Description

This list entry was subject to a Minor Amendment on 24/01/2013

SU 40 NE 8/154
21.10.74
5230

HOUND
ABBEY HILL (OFF)
Netley Castle

II*

1542, the core of the structure is a coastal fort, one of a series built in the
Solent area by Henry VIII. The lower walling belongs to this period and the curving
top of the parapet shows in several places, with some splayed apertures which
protected the gun emplacements. Weighted and altered circa 1840-60 with the
addition of a Gothic tower.
The building was extensively remodelled circa 1885-90 to the designs of Sedding
(1889 on rainwater heads) in a Gothic/Baronial style.
A central block of 2 storeys, attic and basement is a plain mssive unit, with deep
splayed reveals (like loopholes) to the openings and rounded corner turrets. It has
3 gables above the castellated parapet. On the south front there are 4 first floor
windows, a band, and on the ground floor a central bay resting on a splayed
basement. On the north (entrance) front there is a 2-storeyed porch with a window
on each side, those on the ground floor appearing as later large mullioned and
transomed insertions.
The wings are more complex, with a grading outwards of the Gothic treatment towards
a more domestic style. The north wing has 3 storeys and basement, with an octagonal
stair turret on the corner. The south wing is 2-storeyed (of about equal height)
but ends in a prominent octagonal tower, with its own octagonal stair turret.
Within the general symmetry the detail of fenestration is rich in variation, in the
Gothic manner. Stone walling. Casement windows.
Inside, the main rooms continue the elaborate Gothic treatment. The entrance hall
has a massive fireplace at one end and at the other a grand timber staircase, at the
top of which an organ has been built into a recess. A billiard room is fully
panelled. The first floor of the south wing is a panelled apartment of irregular
shape, and includes a section within the Tower, with an oriel window.
Scheduled as an Ancient Monument.

Listing NGR: SU4516309217

External Links

• Historic England Listing

External links are from the relevant listing authority and, where applicable, Wikidata. Wikidata IDs may be related buildings as well as this specific building. If you want to add or update a link, you will need to do so by editing the Wikidata entry.

Recommended Books

• 
  Lancashire: Liverpool and the South-West (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Liverpool: Pevsner City Guide (Pevsner Architectural Guides: City Guides)
• 
  Churches: An Architectural Guide (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Introductions)
• 
  Bedfordshire, Huntingdonshire, and Peterborough (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Lancashire: Manchester and the South-East (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Period Property Manual (New Ed)