Fort Belvedere

Fort Belvedere is a house, originally built as a folly around 1750-55 for the Duke of Cumberland, likely by Isaac Ware. It was significantly enlarged and altered between 1827 and 1829 for George IV by Wyattville, who was then working at Windsor Castle. The property was later reclaimed, modernised, and used by the Prince of Wales, who would become Edward VIII, up to his abdication in 1936.

The original triangular design with hexagonal angle turrets is still discernible despite the crenellations George IV added when he converted the building into a fort, incorporating a battery for royal salutes and bronze guns. Constructed of brick, the building was rendered with “garnetted” (flint galleted) joints by Wyattville. He heightened the flanking tower, linked it to a new Magazine Tower first by an ashlar forecast, then by an angled two-storey entrance block, and added a three-storey entrance block. A single-storey octagonal dining room was added to the north, alongside a three-storey block to the southeast. A small cottage was built further southeast and linked by an archway.

Additions from around 1910 included a larger service wing forming a small office cart to the east, replaced around 1955 by a modern block, and a low, single-storey addition with a porch to the south. No structural alterations were made during Edward VIII’s residency, but various alterations and refurbishments were overseen by Sir Gates Gilbert Scott.

From the south, Fort Belvedere presents an uneven crenellated skyline comprising angled masses. The hexagonal Magazine Tower is on the left, linked by an angled two-storey entrance block to the original triangular structure and flanking turrets. A low, single-storey projection with a porch is situated to the right of the entrance block. Behind the porch is a staircase tower with a recessed stump of the original second stage, separating the entrance block from a flat two-storey, three-window extension. To the right is an archway leading to a two-storey cottage with a crenellated form and an angled bay on the ground floor. South-facing alterations of 1929-30 involved the insertion of flat-headed, steep-framed windows.

The interior retains excellent naturalistic and formal stucco work on the upper storeys of the northeast and northwest towers, reminiscent of work done around 1750 at Rousham by Roberts of Oxford. The "Queen's Bedroom" is likely the original great rooms in the upper storey of the Belvedere, with an angled bay (by Wyattville) featuring gothic glazing to the north. The interior is generally decorated in late 18th-century and Regency styles.