Briarhurst

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 Utes 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 embers 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 schoolroom, conservatory, cloister and a library with a special alcove to display the "Mount of the Holy Cross."

Today, 5 acres (20,000 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.

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