Wilton House was a large residence located at the north junction of Wilton Place and Bedford Place and is not to be confused with Wilton Lodge (formerly Wilton Cottage) which still stands on the opposite side of Bedford Place. It was built in 1831-32 for local building contractor John Snook, who sold it in 1845 to Henry Buchan who lived there until his death in 1865. His son, Henry Joseph Buchan, mayor of Southampton in 1871 and founder of the paint firm Peacock and Buchan, also lived at the house. After his death in 1891 Wilton House was converted into the Free Eye Hospital, opening as such in 1895. It survived as an eye hospital until 1994 when the eye department was transferred to a new unit at Southampton General Hospital. Wilton House was demolished in 1996 and a nursing home was built on the site.

Eye Hospital, Bedford Place

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Wilton Lodge as the Eye Hospital, photographed in 1990


Further reading:
More Stories of Southampton Streets, by A. G. K. Leonard, p27, 28, 32-34. (HS/h)


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