Many of us in the village get a great deal of pleasure from the History Club. The meetings every month from Autumn to Spring when we have excellent speakers and outings as well in the summer.
In June we set off soon after 9am from the Elephant and Castle to visit Belvoir Castle near Grantham. A very pleasant coach journey was interrupted at Melton Mowbray for a coffee break, a quiet but very charming old market town.
Arrival at Belvoir was around 12 noon and we immediately started a tour of the cas­tle. The first thing we learned was the reason that Belvoir is pronounced ‘beever’.The original name was in French as Belle Voir that is ‘Beautiful to See’. But the locals at the time could not pronounce the French hence it has been known ever since as ‘beever’.
The castle is huge and most impressive. It is sited on the top of a hill and dominates the countryside around it. It is right in the centre of The Vale of Belvoir.. The inside of the castle is a mixture of Gothic, French, Italian and even Chinese styles. The guardroom is filled with, muskets, swords, banners and fire buckets. The ladies withdrawing room is French in style with shimmering reds and golds, ebony cabinets line the walls and the panelling is from a French chateau. The dining room is very grand with a deep coffered ceiling of gilded flower patterns. The picture gallery contains some magnificent paintings by Poussin, Teniers, Steen, Gainsborough and a Holbein of HenryVIII. This room also contains the Queen Anne Bed encased in glass.
The King’s rooms were decorated for George IV in the Chinese style and The Re­gent’s Gallery is filled with pictures, furniture and Gobelin tapestries of Don Quixote. The family chapel contains paintings by Murillo and Bassano and effigies of monks. Space does not permit going into more detail but it is a magnificent place to visit and still occupied by the owner, The Duke of Rutland.
We are indebted to David Salmon for this month’s front cover photograph, and to Margaret Robeson for the Belvoir Castle photographs