a place to visit

Even in pre-history the high piece of land on which the Belvedere sits was seen to be important. 5000 years ago the earliest Neolithic farmers occupied the ridge and excavations which took place in the 1930’s found pieces of very early pottery and worked flints were also discovered. The ridge continued to be occupied during the Bronze and Iron Ages and the Romans left trackways over the hills. During the Civil War the Haldon Hills provided a natural barrier making troop movements difficult when the Parliamentarians tried to stamp their authority over what was mainly a Royalist area. Following this torrid period a time of relative peace saw the laws of the land change and the growth of the great estates with the Enclosure Act passed by Parliament from 1750 onwards.