Belton House

Built between 1685 and 1687 by Sir John Brownlow, 3rd Baronet, Belton House in Lincolnshire is one of the finest examples of Carolean (Restoration) architecture. Carolean being considered the only truly vernacular style of architecture that England has produced since the Tudor period. 

The house was fitted with the most upto date innovations, such as sash windows for the principal rooms, and the layout followed the latest thinking on house planning. Successive generations have altered the interior of the house reflecting their changing social position and tastes, yet the fabric and design of the house have changed little. I no longer take interior shots of houses visited, but the following two items in particular caught my eye in Belton House.

This lovely painting of Adelaide, wife of the 3rd Earl Brownlow, which was painted by Frederick Lord Leighton, and below a delightful enamel on metal plaque showing Nina Cust by Alex Fisher.

Emmeline "Nina" Cust was herself an artist, and a very skilled Sculptor. She was married to Henry John Cockayne-Cust whom she adored and loved dearly, but her enduring love and the early demise of her philandering husband wove emotional sadness throughout her married life.  

This exquisitely carved tomb was sculptured by Nina for her husband when he died in 1917. It resides in the church of St. Peter & St. Paul which overlooks the gardens at Belton House. He had been the heir apparent to the barony of Brownlow, the Cust baronetcy and to the extensive Cust estates centred on Belton House. However, having predeceased the 3rd Earl by three years, the inheritance fell to his surviving younger brother. Nina too was finally laid to rest besides her husband when she died 38 years later in 1955 at the age of 88 years.

Belton's Conservatory was crafted around a cast-iron sub-frame, making it the first garden building of its type in England.

Time to head off now to the NT Stables cafe for a bowl of their delicious homemade soup and a freshly baked cheese scone to sustain us on our journey back home following our few days away.