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Fort Belvedere, Surrey

Fort Belvedere
Fort Belvedere 1900s.jpg
Postcard of Fort Belvedere in the early 1900s.
Location Windsor Great Park, Surrey, England
Coordinates 51°24′15.96″N 0°36′44.84″W / 51.4044333°N 0.6124556°W / 51.4044333; -0.6124556Coordinates: 51°24′15.96″N 0°36′44.84″W / 51.4044333°N 0.6124556°W / 51.4044333; -0.6124556
Built 1750–55, 1828
Architect Jeffry Wyatville
Architectural style(s) Gothic Revival
Governing body Leasehold privately held, freehold owned by the Crown Estate
Listed Building – Grade II*
Official name: Fort Belvedere
Designated 17 November 1986
Reference no. 1294245
Fort Belvedere, Surrey is located in Surrey
Fort Belvedere, Surrey
Location of Fort Belvedere in Surrey

Fort Belvedere (originally Shrubs Hill Tower) is a Grade II* listed country house on Shrubs Hill in Windsor Great Park, in Surrey, England. The fort was predominantly constructed by Jeffry Wyatville in a Gothic Revival style in the 1820s.

The fort was occupied by numerous members of the British royal family and associated personages from 1750 to 1976. From 1929 Fort Belvedere was the home of Edward, Prince of Wales, who greatly renovated the house and grounds, and was the site of Edward's abdication as King in 1936. The property remains part of the Crown Estate, and is home to private tenants. It is not open to the public.

The Fort Belvedere estate is situated in the extreme south end of Windsor Great Park in the parish of Egham, in the Borough of Runnymede in Surrey. Though in Surrey, the closest town to the fort is Sunningdale in Berkshire. The fort is situated on Shrub's Hill and overlooks Virginia Water. The fort is 22 miles from London, and Edward, Prince of Wales, would boast of being able to see London's St Paul's Cathedral "through a spy-glass" from the fort in the 1930s.

The fort's acquired name of 'Belvedere' reflects its status as a vantage point and as an 'eye-catcher' for the park.

Fort Belvedere was built 1750–1755, by Henry Flitcroft, for Prince William Augustus, Duke of Cumberland (1721–1765), younger son of King George II and Queen Caroline, and was featured in an engravings in 1753 and 1754, where it was described as the "New building on Shrubb's Hill".


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