Belcombe Court, West Wiltshire, England

The following is from the English Heritage Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest. 

HISTORIC DEVELOPMENT 

In 1722, Belcombe Court, a house dating back to the 15th century, was bought by John Yerbury who became a wealthy clothier. After his death in 1728, his son Francis Yerbury (1706-78) inherited the estate and commissioned the Bath architect, John Wood the Elder to extend and alter it considerably. Possibly as part of or following the alterations to the house, a small park was laid out on the north bank of the River Avon, with various garden buildings and features. After 1785 the woodland to the north, called the Grove, became part of the estate (Country Life 1989; Ashmead, 1836). Probably shortly after, a son or grandson of Francis Yerbury created a picturesque walk with rustic arches and caves in this area. In 1825-9, under the ownership of John William Yerbury II, the road from Bradford-on-Avon to Turleigh that ran through the southern part of the estate was moved about 45 metres further south (Country Life 1989).

Belcombe Court was still owned by the Yerbury family in 1836 but the park to the north was tenanted by a William Taylor (Ashmead, 1836). The estate remained in the ownership of the Yerbury family until at least 1859 (Victoria County History 1953). By 1836 (Ashmead), the southern part of the park near the River Avon (outside the area registered here) was cut by the Great Western Railway.

On 30 March 1903, Belcombe Court was sold at auction (Sale particulars) but it is not known who subsequently bought the estate. In 1935 Belcombe Court was purchased by the architect W H Watkins (Country Life 1950) and then, in 1977, by Mr and Mrs A J Woodruff who restored the pleasure grounds (see Country Life article, 1989). At that time Belcombe Court was regularly opened to the public and became well known as a good example of a small-scale 18th-century landscape garden. In 1989 the estate was sold again; it remains (2000) in private ownership.