Belton House in Lincolnshire is a place that I visited some years ago on a school trip and have only just recently revisited. 

The only thing that I recall from the school trip was that the building was being used as a filming location at the time for a children's show called The Moondial.  However as I toured this property again this year I found that my memory was quickly returning of the previous trip and that little has changed over the years.

The model for Belton House was Clarendon House, Piccadilly which was built between 1664 and 1667.  Belton House itself was built between 1684 and 1688.  It is believed to have been designed by William Winde and was built by William Stanton for Sir John Brownlow.

Today much of the property is open to the public although there was a section which was closed for repairs to be made due to it being unsafe.

The tour of the house begins in The Marble Hall which is approached from the south and is just through the doorway in the picture directly above.  Although the room has been altered over the years it is now fashioned to imitate oak as it was originally.

The tour continues with The Saloon which affords a wonderful view of the gardens to the north of the house.  Initially this room was known as The Great Parlour and was a state reception room.  Like The Marble Hall this room again has panelling.  The best feature in this room however, at least in my opinion are the fireplaces which are coloured marble and original.

Due to the above mentioned repair work the Blue Bedroom and Yellow Bedrooms were closed to the public for safety reasons.  Various items which were removed from those rooms were instead in the Staircase Hall.

The Staircase Hall is to the east of the Marble Hall and is the feature which departs from the symmetry which is so common in houses built in this era.

At the top of the staircase is an addition which may not be there permanently.  However for those with children it is a marvellous idea.  One room of the building has been allocated for the children who visit to not only touch and learn about various old fashioned items but to dress up in the clothes which were worn by children in previous times. 

Although there were no school trips there on the day I visited there were several children taking advantage of the opportunity to dress up, much to everyone's amusement.

This is an addition few houses have, it is certainly the first that I have come across and I would hope that it is an addition that will remain.

For the rest of the family the tour continues upstairs with the Chinese Bedroom, a room which seems to be repeated in almost every stately home in England.

The next room is also a bedroom this being The Queen's Bedroom.  It takes its name from Queen Adelaide, the widow of William IV who visited in 1841.  According to the guidebook prior to that it was also used as a picture room and had had numerous name changes over the years.

We then move onto the Ante-Library and the main Library.  One of the first things that strikes you when you visit the main library is the light.  Situated directly over the Marble Hall it is a large room and filled with light.  Although the blinds were drawn down to preserve the contents the room has been decorated in such a way, using lighter colours, something unusual for a library in a stately home, that the room appears much more welcoming than some of the more dark and gloomy libraries which other houses have.

The tour then continues with the last two rooms upstairs, they being the Boudoir and the Windsor Bedroom.  We then descend a second staircase in order to see the last of the rooms on the ground floor of the house.

There are several more rooms to see downstairs including the Tapestry Room, Study and Red Drawing Room.  Be warned though that when you exit the house you actually come out at a different place to where you began the tour and if, like me, someone is waiting for you it might be a good idea to let them know this so that you don't lose them.

Once the tour of the house is completed there are also extensive grounds to walk through although my visit was hampered slightly by several showers of rain.