Belle Isle

Belle Isle is the biggest of 18 islands on Windermere, an insignificant within the English Lake District, and the best one ever to had been inhabited. It is 1 km in length. Belle Isle House become constructed in 1774 to designs by using John Plaw. It is unusual in that it is round in plan, constructed of brick, three floors high with a 4 column portico; it draws closely at the Pantheon, Rome. The Roman governor at Ambleside built a villa on the island. In 1250 it become the seat of the district's Lord of the Manor. It became also a Royalist stronghold throughout the English Civil War.

In 1774, an uncommon circular Belle Isle House changed into erected at the island, which become offered at the side of the island to the wealthy Curwen own family who renamed the island after their daughter, Isabella. It was then offered on to Isabella Curwen by way of her family in 1781 for £1,720 and became completely renamed after her. The descendants of Isabella and her husband John Christian Curwen lived on the island till 1993. It is known as 'Bell Island' now not 'Isabella Island' because of use of the shortened shape of Isabella- Bella, which lost the 'a' to turn out to be 'Bell', spelt 'Belle' by means of the Ordnance Survey map of 1925 over time. It turned into known locally because the Great Island or Long Holme and previously known as Longholm, before its renaming in 1774.