The Stag Gates stood at the entrance to Lodge Road from the Avenue, and originally formed the entrance to Bevois Mount, a large country house and estate created by the Earl of Peterborough in c.1723. Lodge Road was originally one of the carriageways to the house. In 1844 the estate passed to William Betts, who made many improvements to the house and estate, including erecting the Stag Gates in c.1845. The two stone pillars were impressive, standing at over 20 feet high and each capped with a carved stag. In the 1920s the gates were demolished in order to widen Lodge Road. Although it is often stated that the iron gates were moved and erected at the main entrance to the Old Cemetery, this has now been disproved.
Stag Gates
Photograph, c.1900
Stag Gates×
Stag Gates
Coloured postcard, c.1905
Stag Gates×
Newspaper clipping:
Further reading:
‘Stag Gates and all that.’ by A.G.K. Leonard in Southampton Local History Forum Journal, no. 19, Spring 2012, p3-9. (HS/h)
Southampton Occasional Notes, by ‘Townsman’, p14. (HS/h)
Southampton Reflections, by Jim Barnes, p20. (HS/h)
Southampton Occasional Notes, 2nd Series by ‘Townsman’, p38. (HS/h)
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