Southampton Tudor House and Garden
| Tudor House and Garden | |
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Tudor House, from St. Michael's Square, Bugle Street
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| General information | |
| Location | Southampton, United Kingdom |
| Coordinates | 50°53′59″N 1°24′22″W / 50.8996°N 1.4060°WCoordinates: 50°53′59″N 1°24′22″W / 50.8996°N 1.4060°W |
| Opened | 1491 |
| Renovated | July 2011 |
| Cost | £6,000,000 |
| Website | |
| www |
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Tudor House and Garden is a historic building, museum, tourist attraction, and Grade I listed building in Southampton, England. Established as Southampton's first museum in 1912, the house was closed for nine years between 2002 and 2011 during an extensive renovation.
The house is located in Bugle Street, opposite St. Michael's Square, in Southampton's Old Town.
The earliest part of the site is a Norman domestic dwelling, built in the 1180s. Although the site is known as King John's Palace there is no evidence that King John of England ever visited the house. In the 14th century the merchant and mayor of Southampton, John Whytegod, lived in the property. After the French raid of Southampton in 1338 the walls were turned into what would become Southampton's defensive walls. Its windows and doors were filled in or replaced with gun slits. It is one of the finest examples of Norman domestic architecture in England.
The main body of the house was extended and developed by Sir John Dawtrey (d.1518), a major landowner, M.P. and Sheriff. He received large sums of money from Henry VIII to supply food for the navy and to help in the defences of the town. Money was also provided for the building, fitting out and provisioning of ships – including The Mary Rose. During the Tudor period, the house was a home for influential members of Southampton society including Sir Richard Lyster (1480–1554), a judge and Chief Justice of the King's Bench.
In the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries the house was used as a merchant house as a cloth maker and manufacturer. During the restoration, in 2007, conservators discovered that several walls were covered with graffiti that dated between 1570 and 1620. Images include ships, caricatures of people, and exotic animals. During that period Tudor House was owned by ship owners, and it is likely that the house was used as a place of lodging for sailors and privateers. The graffiti is now considered to be one of the most well-preserved pieces of Tudor maritime graffiti in England.
During the 18th century, Tudor House was owned by the artist George Rogers, who made significant alterations to the house, including building a Georgian wing, complete with two large sash windows. By this time, the oak beam façade at the front of the property had been plastered and repainted.
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Wikipedia