Mayfield Park, Hampshire
Encyclopedia
Southampton
Southampton is the largest city in the county of Hampshire on the south coast of England, and is situated south-west of London and north-west of Portsmouth. Southampton is a major port and the closest city to the New Forest...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. The stream that runs through the park is the boundary between the two districts of modern Southampton
Southampton
Southampton is the largest city in the county of Hampshire on the south coast of England, and is situated south-west of London and north-west of Portsmouth. Southampton is a major port and the closest city to the New Forest...
.
The park is owned and maintained by Southampton City Council. It was previously part of the Chamberlayne
Chamberlayne
-Schools and colleges:*Chamberlayne College for the Arts, Weston, Southampton, England*Chamberlayne Elementary School, Henrico County, Virginia, U.S.A.*Chamberlayne Junior College, Newton, Massachusetts-People:...
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
Weston, Southampton
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 Park survives because it was split from the Weston Grove estate in the nineteenth century, becoming the Mayfield Estate.
18th century: wood-working mill
The park straddles a stream which runs from nearby Millers pond, through a valley within the park, naturally draining the higher ground of the Hampshire BasinHampshire Basin
The Hampshire Basin is a geological basin of Paleogene age in southern England, underlying parts of Hampshire, the Isle of Wight, Dorset, and Sussex...
on the East of Southampton
Southampton
Southampton is the largest city in the county of Hampshire on the south coast of England, and is situated south-west of London and north-west of Portsmouth. Southampton is a major port and the closest city to the New Forest...
into Southampton Water
Southampton Water
Southampton Water is a tidal estuary north of the Solent and the Isle of Wight in England. The city of Southampton lies at its most northerly point. Along its salt marsh-fringed western shores lie the New Forest villages of Hythe and "the waterside", Dibden Bay, and the Esso oil refinery at Fawley...
. In 1762, Walter Taylor
Walter Taylor (Southampton)
Walter Taylor of Southampton, supplied wooden rigging blocks to the Royal Navy, greatly improving their quality via technological innovations which were a significant step forward in the Industrial Revolution....
built a water-powered wood-working mill alongside this stream. 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
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
and was abandoned. The site has subsequently been excavated by Southampton City Council's Archeological Unit.
19th century: politics
The park was previously part of William Chamberlayne'sWeston Grove Estate
Weston
There are many places called Weston:-Australia:* Weston, Australian Capital Territory* Weston Creek, Canberra* Weston Park, Canberra* Weston, New South Wales, a suburb of the City of Cessnock-Canada:* Weston, Nova Scotia* Weston, Ontario...
. In 1810, William Chamberlayne erected a memorial to Whig
British Whig Party
The Whigs were a party in the Parliament of England, Parliament of Great Britain, and Parliament of the United Kingdom, who contested power with the rival Tories from the 1680s to the 1850s. The Whigs' origin lay in constitutional monarchism and opposition to absolute rule...
politician Charles James Fox
Charles James Fox
Charles James Fox PC , styled The Honourable from 1762, was a prominent British Whig statesman whose parliamentary career spanned thirty-eight years of the late 18th and early 19th centuries and who was particularly noted for being the arch-rival of William Pitt the Younger...
. This takes the from of a Portland Stone
Portland stone
Portland stone is a limestone from the Tithonian stage of the Jurassic period quarried on the Isle of Portland, Dorset. The quarries consist of beds of white-grey limestone separated by chert beds. It has been used extensively as a building stone throughout the British Isles, notably in major...
Obelisk, situated on the highest point of the estate where a windmill once stood. William Chamberlayne was later to become MP
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
for the Southampton (UK Parliament constituency)
Southampton (UK Parliament constituency)
Southampton was a parliamentary constituency which was represented in the British House of Commons. Centred on the town of Southampton, it returned two Members of Parliament from 1295 until it was abolished for the 1950 general election....
constituency, from 1818-1830.
In 1854, Thomas Chamberlayne sold part of the estate to Col. Robert Wright, who built Mayfield House there, establishing the Mayfield Estate. Col Wright subsequently dedicated the Obelisk to two of his favourite horses, who are buried in the park.
From 1889 to 1913, Mayfield House and the estate was owned by Granville Augustus William Waldegrave
Granville Waldegrave, 3rd Baron Radstock
Granville Augustus William Waldegrave, 3rd Baron Radstock was a British missionary and a Peer of Ireland....
, 3rd Lord Radstock. He had previously worked as a missionary in Russia in the 1870s. 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"
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 RadstockGranville Waldegrave, 4th Baron Radstock
Granville George Waldegrave, 4th Baron Radstock, CBE was the son of Granville Waldegrave, 3rd Baron Radstock and his wife, Susan Charlotte Calcroft. He graduated from Trinity College, Cambridge University, with a B.A. degree. He was invested as a Commander of the Order of the British Empire...
(1859–1937).
During World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, Mayfield House was used to nurse wounded soldiers, serving as an annexe to the Royal Victoria Military Hospital
Netley Hospital
The Royal Victoria Hospital, or Netley Hospital was a large military hospital in Netley, near Southampton, Hampshire, England. Construction started in 1856 at the suggestion of Queen Victoria but its design caused some controversy, chiefly from Florence Nightingale. Often visited by Queen Victoria,...
at Netley
Netley
Netley, sometimes called Netley Abbey, is a village on the south coast of Hampshire, England, situated on the east side of the city of Southampton...
.
The consequences of World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
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
Montague Waldegrave, 5th Baron Radstock
Montague Waldegrave, 5th Baron Radstock was an Irish aristocrat.Montague Waldegrave was the son of Granville Waldegrave, 3rd Baron Radstock and his wife, Susan Charlotte Calcroft. He was educated at Monkton Combe School and Trinity College, Cambridge, graduating with a B.A. degree in 1889. He...
(1867–1953). As the family was no longer able to maintain the Mayfield estate, it was sold to Southampton City Council. A covenant in the 4th Barons will requires it to be kept as an open space
During World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, displaced residents of Southampton were temporarily housed in Mayfield House. This building had 40 rooms, 23 of which were bedrooms
In 1944, the area was used to assemble troops and equipment during the build-up to D-Day
D-Day
D-Day is a term often used in military parlance to denote the day on which a combat attack or operation is to be initiated. "D-Day" often represents a variable, designating the day upon which some significant event will occur or has occurred; see Military designation of days and hours for similar...
.
Southampton City Council used part of the Weston Grove Estate to meet the demand for new housing after World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, creating the Weston
Weston, Southampton
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...
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.
Legacy
Chamberlayne Road, Radstock Road, Wrights Hill, Tankerville Road, Weston Grove Road, Obelisk Road and The Obelisk public housePublic house
A public house, informally known as a pub, is a drinking establishment fundamental to the culture of Britain, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. There are approximately 53,500 public houses in the United Kingdom. This number has been declining every year, so that nearly half of the smaller...
can all be found locally to Mayfield Park.
An annexe to Woolston School
Woolston School
Woolston School Language College was a secondary comprehensive school in Southampton, Hampshire, in southern England. The most recent Ofsted inspection was on 10 October 2006. The school was a Specialist Language College for student that were 11 to 16 years old...
, situated in Portsmouth Road, was also named Mayfield House. 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.
Weston Park Boys school has been renamed the Grove Park Business and Enterprise College
Grove Park Business and Enterprise College
Grove Park Business and Enterprise College, previously known as Weston Boys School, 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...
.
Weston Park Girls school has been renamed the Chamberlayne Park School and more recently Chamberlayne College for the Arts.
See also
- Baron RadstockBaron RadstockBaron Radstock, of Castletown in the Queen's County, was a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created in 1800 for Vice-Admiral the Honourable William Waldegrave. He was the second son of John Waldegrave, 3rd Earl Waldegrave . He was succeeded by his eldest son, the second Baron. He was a...
- Waldegrave familyWaldegrave familyWaldegrave, the name of an English family, said to derive from Walgrave in Northamptonshire, but who long held the manor of Smallbridge in Bures St. Mary, Suffolk.Sir Richard Waldegrave served as a Knight of the Shire in 1339 in Lincolnshire...
- Oasis Academy MayfieldOasis Academy MayfieldOasis Academy Mayfield is a city academy in Southampton, England run by Oasis Community Learning with approximately 900 pupils....