In 1870-72, John Marius Wilson's Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales described Belvoir like this:
BELVOIR, an extra-parochial tract in the district of Grantham and county of Leicester; on the verge of the county, near the Grantham canal, 7 miles W by S of Grantham. Acres, 170. Real property, £1,780. Pop., 171. Houses, 18. Belvoir Castle here is the seat of the Duke of Rutland, and one of the most magnificent structures in the kingdom. ...
The original building was a fortress erected soon after the Conquest by Robert de Todeni, standard-bearer to William; and was several times burned down or otherwise destroyed. The present pile is a modern, castellated, hollow quadrangle, restored by Wyatt; measuring 252 feet along the east front, and containing a noble apartment called the Regent's gallery, 127 feet long, filled with the choicest productions of art. It stands on an isolated and perhaps artificial hill; and commands a view of 30 miles, over a picturesque extensive vale, called the vale of Belvoir. The Prince Regent, afterwards George IV., visited it in 1814; and Crabbe, the poet, lived in it as chaplain. A great fire destroyed part of it in 1816, including a famous picture gallery, with damage estimated at £120,000. A priory of black monks stood near it, founded about 1076, by Robert de Todeni; and was given, at the dissolution, to Thomas, Earl of Rutland, and Robert Turwhit.
Belvoir through time
Belvoir is now part of Melton district. Click here for graphs and data of how Melton has changed over two centuries. For statistics about Belvoir itself, go to Units and Statistics.
GB Historical GIS / University of Portsmouth, History of Belvoir, in Melton and Leicestershire | Map and description, A Vision of Britain through Time.
URL: https://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/place/10612
Date accessed: 05th November 2024
Not where you were looking for?
Click here for more detailed advice on finding places within A Vision of Britain through Time, and maybe some references to other places called "Belvoir".