Upmeads, 96 Belle Hill

Upmeads, 96 Belle Hill
LL ref:	419
Start date:	1839
Architect:	unknown
Builder:	unknown
Original use:	Residential
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Originally lodge at the former entrance to Linkwell House.

The main drive left Belle Hill on the outside of the bend and passed to the south side of this property, going through the grounds to end on the south side of the main mansion. To the west the drive passed through a walled gateway to the stable yard and coach house, later converted to a house called Heriot Lodge. Sold off from estate, probably between 1917 and 1925 as it is not separately listed in street directories before 1925. It was greatly extended in the second or third quarter of the 20th century.

The original property on this site was standing before the Duke of Dorset’s survey map of 1808. At that time it was most likely the lodge house for Rosiers.

Later maps show a much larger building, and so it seems it was expanded or rebuilt in 1839 when Richard Day bought Rosiers and built Linkwell on the original site. Called The Lodge, this enlarged dwelling provided accommodation for the Estate workers and for the Head Gardener. The original Linkwell drive passed along the south side of the lodge, before coming out onto Belle Hill in between the building and Heriot Lodge.

In 1925 the property was passed to Comm. John Leonard Cather (a relative of the Day family) and henceforth known as Upmeads. He remained at the property until 1966.

- Bexhill Old Town Preservation Society

The justification for local listing is its history and contribution to the Old Town Conservation Area.

Note: The building has several modern extensions – on the eastern side and to the rear although the elevations viewable from the street are relatively unaltered.

Nominated by the Bexhill Old Town Preservation Society