| 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]
Hampstead is an area in London, England, which lies four miles northwest of Charing Cross, and extends from the A5 road to Hampstead Heath, a large, hilly expanse of parkland. The area forms the northwest part of the London Borough of Camden, a borough in Inner London which for the purposes of the London Plan is designated as part of Central London.
Spencer Perceval was a British statesman and barrister who served as 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 an affluent residential area of Hampstead in the London Borough of Camden, England.
Hillfield Court is a prominent art deco residential mansion block in Belsize Park, in the London Borough of Camden, built in 1934. It is located off Belsize Avenue and can also be accessed from Glenloch Road. It is one of the many purpose built mansion blocks on Haverstock Hill between Chalk Farm and Hampstead. It is close to the amenities near Belsize Park tube station, as well as the shops of Belsize Village, South End Green and Hampstead.
Frognal is a small area of Hampstead, North West London in the London Borough of Camden. Frognal is reinforced as the name of a minor road, which goes uphill from Finchley Road and at its upper end is in the west of Hampstead village.
Harvey Christian Combe was an English Whig politician. He was the eldest surviving son of Harvey Combe, attorney, of Andover, Hampshire. He served as Lord Mayor of London 1799/1800.
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.
The Logs at 17–20 Well Road and 1, 2 and 3 Cannon Lane is a large house in Hampstead, in the London Borough of Camden, NW3. The Logs has been listed Grade II on the National Heritage List for England since May 1974.
Well Walk is a street in Hampstead, England located in the London Borough of Camden. It runs southwestwards from Hampstead Heath to Flask Walk which then continues on towards the centre of Hampstead Village around the Hampstead tube station. It takes its name from the historic Hampstead Wells.
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 and Belsize Park Gardens by The Washington pub.
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.
Spaniards Road is a street in Hampstead in the London Borough of Camden. It runs northwards from the junction of Heath Street and North End Way, close to the Hampstead War Memorial and Jack Straw's Castle, cutting through Hampstead Heath before becoming Hampstead Lane which then turns eastwards towards Highgate. It is designated part of the B519 Road.
Hampstead Square is located in Hampstead in the London Borough of Camden. It runs eastward off Heath Street and then curves southwards before Elm Row connects it again to Heath Street. It is linked by pedestrian access to Cannon Place.
Holly Hill is a street in Hampstead in the London Borough of Camden. It runs northwards from a junction with Hampstead High Street and Heath Street, Hampstead heading uphill to a grassy triangle named Holly Bush Hill where it meets Windmill Hill and Hampstead Grove by the entrance to Fenton House. It takes its name from a grove of holly bushes which stood on the hill until the 1940s. In the eighteenth century it was known as Cloth Hill, likely because local laundresses using Hampstead Wells hung their clothes out on the Holly Bushes to dry. Holly Mount turns eastwards off the street and forms a cul-de-sac, although there are steps linking it to Heath Street below. Holly Mount contains The Holly Bush pub, which was once linked to the nearby assembly rooms. Notable residents of Holly Hill have included the artists George Romney and Derek Hill, both commemorated with blue plaques. A number of properties are now Grade II listed. Romney's House at 5 Holly Bush Hill is Grade I listed. Running uphill to the west is Mount Vernon which also features notable historic properties and Holly Walk.
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, located 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.