Mayfield Park, Southampton

Last updated

Mayfield Park
FoxMemorialMayfield.jpg
The memorial to Charles James Fox
Southampton from OpenStreetMap.png
Red pog.svg
Shown within Southampton
Type Public park
Location Woolston, Southampton, England
Coordinates 50°53′30.19″N1°21′51.09″W / 50.8917194°N 1.3641917°W / 50.8917194; -1.3641917
Area17 ha (42 acres)
Operated by Southampton City Council
OpenOpen year-round
Awards Green Flag Award
Paths Itchen Way
Website Official website

Mayfield Park is a recreational area straddling Woolston and Weston in Southampton, England. The stream that runs through the park is the boundary between the two districts of modern Southampton. [1]

Contents

The park is owned and maintained by Southampton City Council. It was previously part of the Chamberlayne family's Weston Grove estate. Much of the rest of the Weston Grove estate has been used to develop the post-war suburb of Weston. Mayfield Park survives because it was split from the Weston Grove estate in the nineteenth century, becoming the Mayfield Estate.

History

18th century: wood-working mill

The park straddles a stream which runs from nearby Miller's Pond, through a valley within the park, naturally draining the higher ground of the Hampshire Basin on the East of Southampton into Southampton Water. In 1762, Walter Taylor built a water-powered wood-working mill alongside this stream. [2] Millers pond was formed to provide a reservoir to supply this mill.

The mill site was rebuilt as a private house in the 19th century, but this suffered bomb damage during World War II and was abandoned. [2] The site has subsequently been excavated by Southampton City Council's Archeological Unit.

19th century: politics

The park was previously part of William Chamberlayne's Weston Grove Estate. [2] In 1810, Chamberlayne erected a memorial to Whig politician Charles James Fox. [2] [3] This takes the form of a Portland Stone Obelisk, situated on the highest point of the estate where a windmill once stood. [4] Chamberlayne was later to become MP for the Southampton constituency, from 1818 to 1830.

In 1854, Thomas Chamberlayne sold part of the estate to Col. Robert Wright (after whom nearby Wrights Hill was named), who built Mayfield House there, establishing the Mayfield Estate. [2] Col Wright subsequently dedicated the Obelisk to two of his favourite horses, [5] who are buried in the park.

From 1889 to 1913, Mayfield House and the estate was owned by Granville Augustus William Waldegrave, 3rd Lord Radstock. [6] He had previously worked as a missionary in Russia in the 1870s. [5] During his tenure of the Mayfield Estate Lord Radstock added the inscription to the Obelisk, which reads "The earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof – Psalms 24.1" [3] [5]

20th century: wartime, development and the end of a dynasty

On the death of the 3rd Lord Radstock, in 1913, the title and the Mayfield estate passed to Granville George Waldegrave, 4th Baron Radstock (1859–1937).

During World War I, Mayfield House was used to nurse wounded soldiers, [5] serving as an annexe to the Royal Victoria Military Hospital at Netley. [4]

The consequences of World War I meant that many such estates in England were never the same again. A generation of young men were lost in the conflict, including the younger heirs to these estates and many of the men who worked in them.

On the death of the 4th Lord Radstock, in 1937, the title was inherited by his 70-year-old brother Montague Waldegrave, 5th Baron Radstock(1867–1953). As the family was no longer able to maintain the Mayfield estate, it was sold to Southampton City Council. [2] A covenant in the 4th Barons will requires it to be kept as an open space [5]

During World War II, displaced residents of Southampton were temporarily housed in Mayfield House. [5] This building had 40 rooms, 23 of which were bedrooms [5]

In 1944, the area was used to assemble troops and equipment during the build-up to D-Day.

Southampton City Council used part of the Weston Grove Estate to meet the demand for new housing after World War II, creating the Weston Housing Estate. Weston Park Boys and Girls schools were built in 1957.

The title died out with the 5th Lord Radstock in 1953. Mayfield House was demolished a few years later, in 1956. [2]

Legacy

Chamberlayne Road, Radstock Road, Wrights Hill, Gordon Terrace, Tankerville Road (named after Tankerville Chamberlayne), Weston Grove Road, Obelisk Road [7] and The Obelisk public house can all be found locally to Mayfield Park.

An annexe to Woolston School, situated in Portsmouth Road, was also named Mayfield House.[ citation needed ] This building was not the original house on the Mayfield Estate, it merely shared its name.

The Chamberlayne Leisure Centre was opened in April 2000. [8]

Weston Park Boys school has been renamed the Grove Park Business and Enterprise College and more recently Oasis Academy Mayfield

Weston Park Girls school was renamed the Chamberlayne Park School and then Chamberlayne College for the Arts. However the school is now known as Weston Secondary School.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Earley</span> Town in Berkshire, England

Earley is a town and civil parish in the Borough of Wokingham, Berkshire, England. Along with the neighbouring town of Woodley, the Office for National Statistics places Earley within the Reading/Wokingham Urban Area; for the purposes of local government it falls within the Borough of Wokingham, outside the area of Reading Borough Council. Its name is sometimes spelt Erleigh or Erlegh and consists of a number of smaller areas, including Maiden Erlegh and Lower Earley, and lies some 3 miles (5 km) south and east of the centre of Reading, and some 4 miles (6 km) northwest of Wokingham. It had a population of 32,036 at the 2011 Census.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Earl Waldegrave</span> Earldom in the Peerage of Great Britain

Earl Waldegrave is a title in the Peerage of Great Britain. It was created in 1729 for James Waldegrave, 2nd Baron Waldegrave.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Netley</span> Village in Hampshire, England

Netley, officially Netley Abbey, is a village on the south coast of Hampshire, England. It is situated to the south-east of the city of Southampton, and flanked on one side by the ruins of Netley Abbey and on the other by the Royal Victoria Country Park.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Waldegrave family</span> English family

Waldegrave is the name of an English family, said to derive from Walgrave in Northamptonshire, who long held the manor of Smallbridge in Bures St. Mary, Suffolk.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">William Waldegrave, 1st Baron Radstock</span> Royal Navy officer and Governor of Newfoundland

Admiral William Waldegrave, 1st Baron Radstock, GCB was an officer in the Royal Navy and Governor of Newfoundland.

Weston is a small suburb on the south-eastern side of Southampton, UK, predominantly built on the Weston Grove Estate formerly owned by the Chamberlayne family. It also includes the area that was previously the Barnfield Estate. Weston includes part of Mayfield Park, which was previously the Mayfield Estate. Weston is bounded by Woolston, Sholing, Netley and Southampton Water.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">North Baddesley</span> Human settlement in England

North Baddesley is a large village and civil parish in Hampshire, England. It is situated 3 mi (5 km) east of the town of Romsey and 6 mi (10 km) north of Southampton. It occupies an area of approximately 9.15 km2 (3.53 sq mi), and is home to a population of just over 10,000 people, reducing to 7,000 at the 2011 Census. It is located in the Test Valley; a river famous for trout fishing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sholing</span> Human settlement in England

Sholing, previously Scholing, is a district on the eastern side of the city of Southampton in Southern England. It is located between the districts of Bitterne, Thornhill and Woolston.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Woolston, Southampton</span> Suburb in England

Woolston is a suburb of Southampton, Hampshire, located on the eastern bank of the River Itchen. It is bounded by the River Itchen, Sholing, Peartree Green, Itchen and Weston.

Weston Secondary School is a coeducational secondary school located in the Weston area of Southampton, in the English county of Hampshire.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Woolston School</span> Comprehensive school in Southampton, Hampshire, England

Woolston School Language College was a secondary comprehensive school in Southampton, Hampshire, in southern England. The last Ofsted inspection was on 10 October 2006. The school was a Specialist Language College for students that were 11 to 16 years old. There were around 770 pupils enrolled in the school at the time of closure.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Weston Park Boys' School</span> Secondary school in Southampton, Hampshire, England

Weston Park Boys' School, subsequently renamed Grove Park Business and Enterprise College, was a comprehensive school in east Southampton, Hampshire, in the south of England. The school was closed in 2008 to make way for Oasis Academy Mayfield. The most recent Ofsted inspection was on 17 May 2004.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Granville Waldegrave, 3rd Baron Radstock</span>

Granville Augustus William Waldegrave, 3rd Baron Radstock was a British missionary and a baron in the Peerage of Ireland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oasis Academy Mayfield</span> Academy in Southampton, Hampshire, England

Oasis Academy Mayfield is a city academy in Southampton, England, run by Oasis Community Learning with approximately 900 pupils.

Tankerville Chamberlayne was a landowner in Hampshire and a member of parliament, serving the Southampton constituency three times, as an Independent and Conservative. He was deprived of his seat after the 1895 general election because of the indiscretion of one of his campaign workers and his having headed a procession which raised suspicion of having supplied beer to supporters. He subsequently raised the question of false electioneering statements in Parliament.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cranbury Park</span>

Cranbury Park is a stately home and country estate situated in the parish of Hursley, Winchester, England. It was formerly the home to Sir Isaac Newton and later to the Chamberlayne family, whose descendants continue to own and occupy the house and surrounding park and farmland in the 21st century. The house and park are not generally open to the public, although open days are occasionally held.

Thomas Chamberlayne was an English first-class cricketer and yachtsman.

History of Woolston, suburb of Southampton, Hampshire.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Westwood Woodland Park</span>

Westwood Woodland Park is a 49.5-hectare (122-acre) Local Nature Reserve in Southampton in Hampshire. It is owned by Hampshire County Council and managed by Hampshire County Council and Southampton City Council. The site is split in two by a stream, the 'Tickleford Gully'. The park forms the boundary of Southampton and Netley.

References

  1. ↑ Ordnance Survey
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Southampton City Council. Mayfield Park Leaflet
  3. 1 2 Coles, R. J. (1981). Southampton's Historic Buildings. City of Southampton Society. p. 35.
  4. 1 2 Spike Island. Philip Hoare. ISBN   1-84115-294-3
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 The Illustrated History of Southamptons suburbs. Jim Brown. 2004. ISBN   1-85983-405-1
  6. ↑ Lord Radstock and the Russian Awakening. David Fountain. (Publ Southampton: Mayflower Christian Books, 1988) ISBN   0-907821-04-9
  7. ↑ Ordnance Survey street map
  8. ↑ Southampton City Council
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.