Belsay Hall
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| Belsay Hall | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Type | Country house |
| Location | Belsay |
| Coordinates | 55°05′59″N 1°51′52″W / 55.0997°N 1.8645°W |
| OS grid reference | NZ087783 |
| Area | Northumberland |
| Built | 1810-1817 |
| Architect | Sir Charles Monck |
| Architectural style(s) | Greek Revival |
| Owner | English Heritage |
Listed Building – Grade I | |
| Official name | Belsay Hall |
| Designated | 27 Aug 1952 |
| Reference no. | 1304489 |
| Official name | Belsay Hall |
| Designated | 1 January 1985 |
| Reference no. | 1001042 |
  Location of Belsay Hall in Northumberland | |
Belsay Hall is a Regency style country house located at Belsay, Northumberland. It is regarded as the first British country house to be built entirely in the new Greek Revival style.[1] It is a Grade I listed building.[2] It was built to supersede Belsay Castle and its adjoining earlier hall just a few hundred yards away, and is part of the same estate.[3]
The house was built between 1810 and 1817 for Sir Charles Monck (then of Belsay Castle close by) to his own design, possibly assisted by architect John Dobson. It is built in ashlar with a Lakeland slate roof in the Greek Doric style. Monck modelled his design on the style of buildings he had seen during his two-year honeymoon in Greece, particularly the Temple of Hephaestus in Athens.[3]
The house measures 100 feet (30 m) square, with a lower kitchen wing attached to the north side. Externally the house appears to have two stories, although there is an additional storey hidden within the roof space to provide servant accommodation.[2]
This service side of the house was badly affected by dry rot in the 1970s and, following remedial work, it was left as a weather-proof shell to illustrate how the house was built. The hall was the residence of the Middleton family until 1962.
