South Stoneham House
| South Stoneham House | |
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The north (front) face of the original house
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 Location of South Stoneham House within Southampton
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| General information | |
| Status | Complete |
| Type | House |
| Address | Wessex Lane |
| Town or city | Swaythling, Southampton |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Coordinates | 50°56′12″N 1°22′37″W / 50.9367°N 1.3770°WCoordinates: 50°56′12″N 1°22′37″W / 50.9367°N 1.3770°W |
| Completed | 1708, 1964 |
| Owner | University of Southampton |
| Height | (tower) 48.7 metres |
| Technical details | |
| Floor count | 3 (original); 17 (extension) |
| Lifts/elevators | 2 |
| Design and construction | |
| Architect | Nicholas Hawksmoor (original house) |
| Architecture firm | Brandt, Potter, Hare Partnership (1964 extension) |
| Structural engineer | EWH Gifford and Partners (1964 extension) |
| Other designers | Lancelot "Capability" Brown |
| Main contractor | Trollope and Colls Limited (1964 extension) |
| Designations | Grade II* listed |
South Stoneham House is a Grade II* listed former manor house in Swaythling, Southampton; the former seat of the Barons Swaythling before the family moved to the nearby Townhill Park House. The building is owned by the University of Southampton, and until recently was used as a hall of residence, part of the Wessex Lane Halls complex.
Originally known as Bishop's Stoneham, the records of the manor date from the 11th century, but the current house was constructed in the early 18th century. It has been attributed to Nicholas Hawksmoor with the gardens and landscaping attributed to Lancelot "Capability" Brown. The house is located close to the River Itchen and Monks Brook and the manor's previous owners include the Willis-Fleming family of nearby North Stoneham and Samuel Montagu, 1st Baron Swaythling.
After Montagu's death his son elected to continue living at nearby Townhill Park House, and South Stoneham was subsequently sold to University College Southampton (now the University of Southampton) for use as student accommodation. In 1964 the building was considerably altered by adding a 17-storey tower and a kitchen and dining complex to the building. In 2004 the University submitted plans to demolish these extensions with the intention of converting the original house into a conference venue and building new blocks of flats on the remaining landscaped gardens. The University placed the property up for sale in 2015.
A charter dating from 990 relates to the manor of South Stoneham and during building works in the area immediately around the current house and grounds, archaeological evidence of a Saxon settlement was found. The manor of South Stoneham was originally called Bishop's Stoneham, and was held by the Bishop of Winchester at the time of the Domesday Book. The original parish of South Stoneham covered more than 8,000 acres (32.37 km2; 12.50 sq mi), and extended along the eastern side of the River Itchen from the site of the present day Eastleigh in the north to just above Northam Bridge in the south, and from Swaythling to the outskirts of the original town of Southampton on the western side of the river; it included the tithings of Allington, Barton, Pollack, Shamblehurst, and Portswood. Other than St. Mary's Church (which is close to South Stoneham House but predates it considerably) and a few adjacent houses, there was no village of "South Stoneham"; the closest village to the house was Swaythling, now a suburb of Southampton.
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