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BelmontLyme Regis, Dorset
Latest news
Belmont plans The story so far
In May 2007, we were able to take into our care an eighteenth-century villa called Belmont in Lyme Regis (Grade II*). Since 1969, this pretty villa had been home to the late John Fowles (author of The French Lieutenant's Woman, The Magus and many other works). Two hundred years earlier, it was the seaside villa of Mrs Eleanor Coade (1733-1821). Mrs Coade was a remarkable businesswoman responsible for Coade stone, an artificial stone that enabled durable architectural ornament and statuary to be produced cheaply and in enormous variety. Mrs Coade embellished her own villa with her wares, and her output still adorns houses and gardens across Britain today. This association, in which John Fowles himself was keenly interested, makes Belmont even more exciting.
It was John Fowles' and his widow Sarah's wish that Belmont should come to Landmark to prevent unsuitable commercial development and to enable the house to be stayed in and enjoyed by other writers and visitors. We were able to realise those wishes by purchasing the house from Mrs Fowles in 2007, thanks to an exceptionally generous financial legacy from the late Joyce Hanson, herself a Dorset resident. Since then, we have been researching Belmont in detail with the help of a team of specialists – archaeologists, a paint analyst, structural engineers, landscape and documentary historians.
Our plans for Belmont
Belmont viewed from the rear, as it stands today
We have now received approval from West Dorset Council for Listed Building Consent for our plans for the house, which we seek to return to its eighteenth-century villa form. In the 1880s, two large side wings were added to the house by a local doctor, Dr Richard Bangay. These became dilapidated over the decades and were largely removed in the 1960s. On the basis of our research, we have concluded that the remnants of these later extensions now so compromise the exceptional interest of Mrs Coade’s original eighteenth-century seaside villa that their removal is justified, including two the south west rooms shown between the tower and the house in the photo above. Our detailed archaeological analysis of the house has provided all the evidence we need to reinstate those parts needed to retrieve the original 18th-century rear elevation, and it is on this basis that we are seeking Listed Building Consent to remove the compromised later remnants. The nineteenth-century observatory tower, built by a local doctor called Richard Bangay and a familiar feature on the Lyme skyline, will remain. Key views into and through the site will be enhanced.
An artist's impression of the completed Landmark
Once restored the building will be available for self-catering holidays for 8 people, so assuring an income for its future maintenance. Internally, the eighteenth-century floorplan is still largely intact, including the large first floor room that John Fowles used as his writing room, where those staying in the house will be able to look out over The Cobb just as John Fowles himself did.
Working with the Lyme Regis Philpot Museum, we also plan to open a museum room in the former coach house to celebrate Belmont’s association with Mrs Coade, John Fowles and other past inhabitants.
West Dorset District Council approved Landmark’s extensively researched proposals for the future of Belmont in May 2011.
We are keen to know what you think, so please email us at info@landmarktrust.org.uk.
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