TrustNews Mar 22

35 Southgate Street: the history of a house

Keith Leman traces some fascinating history in the first of an occasional series on Winchester’s houses and streets.

 

 

The known history of this area starts in AD75 as a Roman Road which ran through the middle of the area. The road was realigned to where it is now in about 1250 AD and was named Golde Stret. The new road was constructed to line up with the South Gate.

 

The house that was built alongside the new road was occupied by Drew de Celario, who was probably employed in the Cathedral Priory cellars as well as being a supplier of salt to the Royal Household.

 

William de Yppelye was the last occupier of the property as it was then, it then fell into disrepair and was demolished as a result of the Black Death which had a profound effect on the City.

 

 

In 1611 John Speed's map shows the area as a garden. The garden was part of the Roundhead's siege line from which the troops pounded the castle. After this, the garden was included in Sir Christopher Wren's grand design proposals for Charles II, and no doubt for a time there was the equivalent of planning blight over the whole of this area.

 

In the early 1700s, Sir Villiars Chernocke acquired the site as a garden to supplement his new Queen Anne house, still known as Chernocke House, which fronts onto St Thomas Street. The garden was looked after by various relatives including Elizabeth Biggs, a great friend of Jane Austen. In 1835 it was sold, and a new house, the one we see today, was built there in 1835-40. The house was designed by Owen Browne Carter (who also designed the Corn Exchange, now known as the Arc and formerly the Discovery Centre and public library). The house interior design was influenced by Carter's visit to Egypt in the early 1830s, and this is still evident in the decoration to the main front room ceiling, with lotus flower mouldings and lotus leaf decoration around the fireplaces. This was probably a speculative property, as once finished it was sold to a Mr Charles Benny.

 

The next recorded owners were the Lavie family. SirThomas Lavie KCB, RN purchased it for his family with money made from the capture of the French frigate Guerriere in 1806. This ship was later sunk by the USS Constitution. The story goes that Thomas Lavie owned a valuable Worcester vase which had pride of place in the Southgate house. Somehow and much later, the vase ended up being presented to President Kennedy because of its association with the American War of Independence.

 

In 1874 the house was rented out to one of the daughters of the Earl of Macclesfield by Col Henry Wood of the Rifle Brigade. A grandson of the Earl, Hugh Parker Montgomery, who was brought up in the house, became a Major General. He was a well-known figure in Winchester and was the proud owner of one of the first Daimler cars to be sold. He was also a founder director of the Electric Light Company, and as a result the house was one of the first houses in Winchester to be lit by electricity.

 

The next owner of the house was a Dr Godwin, who had served in the Field Ambulance during the Boer War. On returning from military duty, Dr Godwin lived in the house above his surgery on the ground floor. The House still contains the desk that he operated on.

 

Finally, Chris Webb's parents bought the house, and Chris lived in the house until his recent death. Over his lifetime, Chris added a wide range of historical artefacts and memorabilia, much of it concerning Winchester and transport.

 

Author's note: The history of the house and grounds is taken from Chris Webb's notes left to me, so how accurate it is l am unable to guarantee as Chris is no longer around to ask!