| Belsize House | |
|---|---|
 | |
 | |
| General information | |
| Town or city | London Borough of Camden |
| Country | England |
| Coordinates | 51°32′49″N0°10′08″W / 51.54694°N 0.16889°W |
| Year(s) built | c. 1663 |
| Demolished | 1853 |
Belsize House was a historic residence in Belsize Park in what is today the London Borough of Camden. It was a country estate located south of Hampstead, which was then some distance away from the outskirts of the capital.
An Elizabethan manor house stood on the site. [1] Daniel O'Neill, an Irish Cavalier in the English Civil Wars, 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. [2]
After 1720, Belsize became a place of public entertainment to cater to the growing traffic heading towards the fashionable Hampstead Wells. [3] This included serving refreshments as well as turning the grounds into pleasure gardens. It soon gained a reputation for hosting gambling as well.
It subsequently reverted to being a residence. The politician Spencer Perceval rented the house between 1798 and 1807. He later served as Prime Minister before his assassination in 1812. [4] It was demolished in 1853 and replaced by a series of streets of white stucco residences to provide upmarket housing for the expanding population of the city. [5] These included Belsize Park Gardens 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-lined approach to the house is now Belsize Avenue which heads east to Haverstock Hill. [6]
Spencer Perceval 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 assassinated, and the only solicitor-general or attorney-general to have become prime minister.
John Bellingham was an English merchant and perpetrator of the 1812 murder of Spencer Perceval, the only British prime minister to be assassinated.
Belsize Park is a residential area of Hampstead in the London Borough of Camden, England.
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 Avenue in Belsize Village before terminating at a junction with Eton Avenue, England's Lane and Primrose Hill Road. The Grade II listed pub The Washington, dating from around 1865, is located at its eastern end.
On 11 May 1812, at about 5:15 pm, Spencer Perceval, the prime minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, was shot dead in the lobby of the House of Commons by John Bellingham, a Liverpool merchant with a grievance against the government. Bellingham was detained; four days after the murder, he was tried, convicted and sentenced to death. He was hanged at Newgate Prison on 18 May, one week after the assassination and one month before the start of the War of 1812. Perceval remains the sole British prime minister to have been assassinated.
Jane Perceval, later known as "Lady Carr" after her second marriage, was the wife of Spencer Perceval, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom between 1809 and 1812, until his assassination.
Eton Avenue is a street in the Belsize Park area of Hampstead in North London. Located in the London Borough of Camden, it runs eastward from Swiss Cottage tube station to a junction with England's Lane, Primrose Hill Road and Belsize Park Gardens by The Washington pub. Fellows Road and Adelaide Road run parallel to the south of Eton Avenue.
Belsize Lane is a street in the Belsize Park area of Hampstead in London. Located in the London Borough of Camden, it runs east to west from Haverstock Hill to Fitzjohns Avenue. While residential for much of the route, it also features a group of commercial properties that form the centre of Belsize Village. The Tavistock Clinic is located at its western end.
Maresfield Gardens is a street in Hampstead. Located in the London Borough of Camden, it runs parallel to the west of Fitzjohns Avenue for much of its route before curving to join it at is southern end. It crosses Nutley Terrace and Netherhall Gardens. The Belsize Tunnel passes underneath the street. It primarily feature red brick buildings.
Netherhall Gardens is a street in Hampstead, in the London Borough of Camden. It connects Finchley Road with Fitzjohns Avenue, curving twice along its route and meeting Nutley Terrace and Maresfield Gardens. The short Netherhall Way connects it to Frognal. Belsize Tunnel carrying the Midland Main Line passes under the street.
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 to Belsize House, a country estate that occupied the area until it was demolished in 1853 to allow residential development. A number of houses in the street were built by William Willett around 1873.
Hampstead Hill Gardens is a street in Hampstead in the London Borough of Camden. It runs eastwards off the Rosslyn Hill stretch of the A502 road before looping round to join Pond Street to the south. The land was considered as a potential location for Hampstead Town Hall before a nearby site on Haverstock Hill was selected. The Hampstead Heath Tunnel of the North London Line passes under the street.
Adelaide Road is a street in London running east to west between Chalk Farm and Swiss Cottage. Located in the London Borough of Camden it is part of the longer B509 route which continues as Belsize Road through South Hampstead. The Belsize Park area of Hampstead is to its north while Primrose Hill is to the south. It runs parallel to Fellows Road and Eton Avenue. Along its route it meets or is crossed by several streets including Primrose Hill Road and Avenue Road. At its eastern end is Chalk Farm tube station at the junction with Haverstock Hill, which opened in 1907. It takes its name from Queen Adelaide, wife of William IV.
Primrose Hill Road is a street located in the London Borough of Camden. Running off Regent's Park Road in the centre of the Primrose Hill area it heads west before curving northwards, following for some of its route alongside the edge of Primrose Hill. After crossing Adelaide Road it terminates next to The Washington pub in Belsize Park, at a junction with Eton Avenue, England's Lane and Belsize Park Gardens. Primrose Hill Tunnel carrying the West Coast Main Line passes underneath the street.
Priory Road is a street in Kilburn. Located in the London Borough of Camden it runs northwards from Belsize Road through South Hampstead crossing several streets including Abbey Road before finishing at a junction with Broadhurst Gardens, not far from West Hampstead tube station. It takes its name from the old Kilburn Priory located in the area until the dissolution of the monasteries under Henry VIII.
Broadhurst Gardens is a street in the London Borough of Camden running eastwards from West End Lane in West Hampstead and ending near to the Finchley Road. It forms the northern border of South Hampstead, and runs parallel to the Midland Main Line. It meets or is crossed by Priory Road, Fairhazel Gardens and Canfield Gardens.
Belsize Road is a street in the London Borough of Camden. It runs west to east from Kilburn High Road to close to Finchley Road in the Swiss Cottage area of Hampstead. It is part of the B509 route which continues eastwards as Adelaide Road to Chalk Farm tube station. Despite its name it is located to the west of Belsize Park in the South Hampstead area. Much of its route runs parallel to the Midland Main Line and Kilburn High Road station is at its eastern end. It meets a number of streets including Loudoun Road, Abbey Road and Priory Road.
Fitzjohns Avenue is a street in Hampstead, England. Located in the London Borough of Camden it runs northwards from College Crescent to join and become Heath Street in Hampstead Village. Running steeply uphill for much of its route Fitzjohns Avenue is joined or crossed by various other streets including Belsize Park, Belsize Lane, Maresfield Gardens, Netherhall Gardens, Akenfield Road and Lyndhurst Road. It is classified as part of the B511 road. It is also sometimes written as Fitzjohn's Avenue.
Rosslyn House was a historic residence in what is now the Belsize Park area of London. Dating back to the sixteenth century and then known as Grove House, it was acquired in 1794 by the Scottish judge Alexander Wedderburn, 1st Earl of Rosslyn, the Lord Chancellor. Around this time it had an estate of around twenty one acres. After his death, the property was named after the Earl by subsequent occupant Robert Milligan himself known for his role in the construction of the West India Docks.
Lyndhurst Road is a residential street in the Belsize Park area of Hampstead. Located in the London Borough of Camden it runs west to east, linking Fitzjohns Avenue to Rosslyn Hill. Until the nineteenth century it was a rural area on the outskirts of the capital, occupied by Rosslyn House and its estate. As London expanded the Rosslyn House estate, as well as nearby Belsize House, were redeveloped into residential streets. The oldest stretch of Lyndhurst Road was laid out in 1862. It follows the route of Chestnut Walk a much older approach towards Rosslyn House.