Historical background to Castle Lodge, 324 Portswood Road

Built by Giles Stibbert, a retired General in the East India Company, in 1776, Portswood House gave unparalled views down the River Itchen and Southampton Water, as far as Calshot and Eaglehurst, and over the New Forest. J Britton and E W Brayley noted that when the tide is up, a wide lake forms in front of the mansion, as the illustration shows. The house was designed by John Crunden (c. 1741-1835), author of several popular architectural pattern-books, including ‘The Chimney-Piece Maker’s Daily Assistant’. He was an advocate of the Palladian style of architecture; he was also responsible for the Audit House in Southampton, 1771-73. Portswood estate was sold to W S Wakeford in 1812, to William Baring the next year, and to the speculator George Jones in 1834. The latter broke up the estate into building plots, and the house was demolished in 1852 to make way for several smaller houses