page_title: Fort Belvedere, Surrey
section_title: Early history
hierarchical_section_title: Fort Belvedere, Surrey / Early history
caption_attribution_description: English: "The New Lodge built by the late Duke of Cumberland on Shrubs Hill, Windsor Forest". Engraving of "Shrubs Hill Tower", built by Prince William, Duke of Cumberland (1721–1765), "Butcher Cumberland" a younger son of King George II, later called "Fort Belvedere"
context_page_description: Fort Belvedere 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.
context_section_description: 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".
  It was, at first, merely a folly. It was used as a summer-house, and seven counties could be seen, as now, from the top of the flagstaff tower. The triangular turreted structure was set amidst a dense plantation of trees and overlooked Virginia Water, a man-made body of water constructed by Thomas and Paul Sandby at the behest of the Duke.
  Sir Jeffrey Wyatville, who was responsible, under King George IV, for the rebuilding of Windsor Castle, enlarged the house in 1828 at a proposed cost of £4000. Additions included an octagonal dining room in the north-east side, in which the King regularly had dinner. A three storey annex was added for the accommodation of the Bombardier, with a new wall linking a heightened turret to which a large flagpole was added. The addition of further Gothic details enhanced the interior and exterior of the fort in 1829. The fort is built of brick with an applied wash that imitated the appearance of stone.Queen Victoria used Fort Belvedere as a tea house, and the fort was opened to the public in the 1860s.
  By 1910 the fort was occupied as a grace and favour residence by Sir Malcolm Murray, the Comptroller to the Duke of Connaught. The Duke was the owner of  nearby Bagshot Park. The fort was extended with a new service wing and entrance porch in 1911–12, which was subsequently demolished. The dining and drawing rooms were also extended and new entrance lodges were built. After the departure of Murray, the fort was described as suffering from "dust inches deep, splintered doors and sagging floors" in 1929.
  The ruins in the grounds can be seen from the shore of Virginia Water and are part of an ancient temple brought from Leptis Magna near Tripoli. The ruins are located between the south shore and Blacknest Road close to the junction with the A30 London Road and Wentworth Drive.
caption: The New Lodge built by the late Duke of Cumberland on Shrubs Hill, Windsor Forest. Engraving of "Shrubs Hill Tower", built by Prince William, Duke of Cumberland (1721–1765), later called "Fort Belvedere".
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