Belton House is in Belton, Grantham [Map].
In March 1617 King James I of England and Ireland and VI of Scotland [aged 50] stayed as a guest of John "Old Sir John" Brownlow 1st Baronet [aged 27] at the old house near to the church at Belton House [Map] on his way to Scotland.
On 24th November 1679 John "Old Sir John" Brownlow 1st Baronet [aged 89] died without issue. Baronet Brownlow of Belton in Lincolnshire extinct. He left Belton House [Map] to his great-nephew John Brownlow 3rd Baronet [aged 20] (grand-son of his brother William Brownlow 1st Baronet) and niece Alice Sherard Baroness Brownlow [aged 20] (grand-daughter of his sister Elizabeth Brownlow ) who had married three years before in 1676. He also left them an income of £9,000 per annum and £20,000 in cash. They immediately bought a townhouse in Southampton Square.
Between 1685 and 1688 Belton House [Map] was built on behalf of John Brownlow 3rd Baronet [aged 25] in the style of Carolean architecture. The architect may have been William Winde or Christopher Wren [aged 61].
In 1686 William Stanton [aged 47] became Master Mason at Belton House [Map].
In 1695 King William III of England, Scotland and Ireland [aged 44] visited the newly built Belton House [Map].
On 16th July 1697 John Brownlow 3rd Baronet [aged 38] committed suicide after suffering from severe gout. His brother William [aged 31] succeeded 4th Baronet Brownlow of Humby in Lincolnshire and inherited Belton House [Map]. Dorothy Mason Baroness Brownlow [aged 30] by marriage Lady Brownlow of Humby in Lincolnshire.
Monument in St Peter and St Paul Church, Belton [Map] sculpted by William Stanton [aged 58].
On 6th March 1701 William Brownlow 4th Baronet [aged 35] died. His son John [aged 10] succeeded 5th Baronet Brownlow of Humby in Lincolnshire and inherited Belton House [Map].
1725. Philippe Mercier [aged 36]. John Brownlow 1st Viscount Tyconnel [aged 34] and his wife Eleanor Brownlow Viscountess Tyconnel [aged 34], seated in an invalid chair, with her cousin and his wife, with Belton House [Map] in the background.
Before 1754 John Brownlow 1st Viscount Tyconnel [aged 63] occupied the Tyrconnel Room at Belton House [Map].
This is a translation of the 'Memoires of Jacques du Clercq', published in 1823 in two volumes, edited by Frederic, Baron de Reissenberg. In his introduction Reissenberg writes: 'Jacques du Clercq tells us that he was born in 1424, and that he was a licentiate in law and a counsellor to Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy, in the castellany of Douai, Lille, and Orchies. It appears that he established his residence at Arras. In 1446, he married the daughter of Baldwin de la Lacherie, a gentleman who lived in Lille. We read in the fifth book of his Memoirs that his father, also named Jacques du Clercq, had married a lady of the Le Camelin family, from Compiègne. His ancestors, always attached to the counts of Flanders, had constantly served them, whether in their councils or in their armies.' The Memoires cover a period of nineteen years beginning in in 1448, ending in in 1467. It appears that the author had intended to extend the Memoirs beyond that date; no doubt illness or death prevented him from carrying out this plan. As Reissenberg writes the 'merit of this work lies in the simplicity of its narrative, in its tone of good faith, and in a certain air of frankness which naturally wins the reader’s confidence.' Du Clercq ranges from events of national and international importance, including events of the Wars of the Roses in England, to simple, everyday local events such as marriages, robberies, murders, trials and deaths, including that of his own father in Book 5; one of his last entries.
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After 1754 the Tyrconnel Room at Belton House [Map] became the Billiard Room.
On 27th February 1754 John Brownlow 1st Viscount Tyconnel [aged 63] died. Viscount Tyconnel, Baronet Brownlow of Humby in Lincolnshire extinct. John Cust 3rd Baronet [aged 35] inherited Belton House [Map].
On 24th January 1770 John Cust 3rd Baronet [aged 51] died. His son Brownlow [aged 25] succeeded 4th Baronet Cust of Stamford in Lincolnshire and inherited Belton House [Map].
Monument in St Peter and St Paul Church, Belton [Map]. Sculpted by William Tyler [aged 41].
On 25th December 1807 Brownlow Cust 1st Baron Brownlow [aged 63] died. His son John [aged 28] succeeded 2nd Baron Brownlow of Belton in Lincolnshire, 5th Baronet Cust of Stamford in Lincolnshire, and inherited Belton House [Map]. Monument in St Peter and St Paul Church, Belton [Map] sculpted by Richard "The Elder" Westmacott [aged 60].
In 1839 John Cust 1st Earl Brownlow [aged 59] commissioned a large Aubusson carpet for the Saloon of Belton House [Map].
In 1841 Queen Adelaide of England [aged 48] visited Belton House [Map]. She stayed in the Queen's Room in which the great canopied Rococo-style bed in which the Queen slept has a royal monogram "AR" for Adelaide Regina embroidered on the bedhead.
On 15th September 1853 John Cust 1st Earl Brownlow [aged 74] died. His grandson John [aged 11] succeeded 2nd Earl Brownlow, 2nd Viscount Alford, 3rd Baron Brownlow of Belton in Lincolnshire, 6th Baronet Cust of Stamford in Lincolnshire, and inherited Belton House [Map].
On 20th February 1867 John William Spencer Brownlow Egerton-Cust 2nd Earl Brownlow [aged 24] died in Mentone Italy. His brother Adelbert [aged 22] succeeded 3rd Earl Brownlow, 3rd Viscount Alford, 4th Baron Brownlow of Belton in Lincolnshire, 7th Baronet Cust of Stamford in Lincolnshire, and inherited Belton House [Map].
On 17th March 1921 Adelbert Wellington Brownlow Cust 3rd Earl Brownlow [aged 76] died. Earl Brownlow, Viscount Alford extinct. His second cousin Adelbert [aged 53] succeeded 5th Baron Brownlow of Belton in Lincolnshire, 8th Baronet Cust of Stamford in Lincolnshire, and inherited Belton House [Map]. Maud Buckle Baroness Brownlow [aged 50] by marriage Baroness Brownlow of Belton in Lincolnshire.
In 1927 Adelbert Salusbury Cockayne-Cust 5th Baron Brownlow [aged 59] died. His son Peregrine [aged 27] succeeded 6th Baron Brownlow of Belton in Lincolnshire, 9th Baronet Cust of Stamford in Lincolnshire, and inherited Belton House [Map].
Chronicle of Geoffrey le Baker of Swinbroke
Baker was a secular clerk from Swinbroke, now Swinbrook, an Oxfordshire village two miles east of Burford. His Chronicle describes the events of the period 1303-1356: Gaveston, Bannockburn, Boroughbridge, the murder of King Edward II, the Scottish Wars, Sluys, Crécy, the Black Death, Winchelsea and Poitiers. To quote Herbert Bruce 'it possesses a vigorous and characteristic style, and its value for particular events between 1303 and 1356 has been recognised by its editor and by subsequent writers'. The book provides remarkable detail about the events it describes. Baker's text has been augmented with hundreds of notes, including extracts from other contemporary chronicles, such as the Annales Londonienses, Annales Paulini, Murimuth, Lanercost, Avesbury, Guisborough and Froissart to enrich the reader's understanding. The translation takes as its source the 'Chronicon Galfridi le Baker de Swynebroke' published in 1889, edited by Edward Maunde Thompson.
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1929. John Mansfield Crealock [aged 58]. Portrait of Charles Leopold Cust 3rd Baronet [aged 64]. Belton House [Map].
Charles Leopold Cust 3rd Baronet: On 27th February 1864 he was born to Leopold Cust 2nd Baronet and Charlotte Bridgeman Lady Cust. On 3rd March 1878 Leopold Cust 2nd Baronet died. His son Charles succeeded 3rd Baronet Cust of Leasowe Castle in Cheshire. On 19th January 1931 Charles Leopold Cust 3rd Baronet died. He was buried at St Peter and St Paul Church, Belton [Map]. Baronet Cust of Leasowe Castle in Cheshire extinct.
In 1936 Edward John Peregrine Cust 7th Baron Brownlow was born to Peregrine Cust 6th Baron Brownlow [aged 36] and Katherine "Kitty" Kinloch Baroness Brownlow [aged 29]. He was baptised in the private chapel in Belton House [Map]. His godfather was King Edward VIII of the United Kingdom [aged 41]. He married 31st December 1964 Shirlie Edith Yeomans and had issue.
After 1936 King Edward VIII of the United Kingdom [aged 41] and Wallis Warfield aka Simpson Duchess of Windsor [aged 39] stayed at Belton House [Map] after the Abdication Crisis. Peregrine Cust 6th Baron Brownlow [aged 36] had been involved in the Abdication Crisis at the King's Lord-in-waiting.
After 8th March 1971 Prince Charles [aged 22] stayed at Belton House [Map] during his training at nearby RAF Cranwell.
On 28th July 1978 Peregrine Cust 6th Baron Brownlow [aged 79] died. His son Edward [aged 42] succeeded 7th Baron Brownlow of Belton in Lincolnshire, 10th Baronet Cust of Stamford in Lincolnshire, and inherited Belton House [Map].
In 1984 Belton House [Map] and most of its contents were sold by Edward John Peregrine Cust 7th Baron Brownlow [aged 48] to the National Trust for £8 million.
2021. North facade of Belton House [Map].
2021. Courtyard and stable block of Belton House [Map].
2021. South facade of Belton House [Map].