Regency Hot Spots: Blaise Castle

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BLAISE CASTLE SEE HENBURY The seat of JS Harford Esq is situated in the parish of HENBURY about four miles and a half north of Bristol The approach to the house is
conducted through a deep and richly wooded glen and is full of romantic beauty The house is an elegant edifice and contains many fine pictures collected by Mr Harford in Italy The surrounding pleasure grounds are exquisitely diversified with wood and lawn and the walks which conduct to and from the castle are fraught with fine and enchanting scenery The ground plan of castle is a circle flanked on the outside with three round towers equi distant forming a triangle in one of these is a geometrical staircase by which you ascend to a large and elegant Gothic room A chapel once stood here dedicated to St Blazius the patron of the wool combers Here are to be traced very extensive remains of a strong Roman camp though concealed in a great degree by overhanging woods Many Roman coins of brass and some of silver were found in digging the foundation of the castle in 1766 and the owner has at different times found more when employed in planting The fame of the Blaise Castle grounds and the noble prospects which they command induce so many visitors to request permission to view them that Mr Harford has appointed Thursday in every week as a day for public gratification and those who wish to embrace this opportunity have only to send their application by post or otherwise so that it be received before Thursday to the gardener Blaise Castle or to
the Gothic lodge at the top of Henbury Hill after which immediate admission will be given and every attention shown them Should circumstances prevent attendance on the day fixed it is necessary to send another notice as a Guide being required for each party it is essential to know for what number to provide From the grounds of Blaise Castle the visitor will be led to Blaise Hamlet consisting of ten cottages erected in 1810 at the expense of the late JS Harford Esq for a most benevolent purpose A visit to them has long formed a favourite excursion from Clifton and Bristol Chilcott’s New Guide to Bristol, Clifton and the Hotwells, etc, 1853

Built in 1766 near Henbury in Bristol, Blaise Castle is a folly built near the later constructed (1789) Blaise Castle House.  The intended destination of the Morlands and Thorpes that ultimately is never met, the notion of a folly castle is the perfect would be location for Northanger Abbey’s gothic send up.

The castle was commissioned by Thomas Farr, a merchant who would later go bankrupt (Health, 1813).  Robert Mylne designed it in the Gothic Revival style.

Blaise Castle was a featured destination in many guidebooks from the Regency era, like the one excerpted below.

At a short distance from the House within the grounds is a gentle ascent by winding paths intersecting each other with shrubs and trees planted on either side their foliage bends over and appears to intercept the progress but in reality only gives greater variety to the walk About half way up this eminence is a Cavern formed by crystalizations Having passed this object the walk becomes more intricate and is covered with moss At length emerging from the wood a broad level surface with a Castle presents itself This edifice is of modern construction but being composed of stone and environed with clusters of ivy has the appearance of great antiquity It is circular with three turrets at equal distances and is used as a pleasure house From the height upon which this Castle stands is a most extensive and beautiful prospect crowds of objects display themselves to view cultivated fields in corn and pasture purple heaths woods valleys and distant hills Beneath the feet is a tremendous precipice covered with coppice wood and forest trees through which large masses of rock obtrude themselves On the opposite side of the Hill the landscape preserves its continuity here a rivulet is occasionally seen gliding through the deep glen russet hills arise then the fertile intervening country varied by dark masses of distant woods and bounded by the broad estuary of the Severn and the British Channel The Seat and highly ornamented Ground form a most pleasing object from various parts of the neighbouring country (Neal, 1819)

Heath, C. (1813). Historical and Descriptive Accounts of the Ancient and Present State of the Town and Castle of Chepstow, Including the Pleasurable Regions of Persfield, and a Variety of Other Particulars …: Collected from Original Papers and Unquestionable Authorities. United Kingdom: the author.

Neale, J. P. (1819). Views of the Seats of Noblemen and Gentlemen: In England, Wales, Scotland, and Ireland. United Kingdom: Sherwood, Neely, and Jones.

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