6th November Christine Whittle-Dall "The History of Claremont, Esher"
The 'landscape park' was formerly part of a larger estate which had a baroque layout by Charles Bridgeman for John Vanbrugh, who owned the estate until 1711.
A belvedere (by Vanbrugh, c 1715) and a grass amphitheatre (by Bridgeman, c 1725) survive. William Kent began the transformation to the 'natural' style, converting the canal to a lake and designing an island with a pavilion (c1735). The lake was serpentined and is overlooked by the, carefully restored, grass amphitheatre, whilst north terrace at being superior to the rest of the garden.
A small lake edged by a winding bank with scattered trees that led to a seat at the head of the pond, this was a common feature at Claremont, Esher and others of Kent's designs.
At Esher, 'Where Kent and nature vied for Pelham's love', the prospects more than aided the painter's genius. John Papworth (1775-1847) who was a most successful landscape gardener had commissions for work at Claremont from Prince Leopold and Princess Charlotte and for work at many other stately homes
Prince's Coverts are named after Prince Leopold of Belgium, until Leopold became King of the Belgians in 1831 he lived at Claremont Park, Esher.
The Claremont Estate was purchased by the Commissioners of Woods and Forests for Prince Leopold and Princess Charlotte on their marriage in 1816. During his time at Claremont, the Prince acquired in 1821 a considerable area of common land to the south, close to the village of Oxshott, where he developed his shooting estate. This is the area now known as Prince's Coverts. By 1823 it seems that Stoke Common, as it used to be called when attached to the Manor of Stoke D'Abernon before Enclosure, was well wooded and that all traces of heathland had disappeared. Prince's Coverts and the surrounding woodland areas known as Great Oaks and Woodlands Park are owned and managed by the Crown Estate.
King Leopold died in 1865 and the Crown re-acquired the Claremont Estate from his Executors in 1867, he was king of the Belgians (1831-65) the youngest son of Francis Frederick, duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld. After serving as a page at the court of Napoleon I and as a general of the Russian army, he married (1816) Princess Charlotte, daughter of the English prince regent (later King George IV) and heiress presumptive to the English throne. After her death (1817) Leopold remained in England.
In 1830 he rejected the throne of Greece, but in 1831 he accepted election as king of newly formed Belgium. Though his primary concern was with maintaining the unity and independence of his kingdom, his reign was notable for such improvements as the introduction of ministerial responsibility, a reformed electoral law, and a national bank.
He married (1832) a daughter of King Louis Philippe of France, and he brought about the marriage of his niece Queen Victoria of England to his nephew Prince Albert. He was succeeded by his son, Leopold II . He was also the father of Carlotta , empress of Mexico.
Young Princess Victoria was a frequent visitor to Claremont House (left) and a regular holiday destination for the young Queen Victoria. After her coronation she came to worship at the Church of St George in Esher. Queen Victoria acquired a life interest in the Estate but it eventually reverted to the Crown.
The gardens are now separate from Claremont House and are owned by The National Trust and known as Claremont Landscape Garden. Featuring in its fifty acres of landscaped treasures of the 18th century: a turf amphitheatre, grotto, pavilion, bowling green and belvedere (below).
There are statues, a dovecote, a nine-pin alley, a cammelia terrace, and something to see in every month of the year. The garden is renown for Bridgeman's three acre turf amphitheatre, rising above the lake, one of only two surviving examples of its kind in Europe.
