Midanbury

Midanbury is a small suburb of Southampton, England, bordering Bitterne, Bitterne Park and Townhill Park.

Midanbury
The view over the Itchen Valley from Midanbury
Midanbury Location within Southampton
Unitary authority	Southampton
Ceremonial county	Hampshire
Region	South East
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	SOUTHAMPTON
Postcode district	SO18
Dialling code	023
Police	Hampshire
Fire	Hampshire
Ambulance	South Central
UK Parliament	Southampton Itchen

History

In 1790 Southampton was a spa town whose popularity led to the construction of several country houses in the surrounding area, one of which was at Midanbury, situated on the summit of a hill to the east of the town. Known by a variety of names (Midanbury House, Midanbury Heights and Midanbury Lodge among them), the house was built by Mr T Leversuch. A writer in 1878 praised the beauty of the countryside, and the "exceedingly fine" views from the Midanbury Heights.[1]

The opening of the toll-free Cobden Bridge in 1883 enabled the townsfolk to travel across the river where Midanbury House, with its castellated lodge and crenellated gateway, particularly captured the imagination. As a result the estate's grounds became a popular venue for Sunday School outings from the town's churches, featuring picnic tables and a variety of games, including Cricket matches played by the adults.[1]

The house's lodge was built circa 1800 as a direct copy of that at Blaise Castle near Bristol which was designed by John Nash. It had battlements and turrets, arrow slits, window panes in the gothic style, and was topped with a crest. The building came to be known as Midanbury Castle, and served as accommodation for servants of the main house. Among the last to live there were the coachman-gardener Herbert Grosvenor and his wife, the housekeeper, Alice.[1]

Michael Hoy, a merchant of Bishopsgate, London and later Walthamstow (then in Essex) who specialised in trading with Russia, purchased several properties in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, including Midanbury House.[2] He served the office of Sheriff of London in 1812, having been elected to the Worshipful Company of Ironmongers on 22 April 1808.[3] Hoy married Elizabeth, the second daughter of Andrew Hawes Bradley of Gore Court near Sittingbourne, Kent, on 24 May 1825 in South Stoneham Church (although the register lists his name as Michael Hay).[4] Hoy died just three years later, on 26 June 1828, and left his estate to a distant cousin, the Dublin-born James Barlow, a military surgeon. Barlow took on the name Hoy as a mark of respect, becoming James Barlow Hoy by royal licence on 26 January 1829.[2]

James Barlow Hoy announced his candidacy to be a Member of Parliament for the Southampton constituency in 1829 and gave his first speech from Midanbury. Hoy was subsequently elected to Parliament on 13 January 1830, and re-elected in a general election later that year. He trailed in the polls for the 1831 election and pulled out, but was elected again in 1832 and once more in 1835. He subsequently moved to Thornhill Park, also in Southampton,[2][5] but as of 1833 was still at Midanbury and also serving as Sheriff of Southampton.[6] Hoy died in 1843 of tetanus resulting from a shooting accident in the Pyrenees.[2]

In the mid-19th century the estate was held by Charles John Middleton as a Copyhold tenure. Middleton also owned a share of a freehold property in Jamaica and subsequently purchased two houses in Kolkata (then known as Calcutta) in India. He mortgaged Midanbury in January 1843 and died in the same month of the next year with debts larger than the value of his estate.[7]

The Castle pub in 2011, before its closure and conversion to a convenience store

The lodge fell into disuse in 1913;[8] the house being purchased by a builder, T Clark & Son, in 1927 for development.[9] In the 1930s the main house and lodge were demolished to make way for housing.[1] Coopers Brewery built a pub, The Castle, on the site of the house in 1935,[8] which was converted into a Tesco Express convenience store in 2013.[10]

The naturalist Chris Packham grew up in the suburb.

Government

Midanbury is located within the Bitterne Park ward of Southampton, which is a unitary authority. Bitterne Park returns three councillors onto Southampton City Council. As at August 2015, all three represent the Conservative Party.[11] The area forms part of the Southampton Itchen parliamentary constituency, whose member of parliament is Royston Smith, another Conservative, as at May 2019.

Geography

In common with many city suburbs the boundaries of Midanbury are not well defined since the housing built on the Midanbury estate was constructed around the same time as surrounding areas and the old boundaries were not marked. The focal point of Midanbury today is small parade of shops at the top of Witts Hill, adjacent to the site of Midanbury Castle.

References

1. "History of Midanbury Lodge - The Castle - in Southampton". Daily Echo. Retrieved 12 August 2015.
2. "HOY, James Barlow (?1794-1843), of Midanbury and Thornhill, Hants and The Hermitage, I.o.W. | History of Parliament Online". www.historyofparliamentonline.org. Retrieved 28 September 2015.
3. Nicholl, John (1 January 1851). Some account of the worshipful Company of ironmongers. J.B. Nichols and son. p. 584.
4. Annual Register. J. Dodsley. 1 January 1826. p. 200. Midanbury.
5. Burke, Edmund (1 January 1844). The Annual Register of World Events: A Review of the Year. Longmans, Green.
6. The New Monthly Magazine and Literary Journal. Henry Colburn and Company. 1 January 1833.
7. Beavan, Charles; Langdale, Henry Bickersteth Baron; Romilly, John Romilly Baron; Chute, Chaloner William (1 January 1853). Reports of Cases in Chancery, Argued and Determined in the Rolls Court During the Time of Lord Langdale, Master of the Rolls. [1838-1866]. Saunders and Benning.
8. Bitterne Local History Society (11 November 2013). Bitterne and West End Through Time. Amberley Publishing Limited. ISBN 9781445626963.
9. Jeffery Pain (16 June 2014). Southampton History Tour. Amberley Publishing Limited. ISBN 9781445641652.
10. "Supermarket giant Tesco blamed for closure of Southampton shop". Hampshire Chronicle. Retrieved 12 August 2015.
11. "Your Councillors". 12 August 2015. Retrieved 12 August 2015.