Belton Gardens and Playground, England

Belton House features an amazing set of gardens and, more importantly to the kids, an amazing playground. They are so wonderful that we visited it on two different trips.

The Italian Garden has a lovely fountain that was refreshing on the hot summer day when we first visited.

Italian Garden

J and L wade in!

The Italian Garden also has the Orangery, a large green house where citrus could be grown even in the inhospitable English climate. The Orangery is now full of exotic plants and statues.

The Orangery

Packed with flora

Ancient statues and recent plants

Nearer the house is the Dutch Garden from the late 1800s.

Dutch Garden

Part of the house overlooking the Dutch Garden

Away from all the buildings and across a stream is the most interesting outdoor part, the adventure playground.

Fake ruins

Real stream

The playground has some amazing slides, tall enough to put terror in parents but not in children.

L on the long slide

J on the long slide

Long and twisty slide!

J survives

Many little and not so little play forts are scattered around the area.

Smaller, connected forts

J looks out

An even bigger wooden fort

Climbers kept J and L going up and down as well.

J on the red climber

L on the blue climber

Even more precarious are the walking ropes. J started on the easier one but soon went to the ropes with no arm holds.

Not too tricky

A lot tougher

A year later

Making it half way before falling off

L had the best idea, taking a rest before more adventures.

L in the tree chair

Parish Church of St. Peter and St. Paul, Belton, England

On the Belton House grounds is the local parish church dedicated to Saints Peter and Paul. The church dates back to the time of the Domesday Book (William the Conqueror's survey of England in the mid 1080s). The church has been rebuilt and restored several times, so it shows influences from the Norman period all the way through the Victorian era.

St. Peter and St. Paul Church, Belton

The octagonal baptismal font dates back to the Norman period (1200s).

Norman font

The nave of the church has been restored a few times, the last being the Victorian work, including the addition of pews, by the third Earl Brownlow. The pulpit and communion rails are from the Jacobean period.

Nave

Main altar

The most striking thing in the church is the wide variety of memorials, mostly to the Brownlow and Cust families, who were the owners of Belton House.

William Brownlow (1699-1726) Memorial

Dame Alice Brownlow (1659-1721) Memorial

Sir John Brownlow (1690-1754)

Old Sir John Brownlow and his wife Alice

Detail of John and Alice

Richard Brownlow (1553-1638)

Richard is the Brownlow who built the family fortune as a prominent Elizabethan-era lawyer.

John Cust (1779-1853), with his first wife Sophia in the back

Henry John Cockayne Cust (1816-1917)

Harry Cust, as he was known, would have been the fourth earl of Belton if he hadn't died before his cousin. His wife Nina carved this tomb as well as a bust of Harry in the main house.

The church is very much a family tomb as it is the local parish.

Belton House, England

Belton House was built by Sir John Brownlow in the late 1680s and is considered the quintessential country estate house. The house is well proportioned and is surrounded by formal gardens and 1300 acres of deer park. It's the good life, English-aristocracy style.

Belton House

The grounds include the standard stable yard with clock and a variety of exterior decorations.

Stable yard

Other side of the stable yard exit

Kids on the carriage mounting block

Bit of showy outdoor statues

Maybe the family crest?

Inside is just as exquisite as the outside. The Marble Hall is the first room visitors would walk into, and they'd see a bust of King William IV. The bust dates from 1838, the year after the king died. The family connection to the king is the Earl's wife, who was lady-in-waiting to the Queen.

Marble Hall

William IV

Oriental vases, another sign of wealth and class

The downstairs includes the Blue Bedroom and a chapel which was rather poorly lit. The chapel is two stories tall but begins a floor below the ground floor, so we were only able to see it from the chapel gallery.

Blue Bedroom

Chapel

The main staircase leads up to more bedrooms and has a lovely bust of Sophia Cust who was lady-in-waiting to the Queen as mentioned above.

Main stairs

Sophia Cust by Joseph Nollekens

In keeping with the vases downstairs, one of the upstairs bedrooms is the Chinese Bedroom, stylishly decorated with wallpaper imported from China depicting a garden party.

Chinese wallpaper

The Queen's Bedroom is the centerpiece of the upstairs. The queen visited after William's death and stayed in this room.

Queen's Bedroom

The family china is nearby

The upstairs also has a nice library including a bronze statue of the third Earl Brownlow with his horse "Queen Bess." The statue is from 1871 so I'm sure the horse's name was not an affront to the royal family.

The library

The third Earl Brownlow

The final upstairs room is the Boudoir, another relaxing bedroom.

Sitting area of the Boudoir

The ceiling

Back downstairs, the Red Drawing Room leads into the Hondecoeter Room, where the family dined. The room is named after Melchior d'Hondecoeter who painted the landscapes on the walls.

Red Drawing Room

Hondecoeter Room

The Tapestry Room shows of more of the family wealth, as well as the stud with its second century bust of Roman Emperor Trajan.

Tapestry Room

Trajan Bust

When we visited, a silver smith was giving demonstrations, but when we got to the room, she was on a break! That's the way luck goes sometimes. The house is great to visit.

The church on the ground (which has many family tombs) will be the next post!