Peartree Green

Last updated

Peartree Green
PeartreeParishChurch.jpg
The parish church on Peartree Green
Southampton from OpenStreetMap.png
Red pog.svg
Peartree Green
Location within Southampton
Unitary authority
Ceremonial county
Region
Country England
Sovereign state United Kingdom
Post town SOUTHAMPTON
Postcode district SO19
Dialling code 023
Police Hampshire and Isle of Wight
Fire Hampshire and Isle of Wight
Ambulance South Central
UK Parliament
List of places
UK
England
Hampshire
50°54′14″N1°22′37″W / 50.904°N 1.377°W / 50.904; -1.377

Peartree Green is an open space on high ground on the east bank of the River Itchen in Southampton, in the ceremonial county of Hampshire, England. A 16/17th century building, Peartree House, still stands, though is today concealed by private housing. The house and the green take their name from a pear tree that grew near the parish church. [1] Some of the original open space has been built on, but a large proportion remains as a recreational area. It contains a church and the remains of a boarding school. It overlooks the River Itchen to St Mary's Church in Southampton.

Contents

Geography

Peartree Green adjoins the districts of Woolston, Bitterne, Sholing and Merryoak within the city of Southampton. It overlooks the River Itchen to St Mary's Church in Southampton. [1]

History

Memorial stone at Peartree school PeartreeSchoolStone.jpg
Memorial stone at Peartree school
Memorial stone to Richard Parker in Peartree Green. RichardParkerTombstone.jpg
Memorial stone to Richard Parker in Peartree Green.

Francis Mylles, M.P. for Winchester from 1588 to 1593, built Peartree House in the late 16th century, using stone from Bitterne Manor which had previously been used by the Romans at their settlement at Clausentum. Captain Richard Smith, former governor of Calshot Castle lived at Peartree House from approximately 1617. [2]

A small church, now named Peartree Parish Church, was built as Jesus Chapel by Captain Richard Smith in 1618. [2] [3] It was dedicated in 1620. [4] Although it was not part of Southampton at that time, Jesus Chapel served the parish of St Marys Extra which was used as an overflow for the parish of St Marys in Southampton. Construction of Jesus Chapel saved parishioners from a rough crossing over the Itchen to Southampton or a long journey to the neighbouring churches at Hound, Botley or South Stoneham. [2] The church website makes a claim to being the world's oldest Anglican church, stating that it was the first one to be built and consecrated after the English Reformation. [4] The church was neither the first to be built nor to be consecrated after the Reformation: between 1560 and 1830 most of the existing churches in England were converted and reconsecrated to Anglican worship, and several churches were built quite soon after the reformation, such as St George's Church, Esher, built in 1540, [5] and Old St Leonard's Church, Langho, which was built in 1557; [6] [7] however, when consecrated in September 1620, the service, conducted by the Bishop of Winchester, formed the basis for future Church of England consecrations, so the church can lay claim to be the first to use the revised Church of England consecration service. [8]

Peartree House was built by 1617, then altered in the late eighteenth century. [9] [3] It was once home to General Shrapnel inventor of the Shrapnel shell. [3]

A boarding school was built next to Jesus Chapel in 1857. [10]

By the late 19th Century, the area contained many impressive houses and villas which were home to Southampton's wealthy traders. [3]

Itchen Ferry village no longer exists, but it used to adjoin Peartree Green. The graveyard at Jesus Chapel contains a memorial to Richard Parker of the village, who died at sea following the wreck of the yacht Mignonette off South Africa in 1884. [11] Cast adrift without provisions, his companions killed and ate him in order to survive. It is one of the few recorded cases of human cannibalism in modern times. [12] The subsequent murder trial R v Dudley and Stephens changed English law by establishing the precedent that necessity is no defence to the charge of murder.

Peartree Green was incorporated into the borough of Southampton in 1920. [13] The area has subsequently experienced significant suburban development. The boarding school became an annex to Woolston School; it has since been converted into residential homes.

In 2018 the green was designated a local nature reserve. [14] In July the same year, two hectares of it were damaged by fire after becoming dry due to the heat wave. [15]

Related Research Articles

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

The River Itchen in Hampshire, England, rises to the south of New Alresford and flows 26 miles (42 km) to meet Southampton Water below the Itchen Bridge. The Itchen Navigation was constructed in the late 17th and early 18th centuries to enable barges to reach Winchester from Southampton Docks, but ceased to operate in the mid-19th century and is largely abandoned today.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Southampton Itchen (UK Parliament constituency)</span> Parliamentary constituency in the United Kingdom, 1950 onwards

Southampton, Itchen is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2024 by Darren Paffey from the Labour Party (UK). Before then, it had been held since 2015 by Royston Smith GM of the Conservative Party, who had announced his retirement from frontline politics in 2023 and did not seek re-election in 2024.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bitterne</span> Suburb in England

Bitterne is an eastern suburb and ward of Southampton, in the ceremonial county of Hampshire, England.

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

Northam is a suburb of Southampton in Hampshire. On the West bank of the River Itchen, it shares borders with St Mary's, Bitterne and Bevois Valley. Beside the border with St Mary's is the Chapel area, which has been home to some recent apartment building developments in Northam. The A3024 road runs through the suburb and crosses the Northam Bridge, which links Northam with Bitterne via Bitterne Manor. Although St Mary's Stadium takes its name from the neighbouring St Mary's, the stadium itself is in Northam, and home to Southampton F.C.

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

Bitterne Manor is a suburb of Southampton surrounding the manor house of the same name. It is located on the eastern bank of the River Itchen, across Cobden Bridge from St Denys.

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

Bitterne Park is a suburb and Electoral Ward of Southampton, England, on the Eastern bank of the River Itchen, built on sloping parkland which once formed part of Bitterne Manor.

St Denys is a partially riverside district of Southampton, England, centred 1.5 miles (2.4 km) north north-east of the city centre facing variously Bitterne Park and quay across the River Itchen estuary. The river is here spanned in the mid-east extreme of the district by Cobden Bridge, one of five within the city's broad boundaries, six including the railway bridge 100 m south. It is separated from the city centre by the districts sometimes known as Bevois Valley and New Town, in turn and to the south a riverside boardwalk allows pedestrian and bicycle access to the Mount Pleasant Industrial Estate and Northam.

<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.

Southampton is a city in Hampshire, England. The area has been settled since the Stone Age. Its history has been affected by its geographical location, on a major estuary on the English Channel coast with an unusual double high-tide, and by its proximity to Winchester and London; the ancient and modern capitals of England. Having been an important regional centre for centuries, Southampton was awarded city status by Queen Elizabeth II in 1964.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Northam Bridge</span> Bridge in Northam, Bitterne Manor

The Northam Bridge is a road bridge across the River Itchen in Southampton, England, linking the suburbs of Northam and Bitterne Manor. The current bridge was the first major prestressed concrete road bridge to be built in the United Kingdom. The bridge carries the A3024 road as a dual carriageway, with two lanes on each carriageway.

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

Harefield is a suburb and Electoral Ward near Bitterne in Southampton, England. Harefield Ward consists of a small council housing estate built around 1952/3 on the 238-acre (0.96 km2) estate of Harefield House and additional private housing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Itchen Ferry village</span>

Itchen Ferry village was a small hamlet on the East bank of the River Itchen in Hampshire. The village took its name from the small fishing boats that were also used to ferry foot passengers across the river. An Ordnance Survey map of 1911 (NC/03/17894) shows the village to be situated in the area roughly bounded by Sea Road, Oakbank Road, the River Itchen and the railway line in modern Woolston, but also extending along Sea Road towards Peartree Green on the other side of the railway, which cut the village in half in 1866. Neighbouring streets on that same map, Defender Road, Britannia Road and Shamrock Road have a more structured layout and are clearly part of the Victorian enlargement of Woolston. The same map clearly shows the housing in Itchen Ferry village to have a more random layout. An even older map, of 1842 pins Itchen Ferry village more tightly to the area between Sea Road and Vicarage Road.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peartree (ward)</span>

Peartree Ward is an Electoral Ward in the Unitary Authority of Southampton, England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Old St Leonard's Church, Langho</span> Church in Lancashire, England

Old St Leonard's Church is a redundant Anglican church 1 mile (1.6 km) northwest of the village of Langho, Lancashire, England. It is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade I listed building, and is under the care of the Churches Conservation Trust.

Peartree House is a Grade II listed building in the Peartree Green area of Southampton, England. The oldest part of the property was built for Francis Mylles, M.P. for Winchester, using stone from the Roman settlement at Clausentum. The most notable former resident of the property was Lieutenant-General Henry Shrapnel who invented the weapon named after him. The property is now owned by Peartree House Rehabilitation & Community Service where it is used as a specialist rehabilitation centre for clients with acquired brain injuries.

The following is a timeline of the history of the city of Southampton, Hampshire, England.

References

  1. 1 2 Southampton past and present. Fletcher & Son. 1840. p. 72.
  2. 1 2 3 The Illustrated History of Southampton Suburbs. Jim Brown. 2004. ISBN   1-85983-405-1
  3. 1 2 3 4 Images of Southampton. Southampton City Council.1994. ISBN   1-873626-59-2
  4. 1 2 "Pear Tree Church - Southampton". Pear Tree Church.
  5. "St George's Church, Esher". stgeorgesesher.org.
  6. "Church Building after the Reformation". victoriacountyhistory.
  7. David Ross. "Old Langho Church". britainexpress.
  8. William Page (1908). "Parishes: St Mary Extra". A History of the County of Hampshire: Volume 3. pp. 297–299.
  9. Historic England. "Peartree House (1092032)". National Heritage List for England . Retrieved 17 April 2015.
  10. Memorial Stone on the old school building
  11. Maritime Memorials
  12. Cannibalism and the common law. A.W. Brian Simpson. 1984
  13. Southampton in the Twenties. Eric Wyeth Gadd
  14. "Peartree Green gets special nature reserve status". Southern Daily Echo. 1 April 2018. Retrieved 3 April 2018.
  15. Yandell, Chris (17 July 2018). "Two hectares of Peartree Green in Southampton badly damaged in blaze". Daily Echo. Retrieved 17 July 2018.