Our Visit to Belmont House

On Wednesday 30 April, a coach party of members of the Arts Society Gravesend visited Belmont House near Faversham. It was a beautiful sunny day, so we saw the house and grounds at their best. On arrival we had tea or coffee and biscuits in the orangery before we split into 2 groups for our guided tour by very knowledgeable guides who clearly loved the house and grounds. Belmont house only does group guided tours on a Wednesday and only one tour party at a time – so we had the house to ourselves, but the grounds were open to the public. 

Following our tour, we sat down for lunch in the orangery, before spending the afternoon exploring the grounds and sitting have a cup of tea in the spring sunshine before boarding the coach for our trip home.

Belmont  House is an elegant 18th century house (designed by Samuel Wyatt) with wonderful views over the surrounding estate and the North Downs. The original house was built in 1769 for Edward Wilks, storekeeper at the nearby Faversham Powder Mill. The extensive views and its elevated position gave Belmont its name. For most of its existence Belmont House was owned by the Harris family until the 5th Lord Harris created a trust to ensure that the house remained as it was. The house contains mementos of the family's history and travels. A family who threw nothing away, so the collection is extensive to say the least.

Belmont House is of interesting many ways, but perhaps three of the most significant are: 

1. Architecturally, it is an unspoilt example of Samuel Wyatt's work. One of the most progressive architects of the late 18th Century, this lovely house is a fine testimony to his understated neo-classical style.
2. Historically, the house is important for its well-preserved records of a family who played a role in the development of the overseas territories in the 18th and 19th Centuries (particularly India) Successive Lords Harris served as soldiers and diplomats. 
3. Its Clock Collection – it is said that it holds the finest collection of Clocks in England created by the 5th Lord Harris.