South Stoneham House

South Stoneham House
The north (front) face of the original house
Location of South Stoneham House within Southampton
General information
Status	Completed
Type	House
Address	Wessex Lane
Town or city	Swaythling, Southampton
Country	United Kingdom
Coordinates	50°56′12″N 1°22′37″W / 50.9367°N 1.3770°W / 50.9367; -1.3770
Completed	1708, 1964
Owner	University of Southampton
Height	(tower) 48.7 metres
Technical details
Floor count	3 (original); 17 (extension)
Lifts/elevators	2
Design and construction
Architect(s)	Nicholas Hawksmoor (original house)
Architecture firm	Brandt, Potter, Hare Partnership (1964 extension)
Structural engineer	EWH Gifford and Partners (1964 extension)
Other designers	Lancelot "Capability" Brown
Main contractor	Trollope and Colls Limited (1964 extension)
Designations	Grade II* listed

South Stoneham House is a Grade II* listed former manor house in Swaythling, Southampton; the former seat of the Barons Swaythling before the family moved to the nearby Townhill Park House. The building is owned by the University of Southampton, and was used as a hall of residence, part of the Wessex Lane Halls complex.

Originally known as Bishop's Stoneham, the records of the manor date from the 11th century, but the current house was constructed in the early 18th century. It has been attributed to Nicholas Hawksmoor with the gardens and landscaping attributed to Lancelot "Capability" Brown. The house is located close to the River Itchen and Monks Brook and the manor's previous owners include the Willis-Fleming family of nearby North Stoneham and Samuel Montagu, 1st Baron Swaythling.

After Montagu's death in 1911 his son elected to continue living at nearby Townhill Park House, and South Stoneham was sold in 1921 to University College Southampton (now the University of Southampton) for use as student accommodation. In 1964 the building was considerably altered by adding a 17-storey tower and a kitchen and dining complex to the building. The tower was deemed unsuitable for continued use and in 2004 the University submitted plans to demolish it with the intention of converting the original house into a conference venue and building new blocks of flats on the remaining landscaped gardens. The House and tower ceased to be used in 2005 and the House was boarded up in 2009. The University placed the property up for sale in 2015 but failed to find a buyer. The 2020 planning application for demolition of the tower included plans, agreed with Historic England, to build student accommodation and put the Manor House back into active use. The tower was demolished in early 2022. The House remains boarded up, described as 'a pathetic sight' in the new edition of Pevsner's The Buildings of England.^[1]