Lansdowne House, including the cellar which forms part of the basement flat to Cerberus House, and the attached railings, Southampton, City of Southampton

Summary

A late-C18 former townhouse, converted to an office and residence in the early C19, later used principally as office and converted back to residential use after the 1990s.

Description

A late-C18 former townhouse, converted to an office and residence in the early-C19, later used principally as an office and converted back to residential use after the 1990s.

The attached C18 Cerberus House*, (apart from the former cellar to Lansdowne House which forms part of the basement flat), C18 and late-C19 Hill House*, and the former late-C19 commercial premises of Randall, Sloper and Company* are not included in the listing.

MATERIALS: LANSDOWNE HOUSE is constructed of red brick with blue-brick and stucco detailing and hipped concrete-tile roofs.

PLAN: the central range, LANSDOWNE HOUSE has a rectangular footprint orientated east to west with a stair tower to the rear; it has an off-centre hallway with staircase that is flanked by a room on either side.

EXTERIOR: a three-storey townhouse with cellar and attic levels. The six-window front elevation is exposed brick laid in Flemish-bond. There are blue-brick string courses above the ground and first floor, as well as a cornice below the stucco parapet; behind the parapet are a large and small hipped roof. The off-centre door is reached by a set of small steps and is topped by an arched overlight. The surrounding door case includes a pair of Doric columns, supporting a broken entablature and pediment; the reveals are panelled. The six-over-six sash windows are topped by flat-segmental arches with brick voussoirs. To the left of this elevation is an early-C21 basement window within an earlier opening. The east elevation is rendered, while the west and rear elevations are brick. Attached to the rear is a projecting stair tower topped by a parapet.

INTERIOR: a single-pile plan with rooms arranged on either side of an off-centre hallway with a dogleg staircase that rises up through the building. The staircase has a curtail base step, open string and a timber bannister with a moulded handrail and decorative balustrading including stick and barleycorn spindles. The cantilevered staircase is supported by additional metal supports. There are a variety of doors throughout the building. There are several stepped architraves with tall plinths which appear to be original. The ground and first-floor windows retain their panelled shutters and reveals. There are several classical-style fireplaces on the ground and first-floor rooms; some of the rooms also retain early skirting dado rails, cornices and ceiling roses, while others were replaced, particularly in the 1990s. The ground-floor east room also has a panelled wainscot; part of which has been replaced in recent years. There is a further fireplace with surround on the second floor. The barrel-vaulted cellar located under the central brick Lansdowne House range was incorporated into the basement flat of Cerberus House in the early C21.

SUBSIDIARY FEATURES: attached to the front (north) elevation of Lansdowne House, and flanking the front door, are two sets of early C19 spear railings on low masonry walls.

* Pursuant to s1 (5A) of the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 (‘the Act’) it is declared that the attached Cerberus House, (apart from the former cellar to Lansdowne House which forms part of the basement flat to Cerberus House), Hill House, and the former commercial premises of Randall, Sloper and Company are not of special architectural or historic interest. However, any works to these structures and/or features which have the potential to affect the character of the listed building as a building of special architectural or historic interest may still require Listed Building Consent (LBC) and this is a matter for the Local Planning Authority (LPA) to determine.

History

The building which came to be known as Lansdowne House was built in the late C18 for George Fowles. It was built near the site of Southampton Castle, and adjacent to the ruinous remains of the castle’s east gate and castle walls. To the south-west was a contemporary wing which contained the cart shed and stabling. Attached to the east side was a north-south building on a slightly different alignment to Lansdowne House and was attached to a further row of buildings extending to the east (later demolished). Possibly constructed as a separate building, from at least the early C19, records indicate that the north-south building formed its east wing.

In 1805 the Marquis of Lansdowne purchased a parcel of properties in this area, including the building which was subsequently renamed Lansdowne House. He also purchased the nearby ruinous remains of Southampton Castle keep which he developed. He died in 1809 and in 1818 his widow, Maria Arabella the Dowager Marchioness of Lansdowne, leased out Lansdowne House.

By 1820 the building had come to be occupied by Edward Bryant, a solicitor who had begun his career in London and moved to Southampton in 1818. A description of the building’s layout at around this time records a large dining room, withdrawing room, library, kitchen and pantry, six first-floor bedrooms, a back staircase, and servants’ rooms. There was also a rear flower garden, a coach house with accommodation for a coachman, and a three-stall stable with harness room and hay loft. Bryant used the building as a residence and office. He was later joined by a business partner Charles Deacon, to whom the building passed after Bryant’s death in 1833. The Southampton Ordnance Survey Map of 1846 (1/1056) shows Lansdowne House with a garden to the rear and a cart-shed and stable wing extending to the south-west. The east building, depicted as having a separate plot but most likely still part of the Lansdowne House, is shown to extend south from Castle Lane, with further terrace buildings attached to the east (later demolished). The Town Plan of Southampton (1870) depicts the three ranges as one building plot.

Lansdowne House was principally used as an office throughout the C19 and the C20, with the incumbent law firm’s name evolving during that time with the addition and loss of partners. In 1879 Lansdowne House was transferred from the ownership of Charles Deacon’s, son Charles Frederick Deacon, to his partner Alexander Paris. By this time the building had suffered from neglect and was in a dilapidated state, requiring work including extensive roof repairs, and further repairs to the kitchen, office flooring, and staircase treads.

By the late 1870s a soft-drinks producer, Randall, Sloper and Company, had taken over the occupation of the cart-shed wing. By the mid-C20 the drinks company had ceased to operate; the company premise was incorporated into Lansdowne House site. In the mid-1960s Lansdowne House was re-roofed. The law office was refurbished in the early 1990s, this included the reinstatement of lost skirting in the style of the surviving retained sections, alterations to suspended ceilings including the retention of all surviving cornices above, the replacement of C20 internal fire doors with panelled fire doors, and the conversion of the former hayloft in the south-west wing to offices.

The law firm continued to occupy the building until 1997, after which it fell into residential use. Initial modifications were made to the room arrangement including the creation of internal access between the central three-storey exposed brick range and the former Randall, Sloper and Company office to integrate the living space between the two buildings. In 2001 the east wing, which became known as Cerberus House. The cellar located under the central brick Lansdowne House range was incorporated into the basement flat of Cerberus House. In 2006 the former cart-shed wing, which became known as Hill House, was blocked out and subdivided from the main building and into four dwellings.

Reasons for Listing

Lansdowne House, including the cellar which forms part of the basement flat to Cerberus House, and the attached railings, Southampton, is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:

Architectural interest:

* it has good-quality brickwork, with that on its front elevation enhanced by contrasting blue-brick, stucco and stone decoration.
* the interior retains significant historic fabric including the well-detailed principal staircase and joinery.

Historic interest:

* it is a good example of a late-C18 city-centre townhouse which reflects well contemporary architectural tastes and construction techniques.

External Links

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