“It is an amazing construction and should be more famous,” said English Heritage properties curator Mark Douglas in the vast, echoing cellars of a remarkable, Greek temple-style building – not in Athens but eight miles from Newcastle airport.
“Architectural students should be flocking here, they really should.”
English Heritage hopes that may soon happen as it unveils the results of major conservation work at Belsay Hall and gardens in Northumberland. The two-year project has included a new roof for the hall and substantial work, led by landscape designer and garden expert Dan Pearson, to bring the gardens back to their best.
Belsay Hall is modelled on the Temple of Hephaestus in Athens and was designed by its perfectionist owner, Sir Charles Monck, in the early 19th century, drawing on the style of buildings he had seen during his two-year honeymoon in Greece.
Monck had the money, drive and ruthlessness (he later demolished the village of Belsay and rebuilt it away from his park) to see the project through.
The results are astonishing, said Douglas. “I defy anyone to find any better stonework than you’ll find here. The degree of accuracy is better than anywhere you would find in the country. It is so perfect, it is absolutely stunning.”
Today Belsay Hall is recognised as one of England’s earliest Greek revival houses, but time had taken its toll. Douglas said changes in the weather, with harder downpours and higher winds, had accelerated the need for major repair and refurbishment works.
The roof has always been a problem because its pitch is extremely – and deliberately – low, in order for it not to be seen. Over the years, slates have been badly laid so the wind has blown them off and the rain has got in, with the hall having damp problems for the past 200 years.
“It appears that Monck hadn’t accounted for Northumberland’s harsh winters,” said Douglas.
The new work will, it is hoped, banish Belsay’s damp problems for good.
Belsay is known for its wonderful gardens, formal and wild, and its extensive historical plant records, which show that many trees and shrubs in the property were early introductions to England.
However, much of the original planting material has been lost and the woodland garden become swamped by overgrown laurels and rhododendrons.
Pearson has led a project planting more than 80,000 new plants, 35,000 of them in the woodland. Much of it took place during the first pandemic lockdown.
John Watkins, English Heritage’s head of gardens and landscapes, said Pearson had helped rejuvenate Belsay. “Dan’s plantsmanship and painterly eye have helped to bring out the individual character of the extensive garden areas which will provide beauty and interest throughout the year.”
The two-year Belsay Awakes conservation and revival project has had a grant of £3.4m from the National Lottery Heritage Fund as well as donations from the Garfield Weston Foundation and the Foyle Foundation.
It has also funded a new children’s woodland play area near the other part of Belsay, a medieval castle where the Monck family lived before their Greek dream home was built.
Helen Featherstone, the lottery fund’s director of England north, said: “It is incredibly inspiring to see that our funding continues to support some of the country’s most unique heritage sites, of which Belsay Hall, castle and gardens, with its picturesque surroundings brimming with exotic plants, is a wonderful example.
“Thanks to national lottery players, we’re delighted to see Belsay restored and to know that the future of this architectural gem in the north is secure. We’re sure that this fantastic conservation project will pave the way for many more visitors to enjoy discovering the heritage of the historic site.”