Belsize Park's local history
For centuries, the history of the area was closely tied to Belsize House, the first of which was built around 1496. The land itself had been bequeathed to the monks of Westminster Abbey, and after Henry VIII had dissolved the monasteries he passed the title deeds over to his Bishop of Westminster. The property became a source of income for the see, and it was rented to a series of royal officers serving Henry, Elizabeth I and James I in turn. Not surprisingly the area was largely agricultural, with oats possibly being a main crop – the word ‘Haverstock’ originating from the Anglo Saxon term for ‘place of oats’.
In the 17th century, the gardens of Belsize House get the first of many historical references, with Pepys lavishing praise on them. These gardens appear to fall into neglect for a few years, but as the fortunes of Hampstead and its health spa waned in the second decade of 18th century, so Belsize became the new place to be seen. The Prince and Princess of Wales were famously dined at Belsize House in 1721, and the following year the area regularly became gridlocked with coaches bringing the wealthy and fashionable to the various entertainments on offer. Although it remained more or less popular for a couple of decades, these entertainments became increasingly debauched until eventually matters went too far and the locals had the place closed down. The House itself was demolished over a century later, in 1853.
The name ‘Belsize’ is French in origin, bel assis meaning ‘well situated’, and the label is as applicable to the area today as it was in the Middle Ages.
