Briarhurst
Encyclopedia
Briarhurst, also known as William A. Bell House, is a finely grained pink Victorian
sandstone
manor house
in Manitou Springs, Colorado
. Built in 1886 in Tudor Revival style as the home of Dr. William Bell
, Briarhurst Manor was added to the National Register of Historic Places
in 1973. Fountain Creek
passes through the estate and the home is in the shadow of Pikes Peak
.
Under Mrs. Cara Bell's direction, Briarhurst Manor became the social center of the community, hosting the internationally famous of the day. On occasion, a tribe of friendly Ute
s camped on the Briarhurst estate grounds while preparing to go into the Garden of the Gods
, for them a holy place of worship
.
One winter night in 1886, while Dr. Bell was away on business, Mrs. Bell awoke to a bedroom
filled with smoke
. Burning ember
s escaped from a fireplace
in Briarhurst. She woke the children and servants. Cara stayed in the burning house and with the help of gardener Schneider, they rescued a prized oil painting by Thomas Moran
, the "Mount of the Holy Cross". The family escaped safely, but lost all of their belongings and returned to England
. They returned in early 1887 to begin reconstruction of a second, more elaborate Briarhurst Manor, complete with school
room, conservatory, cloister
and a library
with a special alcove
to display the "Mount of the Holy Cross."
Today, 5 acres (20,234.3 m²) of the original Briarhurst estate is a restaurant and event venue. The restaurant seats over 400 guests and features Colorado cuisine. The remainder of the estate, now Blue Skies Inn Bed and Breakfast, features the original 1873 carriage house to the east of the estate. Many weddings are celebrated in the gardens that Ferdinand Schneider started over a hundred years ago.
Victorian architecture
The term Victorian architecture refers collectively to several architectural styles employed predominantly during the middle and late 19th century. The period that it indicates may slightly overlap the actual reign, 20 June 1837 – 22 January 1901, of Queen Victoria. This represents the British and...
sandstone
Sandstone
Sandstone is a sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized minerals or rock grains.Most sandstone is composed of quartz and/or feldspar because these are the most common minerals in the Earth's crust. Like sand, sandstone may be any colour, but the most common colours are tan, brown, yellow,...
manor house
Manor house
A manor house is a country house that historically formed the administrative centre of a manor, the lowest unit of territorial organisation in the feudal system in Europe. The term is applied to country houses that belonged to the gentry and other grand stately homes...
in Manitou Springs, Colorado
Manitou Springs, Colorado
The city of Manitou Springs is a Home Rule Municipality located in El Paso County, Colorado, United States. The population was 4,980 at the 2000 census.Students are served by Manitou Springs School District 14 and Manitou Springs High School....
. Built in 1886 in Tudor Revival style as the home of Dr. William Bell
William Bell (city founder)
Dr. William Bell was a physician and the founder of Manitou Springs, Colorado.In 1867, Bell left London for Saint Louis, Missouri to Saratoga Springs, New York to attend a series of lectures on the medical principles of homeopathy...
, Briarhurst Manor was added to the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
in 1973. Fountain Creek
Fountain Creek
Fountain Creek is a stream in El Paso and Pueblo counties, in Colorado in the United States.-Geography:From its source near the city of Woodland Park north of Pikes Peak, the creek flows southeast through the communities of Green Mountain Falls and Chipita Park to the town of Cascade. It...
passes through the estate and the home is in the shadow of Pikes Peak
Pikes Peak
Pikes Peak is a mountain in the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains, west of Colorado Springs, Colorado, in El Paso County in the United States of America....
.
Under Mrs. Cara Bell's direction, Briarhurst Manor became the social center of the community, hosting the internationally famous of the day. On occasion, a tribe of friendly Ute
Ute Tribe
The Ute are an American Indian people now living primarily in Utah and Colorado. There are three Ute tribal reservations: Uintah-Ouray in northeastern Utah ; Southern Ute in Colorado ; and Ute Mountain which primarily lies in Colorado, but extends to Utah and New Mexico . The name of the state of...
s camped on the Briarhurst estate grounds while preparing to go into the Garden of the Gods
Garden of the Gods
Garden of the Gods is a public park located in Colorado Springs, Colorado, USA.-Genesis of the park:Entrance to the park is free according to the wish of Charles Elliott Perkins, whose children donated the land to the city of Colorado Springs in 1909....
, for them a holy place of worship
Place of worship
A place of worship or house of worship is an establishment or her location where a group of people comes to perform acts of religious study, honor, or devotion. The form and function of religious architecture has evolved over thousands of years for both changing beliefs and architectural style...
.
One winter night in 1886, while Dr. Bell was away on business, Mrs. Bell awoke to a bedroom
Bedroom
A bedroom is a private room where people usually sleep for the night or relax during the day.About one third of our lives are spent sleeping and most of the time we are asleep, we are sleeping in a bedroom. To be considered a bedroom the room needs to have bed. Bedrooms can range from really simple...
filled with smoke
Smoke
Smoke is a collection of airborne solid and liquid particulates and gases emitted when a material undergoes combustion or pyrolysis, together with the quantity of air that is entrained or otherwise mixed into the mass. It is commonly an unwanted by-product of fires , but may also be used for pest...
. Burning ember
Ember
Embers are the glowing, hot coals made of greatly heated wood, coal, or other carbon-based material that remain after, or sometimes precede a fire. Embers can glow very hot, sometimes as hot as the fire which created them...
s escaped from a fireplace
Fireplace
A fireplace is an architectural structure to contain a fire for heating and, especially historically, for cooking. A fire is contained in a firebox or firepit; a chimney or other flue allows gas and particulate exhaust to escape...
in Briarhurst. She woke the children and servants. Cara stayed in the burning house and with the help of gardener Schneider, they rescued a prized oil painting by Thomas Moran
Thomas Moran
Thomas Moran from Bolton, England was an American painter and printmaker of the Hudson River School in New York whose work often featured the Rocky Mountains. Moran and his family took residence in New York where he obtained work as an artist...
, the "Mount of the Holy Cross". The family escaped safely, but lost all of their belongings and returned to England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. They returned in early 1887 to begin reconstruction of a second, more elaborate Briarhurst Manor, complete with school
School
A school is an institution designed for the teaching of students under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of formal education, which is commonly compulsory. In these systems, students progress through a series of schools...
room, conservatory, cloister
Cloister
A cloister is a rectangular open space surrounded by covered walks or open galleries, with open arcades on the inner side, running along the walls of buildings and forming a quadrangle or garth...
and a library
Library
In a traditional sense, a library is a large collection of books, and can refer to the place in which the collection is housed. Today, the term can refer to any collection, including digital sources, resources, and services...
with a special alcove
Alcove
Alcove , a vault) is an architectural term for a recess in a room, usually screened off by pillars, balustrades or drapery.In geography and geology, the term Alcove is used for a wind-eroded depression in the side of a cliff of a homogenous rock type, famous from sandstones of the Colorado Plateau...
to display the "Mount of the Holy Cross."
Today, 5 acres (20,234.3 m²) of the original Briarhurst estate is a restaurant and event venue. The restaurant seats over 400 guests and features Colorado cuisine. The remainder of the estate, now Blue Skies Inn Bed and Breakfast, features the original 1873 carriage house to the east of the estate. Many weddings are celebrated in the gardens that Ferdinand Schneider started over a hundred years ago.