Belvedere House is well named. From its windows on the Guernsey coast are views that match the best in the English Channel. All the main Channel Islands are in sight: Alderney to the north, Herm with its glint of golden beach, the majestic cliffs of Sark, the whole length of Jersey, with the Cherbourg peninsula in the background. It is a view of which a future owner of the house - for sale for £5 million - could never tire.
The scene is constantly enlivened by boats, ferries and yachts sailing in and out of Guernsey's chief town, St Peter Port, on the island's east coast. To one side there is a grand view of the harbour with its bustling docks and marinas. Immediately below is the romantic silhouette of the Elizabethan Castle Cornet, built on a rocky outcrop.
The house is owned by the island's government, the States of Guernsey, which is selling the house and 1.9 acres of land by auction. Considerable sums need to be spent. Though structurally the house appears sound and well maintained, with a new slate roof, inside you step into another era. Since 1949 almost half the house has been home to Captain Michael Mellish, the aide-de-camp to successive governors of Guernsey, who lived here till he died last year. The other half of the house has been divided into two rudimentary flats.
Belvedere House was built for officers ]]during the Napoleonic wars and stands in the grounds of a major British fortress, Fort George, begun during the American War of Independence when the French sided with the colonists and threatened to seize the Channel Islands.
The main entrance is through the Fort Gate which bears the date of completion, 1812, and the name Sir John Doyle, the then Governor. When the Germans invaded in 1940 they commandeered the whole place and on the eve of the D-Day landings in Normandy the RAF launched a major bombing raid on the fort, leaving the citadel, the sergeants' mess, the barracks and many of the officers' quarters heaps of rubble. Belvedere House escaped.
Today Fort George is Guernsey's answer to St George's Hill in Surrey. The island bought the fort from the British Crown in 1958 and nine years later sold it to a development company with permission to build 120 luxury houses. Though the architectural quality is mixed, the houses mostly sit well (and low) in the landscape surrounded by immaculate lawns and hedges.
Belvedere House is approached along the edge of a large common that will remain public property. The front boundary at present is no more than an earth bank and a line of noble maritime pines. New owners are likely to want more privacy, which might be better provided by a well-clipped hedge than a wall or railings and the house should remain on view through the gates. Guernsey is, after all, a very peaceful place.
One of the delights of the house is that it is only ten minutes' walk to the harbour and its excellent restaurants. The road that winds down to the town in a series of grand snaking bends is also wonderfully planted and unspoilt - you'd be hard pressed to find a better entrance to a town in the British Isles.
Belvedere House is now fronted by a large but rather dull gravel sweep. It would benefit enormously from better planting. This could be done in a French formal manner with pleached limes, clipped yew and box or in the English Gardenesque style of the early 19th century, with flowering trees and shrubs, colourful beds and serpentine lawns.
The interiors could be done in modernist minimalist fashion, perhaps creating a grand double height space in the centre. Equally rewarding would be to employ a contemporary classicist, such as Craig Hamilton or Digby Harris, to create a ravishing new Regency interior. Partitions and the like could go but the fine sash windows, shutters and panelled arches should remain, as well as the York stone paving in the lower basement.
The garden has a number of interesting features: a Georgian bastion, Second World War tunnels and a harbour light. The sea front must remain ice white as it is a navigation landmark, but it could be made much more interesting by some period flourishes, most obviously a Regency ironwork veranda or conservatory.
WHAT YOU GET: A freehold Regency Garrison House, divided into three, but offered for sale as one house
WHERE IS IT: On the east coast of Guernsey, which lies 70 miles off the South Coast of England and 30 miles from France. It's 45 minutes by plane to Gatwick
AREA: 7,000 sq ft
BEST SCHOOLS: The Elizabeth College for boys, Ladies' College and Acorn House prep
PRICE: To be auctioned on June 12 with a guide price of £5 million, through Swoffers (01481 711766 swoffers.co.uk)
Sounds lovely -- pity there's no photos!
Colin, Cambridge, England