South Stoneham House, situated at the east corner of Wessex Lane and Woodmill Lane, was built by Thomas Dummer of London between 1705 and 1708 to plans which may have been drawn up by the architect Nicholas Hawksmoor. The grounds were designed by the celebrated landscape gardener Lancelot ‘Capability’ Brown. The house was built on the site of an earlier house which dated back to c.1086. The house, mainly built in red brick, was originally smaller than the present building but was subsequently extended on both wings. It was considerably altered in 1900 and possibly on occasions before this.
The property was sold to William Sloane, brother of the founder of the British Museum, in 1740. His relative Hans Sloane put the estate up for sale in 1804 (see clipping below). By 1819 it had passed to the Fleming family who held it until the late 19th century. In 1888 the house and estate were bought by Sir Samuel Montagu (later Lord Swaythling), later passing to the University College to become a hall of residence in 1921. The large porch was added by Lord Swaythling. It is Grade II* listed.
South Stoneham House
photograph, c.2010
South Stoneham House×
South Stoneham House
Photograph, c.2010
South Stoneham House×
South Stoneham House
Photograph, c.1900
South Stoneham House×
Newspaper clippings:
To be sold by auction - (Hampshire Chronicle 25/06/1804)
Further reading:
Lost Houses of Southampton, by Jessica Vale. (HS/i)
‘The Country Houses of Southampton’, by Jessica Vale in Proceedings of the Hampshire Field Club and Archaeological Society, volume 39, 1983, p172, 173, 181, 186. (HS/i)
Buildings of England: Hampshire and the I.O.W., by Nikolaus Pevsner and David Lloyd, p581-583. (H/i)
Southampton’s Historic Buildings, by R. J. Coles, p15. (HS/k)
‘South Stoneham House, a Relic of Stuart Southampton’, by Christine Clearkin, in Southampton Local History Forum Journal, no. 21, Autumn 2013, p27-34. (HS/h)
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