TrustNews Jun 22
Brendon House
We continue our occasional series on Winchester's houses and streets.
Brendon House, Park Road, Winchester (Photo Brendoncare)
Brendon House (named after the Brendon Hills in Somerset) is located in Park Road, a road which has an established character deriving from its original period of development, with large houses in generous gardens. Brendon House is one of the most distinguished, built on a grand scale in red brick with tall chimneys.
The house was built between 1905 and 1907, and the architects were Colson, Farrow and Nisbett. John Colson was Winchester Cathedral's architect for 40 years, until the end of the nineteenth century, and is especially remembered for his work on the building and restoration of some 120 churches. He also designed three notable landmarks in Winchester:
Morley College, the City Museum in the Square (both Grade 2 listed) and the west side extension to the Guildhall.
Colson, Farrow and Nisbett also designed locally significant houses such as the Manor House in Colden Common, Watley House in Twyford, Elms in Twyford, Twyford Lodge, St Waleric and Lynton in Park Road. Brendon House must have been one of their last commissions, as the firm was dissolved in 1907.
The Salutation, Sandwich, Kent (Photo The Salutation Hotel)
Brendon House was designed in a Queen Anne style practiced by a number of architects at that time including Sir Edwin Lutyens. Colson may have followed Lutyens s designs for this style of house, for there are remarkable similarities with the Lutyens designed Grade 1 listed The Salutation in Sandwich, Kent, as seen in the windows, elegant and ornate brickwork and tall chimneys of Brendon House. Brendon House is one of the few houses of such architectural distinction still in existence in north Winchester.
The house had seven bedrooms, a dining room, a drawing room and a morning room, as well as offices in a separate wing. It was designed for Barrow Simonds, but was sold soon afterwards to a member of his family, a Mr Bowker (Fred Bowker being Barrow Simond's father in law), and then to a Mrs Letheridge, who is listed as the owner in 1912.
From 1947 to 1953, the house was lived in by Air Chief Marshall Sir Douglas Evill and his family. Born in 1892, Sir Douglas was senior air commander during the Second World War, and as part of Fighter Command, had a crucial role in the Battle of Britain. He was played by Michael Redgrave in the 1969 film, The Battle of Britain. He was also Deputy Lord Lieutenant of Hampshire and lived in Winchester until his death in 1971.
In the 1970s, the elderly owner of Brendon House, Phoebe Bacon, invited friends to live with her to provide companionship. As time passed and they needed more care, a nursing wing was built in 1984 by Mrs Bacon's niece Sue Everitt and the distinguished Winchester GP Sir Ronald Gibson. Today the company that resulted, Brendoncare, still manages Brendon House as one of its ten care homes across the south of England.
We are grateful to Professor Roland Jung, who provided the document on which this article is based.