The possession of Lordship and Manor is not known exactly before the Wentworth to
Raymond Era.
There have been a series of
Families associated with Belchamp Walter in the period between Conquest and 1611. The later period of the
16th Century saw much "manovering" of land-holdings due to the fortunes of those that either supported the
monachy, the Church of England and those that remained as Catholic recursants. It would appear that the
new residents of Belchamp manor were of a Republican leaning. However this is not clear.
The sequence of events leading to the "coming" to Sir John Wentworth is the subject of an on-going research
project.
The de Vere family is of particular interest.
The transcription from the Historic England website was purposely delayed until some of the historical details
could be researched. The text in the listing appears to have been written by an ancestor of the encumbant resident of
the hall.
There is no detail on the Historic England website for the period between the Domesday Survey, the building of
the church, the Tudor Period and the fortunes of the Catholic faith. Much happened during this period and some of
this is reflected in what you can see in
the Parish Church of St. Mary the Virgin, Belchamp Walter.
The Historic England Official listing for the Hall
The Historic England description of Belchamp Hall and its history seems to have been taken from the Belchamp Hall
website.
Or at least the was told to them by a member of the Raymond family. As a consequence the accuracy of waht happened
before the current owners is at question. For example, the dealings of
the Wentworth family and the accession of ownership of the
estate prior to the Tudor time period.
The lordship of the manor of Belchamp Water was, at the time of the Domesday survey, in the possession of Alberic de Vere,
in whose family it remained until the C17. Under the de Veres it was held by a number of families until in 1539 it came to
Sir Roger Wentworth. Sir Roger's grandson, John Wentworth, commissioned the surveyor Walker to prepare a map of his estate,
which was completed in 1605 and showed that the house was surrounded by a garden with an orchard, a rectangular pond,
and a dovecote, and was enclosed to west and north by a ditch. John Wentworth sold the manor (still officially held by the de Veres)
to John Raymond in c 1611. The C16 manor house was replaced in 1720/21 by John Raymond III and map evidence suggests that
the layout of the gardens most probably dates from this period (Walker, 1605; Chapman and Andre, 1777).
In c 1741 outlying parts of
the estate, together with the lordship of the manor, were sold to Thomas Ruggles but the manor house was not included in the sale.
The Rev Samuel Raymond, who succeeded in 1767 and married Margarette Brooke Bridges in 1780, laid out the little park to the
south-west of the gardens with small clumps of trees (OSD 1799).
When Rev Raymond died in 1825, Samuel Millbank Raymond inherited and lived at Belchamp, where he was known as
Squire Raymond, until his death in 1863. He was succeeded by his second son, Rev John Mayne St Clere Raymond,
who in c 1865 recovered the lordship of the manor and in 1871 extended the house with the addition of a new wing.
At around this time a sham castle folly was built beyond the park to the south-west, to act as an eyecatcher from
the gardens (CL 1959).
The large, late C19 extension to the house was reduced in the 1950s by the Rev M St Clere Raymond's grandson,
Samuel Philip St Clare Raymond who, together with his wife Mabel Astell, created intimate gardens enclosed by
yew hedges close to the house.
The site remains (2000) in single private ownership.
DESCRIPTION
LOCATION, AREA, BOUNDARIES, LANDFORM, SETTING
Belchamp Hall stands in the little Essex village of Belchamp Water, in a secluded
rural setting c 6km south of Sudbury close to the Suffolk/Essex border. The c 9ha site sits on the north side of
the Belchamp Brook valley, the ground falling slightly from west to east. It is bounded to the north-west
and north-east by Hall Road, and to the south-east and south-west by farmland.
The c 9ha probably refers to aproximately 9 Hectares, or 900 Acres.
ENTRANCES AND APPROACHES
The Hall is approached from the east-south-east, through late C18 stone and rubble gate piers
(listed grade II) set opposite the village church of St Mary. The piers are flanked by short curving walls capped with
wrought-iron railings. The c 80m long straight drive leads to a circular carriage drive below the south-east front and
surrounds a lawn set with a central sundial. A second drive enters the grounds from Hall Road, c 100m to the north-east of the Hall,
where the boundary is formed by a brick and rubble wall. Gate piers surmounted by iron heraldic emblems (listed grade II together
with the boundary wall) flank the drive which passes the stable block before turning south-east and south to join the main carriage
drive below the south-east front.
PRINCIPAL BUILDING
Belchamp Hall (listed grade II*) is a small country mansion built of red brick with a gabled peg-tile roof.
The Hall has two storeys with attics, the entrance front on the south-east having a nine-bay facade with a
central stone porch, surmounted by urns and added in the late C18, projecting over the door.
The garden front to the south-west has a two-storey
canted bay window, all that remains of a larger extension added during the late C19. Belchamp Hall was built for
John Raymond in c 1720 to replace an earlier, possibly timber, C16 manor house.
The late C18 stable and coach house lie c 70m north-north-east of the Hall, beside the entrance off Hall Road.
The two buildings, of red brick with blue headers, are linked by a single-storey block.
In the centre of the stables peg-tile roof is a painted timber open-arched cupola with pyramid roof.
These buildings were converted in the late C20 for office and commercial use.
The Historic England Listing and the references that the listing quotes
The listing is dated 1 Jul 1987 and the description and history was most probably provided by Samuel Philip Raymond, the
grandfather of the present owner. The description was written in 2000 and edited in September 2001
- this was more likely to be have been the current owner.
The references quoted in the listing are:
P. Morant, , The History and Antiquities of the County of Essex (1763(8)
Country Life, 126 (17 December 1959), pp 1206(9; (24 December 1959), pp 1258-61
N Pevsner and E Radcliffe, The Buildings of England: Essex (1979), p 83
The Essex Journal 24, (1980)
Essex Gardens Trust Newsletter, No 8 (Spring 2000), p 1
Morant is a reputable source but Contry Life and Essex Gardens mmmm????? - The Essex Journal maybe
- Pevsner has been known to get things wrong. (I am not sure where I saw this!)
Nikolaus Pevsner
Pevsner was a supporter of Victorian architecture, he would hve been in approval of the renovations made at
St Mary's church, the expansion of Belchamp Hall, the Summer House and the folly.
Early signs of a lifelong interest in Victorian architecture, also influenced by the Architectural Review,
appeared in a series written under the pseudonym of "Peter F. R. Donner": Pevsner's "Treasure Hunts" guided readers
down selected London streets, pointing out architectural treasures of the 19th century.
The Pevsner account of Belchamp Hall may be influenced by his Victorian predilection.
John Jenkins Cole
John Jenkins Cole was possibly the architect that was responsible for the "renovations" at St Mary's church
in 1859. It was also possible that he was involved in the building of the expansion of Belchamp Hall by
John Mayne St. Clere Raymond, the summer house and the Folly.
The "expansion" of Belchamp Hall was demolished in the 1950's by Samuel Philip Raymond and an intimate garden
enclosed by yew hedges planted in its place.
The work of John Jenkins Cole is mentioned in the Kelly's Directory of 1882, 1894, 1902 and 1914.
The "renovations" of the church (described as a restoration) and the extension of the hall also date from 1859.
Cole was born on 25 March 1815 in Devonport, Plymouth, the son of Robert Cole, a solicitor, and his wife,
Mary. He was educated at Merchant Taylors' School.
Cole was originally trained as a solicitor, but soon moved into architecture, studying under Alfred Ainger.
He was made a Fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architects (FRIBA) in 1848.
In 1855, Cole was elected architect to the London Stock Exchange,[3] a role he retained for 35 years.
In this role, he designed the Exchange's dome, new offices in Throgmorton Street and the frontage in Old Broad Street.
He retired from the Institute in 1890.
Outside of his profession, Cole had a keen interest in astronomy and was elected a Fellow of the
Royal Astronomical Society in 1862. He was also passionate about sanitary science, advocating for the
erection of standpipes for drinking purposes and the abolition of the single cistern system that was in place
at the time.
