borough of Camden, with a small part in the London Borough of Barnet. It borders Highgate and Golders Green to the north, Belsiz ...

, which was then some distance away from the outskirts of the capital.

History

Elizabethan The Elizabethan era is the epoch in the Tudor period of the history of England during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I (1558–1603). Historians often depict it as the golden age in English history. The Roman symbol of Britannia (a female per ...

manor house A manor house was historically the main residence of the lord of the manor. The house formed the administrative centre of a manor in the European feudal system; within its great hall were usually held the lord's manorial courts, communal mea ...

stood on the site. Daniel O'Neill, an Irish

Cavalier The term ''Cavalier'' () was first used by Roundheads as a term of abuse for the wealthier royalist supporters of Charles I of England and his son Charles II of England, Charles II during the English Civil War, the Interregnum (England), Int ...

in the

English Civil War The English Civil War or Great Rebellion was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Cavaliers, Royalists and Roundhead, Parliamentarians in the Kingdom of England from 1642 to 1651. Part of the wider 1639 to 1653 Wars of th ...

s, was granted Belsize House by Charles II following the Restoration in 1660. O'Neill rebuilt the house in 1663 and it again underwent significant further remodelling from 1744 to 1746. After 1720, Belsize became a place of public entertainment to cater to the growing traffic heading towards the fashionable

Hampstead Wells Hampstead () is an area in London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider met ...

. This included serving refreshments as well as turning the grounds into

pleasure garden A pleasure garden is a park or garden that is open to the public for recreation and entertainment. Pleasure gardens differ from other public gardens by serving as venues for entertainment, variously featuring such attractions as concert halls, b ...

s. It soon gained a reputation for hosting

gambling Gambling (also known as betting or gaming) is the wagering of something of Value (economics), value ("the stakes") on a Event (probability theory), random event with the intent of winning something else of value, where instances of strategy (ga ...

as well. It subsequently reverted to being a residence. The politician

Spencer Perceval Spencer Perceval (1 November 1762 – 11 May 1812) was a British statesman and barrister who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from October 1809 until his assassination in May 1812. He is the only British prime minister to have been as ...

rented the house between 1798 and 1807. He later served as

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

before his assassination in 1812. It was demolished in 1853 and replaced by a series of streets of white

stucco Stucco or render is a construction material made of aggregates, a binder, and water. Stucco is applied wet and hardens to a very dense solid. It is used as a decorative coating for walls and ceilings, exterior walls, and as a sculptural and ...

residences to provide upmarket housing for the expanding population of the city. These included

Belsize Park Gardens Belsize Park Gardens is a street in the Belsize Park area of Hampstead in London. Located in the London Borough of Camden, it is residential street featuring white stucco Victorian era buildings. It runs roughly southeastwards from Belsize Aven ...

while Belsize Lane a little to the north is an older road. The old house stood close to what is now St Peter's Church on Belsize Square and faced eastwards. What was once the old

elm Elms are deciduous and semi-deciduous trees comprising the genus ''Ulmus'' in the family Ulmaceae. They are distributed over most of the Northern Hemisphere, inhabiting the temperate and tropical- montane regions of North America and Eurasia, ...

-lined approach to the house is now

Belsize Avenue Belsize Avenue is a street in the Belsize Park area of Hampstead. Located in the London Borough of Camden, it runs from Haverstock Hill westwards to a junction with Belsize Terrace and Belsize Park Gardens. It is the former carriageway approach ...

which heads east to

Haverstock Hill Haverstock is an area of the London Borough of Camden: specifically the east of Belsize Park, north of Chalk Farm and west of Kentish Town. It is centred on Queens Crescent and Malden Road. Gospel Oak is to the north, Camden Town to the south. ...

.Wroth & Wroth p.192

References

{{reflist

Bibliography

* Cherry, Bridget & Pevsner, Nikolaus. ''London 4: North''. Yale University Press, 2002. * Linklater, Andro. ''Why Spencer Perceval Had to Die: The Assassination of a British Prime Minister''. A&C Black, 2013. * Wade, Christopher. ''The Streets of Belsize''. Camden History Society, 1991. * Wroth, Warwick William & Wroth, Arthur Edgar. ''The London Pleasure Gardens of the Eighteenth Century. Macmillan and Company, 1896 1663 establishments in England Houses completed in 1663 1853 disestablishments in England Buildings and structures demolished in 1853 Country houses in London Former houses in the London Borough of Camden Demolished buildings and structures in London Hampstead Belsize Park Spencer Perceval

History

See also

References

Bibliography