16. Fort Belvedere:


This property is a ‘Grace & Favor’ property held by the Crown and leased out to selected individuals. It is located within Windsor Great Park at its extreme south end at Shrubs Hill near Sunninghill Park, Berkshire, just on the borough border of Surrey. It has seven bedrooms and on and off it has been an occupied Royal residence for a long time. Henry VIII loved it. The present building was started by Prince William Augustus, Duke of Cumberland, youngest son of George II and Queen Caroline in the early 1700’s. In the early 1820 it was built by the monarchy as a ‘folly’ for royal tea parties. In 1828 Sir James Wyattville, who built Windsor Castle, enlarged Belvedere, and gave it a very military look with turrets and cannon, which were fired on each Royal birthday. The last salute was fired in 1907, and in 1910 was occupied by a Royal courtier. Queen Victoria often visited and it was later used for a residence of her son Arthur, Duke of Connaught.

In 1926 it became vacant and Edward, Prince of Wales asked his father George V if he could use it. His father, who did not approve of his ‘American’ ways, reluctantly
agreed. ‘David’ as he Prince was called lived there from 1930-1930 when he abdicated. The Prince loved it! He worked happily with his own hands to clear away years of overgrowth, and replant rare rhododendron and other flowers. It became the center of his ‘uncultured entertaining’ – according to his furious father. It was here that Wallis Simpson was gradually invited, first with her husband Ernest Simpson, and then increasingly without. It was here they became lovers. David was an avid gardener and worked for hours improving the gardens, especially the planting of roses, for which he had a particular love and talent. It was here that the final meetings between David and Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin were held on the Abdication Crisis over Wallis and where, in the presence of his brothers, Edward signed the Abdication document in 1936 in the sitting room of Fort Belvedere.

When he abdicated in 1938, David left for France and never returned to Belvedere again, although he missed it dearly and his inability to return to England was a very sore spot with he and his brother, now King George VI and especially his Queen, Elizabeth, who could not abide Wallis and all she represented (divorce…). It is interesting that part of the negotiations of the Abdication was George VI’s unofficial promise that his brother Edward could use his beloved Fort whenever he returned to England for a visit. This promise was broken, as was his expectation to be allowed to revisit England – two events that greatly embittered the Duke of Windsor.

During WWII it was earmarked as a potential site for the evacuation of government officials and files, and after 1945 sat vacant until 1955 when it ceased to be a ‘grace and favor’ Royal residence and was available for 99 years leases. In 1956 Gerald Lascelles, son of Princess Mary, the Princess Royal and daughter of George V, moved in and lived there until her death in 1975 on a 99 year lease. In 1976 the Amir of Dubai moved in. He sublet it to a TV company which made the popular TV series ‘Edward and Mrs. Simpson’ there. Finally the Canadian billionaire, Galen Weston and his family occupied the Fort and live there today (2008). He has a farm nearby and stables where he houses his polo ponies, and those of Prince Charles, a personal friend and one-time fellow polo player on Galen’s Maple Leaf polo team.

In the early 1990’s I visited Windsor and took a walk down the Long Walk south from the Windsor Castle. I was heading for Fort Belvedere and walked some 6 hours, but still it was too far and I turned back without seeing it.

The property is generally not open to the public, but like the Mausoleum at Frogmore, not far to the north, it is open on specific ‘charity days’. In the case of Belvedere, one such charity is the Friends of the Heathbrook Hospital. People interested in visiting this marvelous Fort of history should search its name on the Internet, located the charity days it is open and call, e-mail or buy tickets on line. They are usually very time specific. A trip worth planning along with Magna Carta’s Runnymede, Windsor Castle and Victoria and Albert Mausoleum, all in the area.


15. Bodiam Castle


This truly medieval castle is located in Robertsbridge, East Sussex, 3 miles from Hawkhurst and 3 miles east of A21 and Hurst Green. It brings tears to the eyes to see its beauty. It is an idyllic Mediaeval Castle, a perfect example of late medieval moated castles completely surrounded by a moat, with the living quarters of the castle in one corner tower and the chapel in another. It was originally built in 1385 by Sir Edward Dalyngnigge, a knight of Edward 111 during the period of the Hundred Years War between England and France that had started in 1377. Near the south coast, where the Castle is located, was in constant threat of French invasion. The Castle was never attacked. Over the centuries it was owned by a succession of Sussex families until 1664 when it was left to decay. It did so until the early 20th Century.

Lord George Curzon (1859-1925), 1st Marquis of Kedleston bought the Castle, the whole estate, including farmland and a manor house from Lord Ashcombe in 1917 for 19,000 pounds. He purchased the whole estate so the Castle would never be crowded upon. He restored it to its original mediaeval appearance, a type of architecture he loved. He even employed a gang of men to excavate the original moat The original exterior is still intact, along with original spiral staircases and battlements. Lord Curzon left it to the National Trust in 1926 after he had died. It is totally to his vision and generosity that this wonderful property is still there for us to see and appreciate.

The Castle has been the location of many movies: Monty Python and the Holy Grail, as Swamp Castle in Tale of Sir Lancelot, in Doctor Who, Robin of Sherwood and Joe’s Palace. It also served as aerial shot in Mannheim Steamrollers’s video ‘God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen’.

They are open on different days during different parts of the year. Consult the National Trust website and select Bodiam Castle to get the details. It can be reached for details at: phone: 01580830196 or bodiamcastle@nationaltrust.org.uk. Adult admission is in the range of 5.80 pounds, and children 2.90 pounds and there is a family rate. The best website to find out more about the Castle is www.castle-abbeys.co.uk/Bodiam-Castles.html.