Good morning Christine. It’s a lovely little structure in a tranquil spot. At first it seems very small, but then you realise that with the Belvedere as a backdrop the scale is just right. It must be a wonderful spot to rest if taking on the national trail.

Hello Gwyn. It’s certainly large, but I’d describe it as awkward rather than ugly – I think it has a certain charm. But I have to agree that it is hard to see where its future lies. It’s very sad that opportunities were missed all those years ago.

Hello and thank you for getting in touch. I am very interested to learn about your book, and I will try to find a copy. The Belvedere must have offered a wonderful panorama. Thank you for sharing your thoughts on the historical site that would have been visible.

You may be interested that the Waldershare Belvedere was prominently featured in the artists’ book EMINENT VIEWS (1995) by Bob Chaplin and myself where it precedes other examples such as the Hoober Stand at Wentworth Woodhouse and elevated sites in the United States such as Olana and Monticello. I also wrote an essay entitled ‘Mould, Rubble, and the Validation of the Fragment in the Discourse of the Past’ in Neville and Villeneuve, Waste-Site Stories (State University of New York Press, 2002, pp. 133-42) where I also illustrate a fragment of chalk from the workings of the Channel Tunnel My view would be that the Belvedere was not intended to view France, but ‘the Kentish coast at the site where the Romans and St Augustine, in their turn, first landed’ (ibid., p. 137).

Hello Roger. Thanks for adding to the story. Another opportunity missed, sadly.

Good morning Kate. I’m pleased you enjoyed reading about these two structures. Sadly I think the main obstacle to the restoration of the Belvedere is ££££££. It would be wonderful to see it restored and used.