The word Belvedere means ‘beautiful view’ in Italian and refers to the spectacular panorama over the Thames from Lessness Heath. A thriving farming community once existed below the Heath, centered on Lesnes Abbey. However repeated flooding of Belvedere Marshes between 1230 and 1240 and again in 1527, the ravages of the Black Death 1348-1350 and the dissolution of the monastery in 1525 left this much diminished.
Acts of Parliament were passed in 1572 and 1611 to provide for the draining of Belvedere Marshes and in 1622 a group of landowners led by Sir Thomas Thinne agreement to reclaim 586 acres in the Great Breach flooded since 1527. This allowed the marshland to be farmed more intensively.
Lessness Heath was common grazing land for the farmers of Erith, but as early as 1654 there was a mansion on Blinks Hill, the predecessor of Belvedere House built in 1762. In 1815 Lessness Heath was enclosed to grow wheat, when prices were high due to the Napoleonic Wars. The majority passed into the ownership of Lord Eardley. However prices fell with the outbreak of peace making farming such marginal land uneconomic. Instead a village gradually grew up around the highways which criss-crossed the Heath.
In 1853 Sir Culling Eardley built All Saints Church at the tip of a triangle formed by Woolwich Road from Erith, Nuxley Road from Bexleyheath and the newly built Albert Road. From 1856 he began to layout his land for residential development taking advantage of the construction of the North Kent Railway in 1849 and Belvedere Station opened at the bottom of Picardy Road in 1859.
Upper Belvedere became a fashionable suburb for commuters working in the City. Some of the large villas built for these wealthy residents survive in West Heath and Bostall Heath. In contrast Lower Belvedere attracted a smaller, less wealthy population, perhaps because of the presence nearby Crossness Sewage Works.
From the 1890s to the 1950s much of the marshland around the station was occupied by travellers and gypsies, despite repeated attempts by the local authorities to move them on. However Lower Belvedere grew thanks to the industries developing along the riverside. A Council school was established on St Augustine’s Road in 1904 although St Augustine’s Church itself was only built in 1915.
In the Second World War Belvedere suffered from its proximity both to the river, used as a guide by German bomber pilots, and to the Royal Arsenal at Woolwich, a major enemy target. Bomb damage led to redevelopment of affected areas. The large villas on the Woolwich Road and nearby were gradually demolished or divided into flats to suit the less grandiose needs of the post war homeowner. Similarly the Victorian shops in Nuxley Road were in most cases converted or rebuilt to cater for more modern tastes. The flooding of the Thames in 1953 led to the creation of sophisticated environmental defenses, while new building techniques allowed for the development of Thamesmead, a new town on marshes in the 1960s.
Acts of Parliament were passed in 1572 and 1611 to provide for the draining of Belvedere Marshes and in 1622 a group of landowners led by Sir Thomas Thinne agreement to reclaim 586 acres in the Great Breach flooded since 1527. This allowed the marshland to be farmed more intensively.
Lessness Heath was common grazing land for the farmers of Erith, but as early as 1654 there was a mansion on Blinks Hill, the predecessor of Belvedere House built in 1762. In 1815 Lessness Heath was enclosed to grow wheat, when prices were high due to the Napoleonic Wars. The majority passed into the ownership of Lord Eardley. However prices fell with the outbreak of peace making farming such marginal land uneconomic. Instead a village gradually grew up around the highways which criss-crossed the Heath.
In 1853 Sir Culling Eardley built All Saints Church at the tip of a triangle formed by Woolwich Road from Erith, Nuxley Road from Bexleyheath and the newly built Albert Road. From 1856 he began to layout his land for residential development taking advantage of the construction of the North Kent Railway in 1849 and Belvedere Station opened at the bottom of Picardy Road in 1859.
Upper Belvedere became a fashionable suburb for commuters working in the City. Some of the large villas built for these wealthy residents survive in West Heath and Bostall Heath. In contrast Lower Belvedere attracted a smaller, less wealthy population, perhaps because of the presence nearby Crossness Sewage Works.
From the 1890s to the 1950s much of the marshland around the station was occupied by travellers and gypsies, despite repeated attempts by the local authorities to move them on. However Lower Belvedere grew thanks to the industries developing along the riverside. A Council school was established on St Augustine’s Road in 1904 although St Augustine’s Church itself was only built in 1915.
In the Second World War Belvedere suffered from its proximity both to the river, used as a guide by German bomber pilots, and to the Royal Arsenal at Woolwich, a major enemy target. Bomb damage led to redevelopment of affected areas. The large villas on the Woolwich Road and nearby were gradually demolished or divided into flats to suit the less grandiose needs of the post war homeowner. Similarly the Victorian shops in Nuxley Road were in most cases converted or rebuilt to cater for more modern tastes. The flooding of the Thames in 1953 led to the creation of sophisticated environmental defenses, while new building techniques allowed for the development of Thamesmead, a new town on marshes in the 1960s.
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Guide to Historical Sources
To write or re-write the history of Belvedere is clearly a mammoth task. Therefore our objective is to direct readers in the right direction. There are many sources of information in book, map, picture and digital format.
There is a bit more on Wikipedia at
www.wikipedia.org Key in Belvedere London UK and history
For the really ancient stuff try The Bexley Archaeology Group at:
http://www.bag.org.uk/
They can inform you about the Bronze Age Way and others digs in and around Belvedere.
Several artefacts are available to view at Erith Library
Several illustrated books are available through Belvedere Library or for sale from the Bexley Archive Centre at Bexleyheath Library, Townley Road. The Archive is recommended as the best general source of our local history.
Also look at the Bexley Archive History Page at
http://www.bexley.gov.uk/index.aspx?articleid=10374
On the Francis Frith web site there are recorded memories and pictures of older Belvedere at www.francisfrith.com/belvedewre
Trams and trolley buses will be found at
The Institute of Historical Research has lots of info on Kent at
http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=62810
Website original concept, material and words by Tony Fairbairn.