Belsay Hall

Belsay Hall is a country house built between 1810 and 1817 by Sir Charles Monck, with some assistance from John Dobson. The house is constructed of ashlar stone and features a Lakeland slate roof, designed in the Greek Doric style. It measures 100 feet square and has a lower kitchen wing attached to the north side. The building stands two storeys tall and consists of seven bays across the entrance side and six bays on the garden front, all set on a stylobate of two steps.

The entrance side showcases seven bays with angle pilasters and a recessed three-bay center flanked by giant columns in antis. The openings are plain, featuring tall 12-pane sash windows on the ground floor and 6-pane windows above. A giant entablature with a boldly projecting cornice crowns the façade, which is topped by a shallow-pitched hipped roof with corniced ridge stacks. The garden front mirrors this design, with six bays, angle pilasters, and pilasters framing the middle four bays, along with similar windows and entablature.

Inside, the central hall is inspired by the atrium of a Greco-Roman house, surrounded by fluted Ionic columns on the ground floor and Greek Doric columns above, adorned with palmette necking. A staircase on the right side features elaborate brass balusters, and between the first-floor columns is a brass railing decorated with acanthus scrolls and ornate brass lampholders. The hall is illuminated by a glazed coffered ceiling.

The library also boasts a coffered ceiling and a deep plaster frieze with two bands of Greek Key and a band of palmettes. Its fireplace, made of yellow scagliola with white marble capitals, is framed by Doric columns in antis. The dining room features a marble fireplace with Doric columns, along with a similar frieze and coffered ceiling. Many other rooms throughout the house include fireplaces and friezes that incorporate Greek details. Additionally, there are large tunnel-vaulted cellars beneath the house.