Mayfield Park is a recreational area straddling

Woolston Woolston may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Woolston, Cheshire, a village and civil parish in Warrington * Woolston, Devon, on the list of United Kingdom locations: Woof-Wy near Kingsbridge, Devon * Woolston, Southampton, a city suburb in Ham ...

and

Weston Weston may refer to: Places Australia * Weston, Australian Capital Territory, a suburb of Canberra * Weston, New South Wales * Weston Creek, a residential district of Canberra * Weston Park, Canberra, a park Canada * Weston, Nova Scotia * ...

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

, England. The stream that runs through the park is the boundary between the two districts of modern

. The park is owned and maintained by

Southampton City Council Southampton City Council is the local authority of the city of Southampton. It is a unitary authority, having the powers of a non-metropolitan county and district council combined. It provides a full range of local government services including c ...

. It was previously part of the Chamberlayne family's ''Weston Grove'' estate. Much of the rest of the ''Weston Grove'' estate has been used to develop the post-war suburb of

. Mayfield Park survives because it was split from the ''Weston Grove'' estate in the nineteenth century, becoming the ''Mayfield Estate''.

History

18th century: wood-working mill

The park straddles a stream which runs from nearby Miller's Pond, through a valley within the park, naturally draining the higher ground of the

Hampshire Basin The Hampshire Basin is a geological basin of Palaeogene age in southern England, underlying parts of Hampshire, the Isle of Wight, Dorset, and Sussex. Like the London Basin to the northeast, it is filled with sands and clays of Paleocene and y ...

on the East of

into

Southampton Water Southampton Water is a tidal estuary north of the Solent and the Isle of Wight in England. The city of Southampton lies at its most northerly point, where the estuaries of the River Test and River Itchen meet. Along its salt marsh-fringed wes ...

. In 1762, Walter Taylor built a water-powered wood-working mill alongside this stream.Southampton City Council. Mayfield Park Leaflet ''Millers pond'' was formed to provide a reservoir to supply this mill. The mill site was rebuilt as a private house in the 19th century, but this suffered bomb damage during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

and was abandoned. The site has subsequently been excavated by Southampton City Council's Archeological Unit.

19th century: politics

The park was previously part of William Chamberlayne's Weston Grove Estate. In 1810, Chamberlayne erected a memorial to Whig politician

Charles James Fox Charles James Fox (24 January 1749 – 13 September 1806), styled ''The Honourable'' from 1762, was a prominent British Whig statesman whose parliamentary career spanned 38 years of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. He was the arch-riv ...

. This takes the form of a Portland Stone Obelisk, situated on the highest point of the estate where a windmill once stood.Spike Island. Philip Hoare. Chamberlayne was later to become MP for the

constituency, from 1818–1830. In 1854, Thomas Chamberlayne sold part of the estate to Col. Robert Wright (after whom nearby Wrights Hill was named), who built Mayfield House there, establishing the Mayfield Estate. Col Wright subsequently dedicated the Obelisk to two of his favourite horses, who are buried in the park. From 1889 to 1913, Mayfield House and the estate was owned by Granville Augustus William Waldegrave, 3rd Lord Radstock.Lord Radstock and the Russian Awakening. David Fountain. (Publ Southampton: Mayflower Christian Books, 1988) He had previously worked as a missionary in Russia in the 1870s. During his tenure of the Mayfield Estate Lord Radstock added the inscription to the Obelisk, which reads "The earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof – Psalms 24.1"

20th century: wartime, development and the end of a dynasty

On the death of the 3rd Lord Radstock, in 1913, the title and the ''Mayfield'' estate passed to Granville George Waldegrave, 4th Baron Radstock (1859–1937). During

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, Mayfield House was used to nurse wounded soldiers, serving as an annexe to the

Royal Victoria Military Hospital The Royal Victoria Hospital or Netley Hospital was a large military hospital in Netley, near Southampton, Hampshire, England. Construction started in 1856 at the suggestion of Queen Victoria but its design caused some controversy, chiefly from ...

Netley Netley, officially referred to as Netley Abbey, is a village on the south coast of Hampshire, England. It is situated to the south-east of the city of Southampton, and flanked on one side by the ruins of Netley Abbey and on the other by the R ...

. The consequences of

meant that many such estates in England were never the same again. A generation of young men were lost in the conflict, including the younger heirs to these estates and many of the men who worked in them. On the death of the 4th Lord Radstock, in 1937, the title was inherited by his 70-year-old brother Montague Waldegrave, 5th Baron Radstock(1867–1953). As the family was no longer able to maintain the ''Mayfield'' estate, it was sold to Southampton City Council. A covenant in the 4th Barons will requires it to be kept as an open spaceThe Illustrated History of Southamptons suburbs. Jim Brown. 2004. During

, displaced residents of Southampton were temporarily housed in Mayfield House. This building had 40 rooms, 23 of which were bedrooms In 1944, the area was used to assemble troops and equipment during the build-up to D-Day. Southampton City Council used part of the ''Weston Grove'' Estate to meet the demand for new housing after

, creating the

Housing Estate. Weston Park Boys and Girls schools were built in 1957. The title died out with the 5th Lord Radstock in 1953. Mayfield House was demolished a few years later, in 1956.

Legacy

Chamberlayne Road, Radstock Road, Wrights Hill, Gordon Terrace, Tankerville Road (named after Tankerville Chamberlayne), Weston Grove Road, Obelisk Road and ''The Obelisk''

public house A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and wa ...

can all be found locally to Mayfield Park. An annexe to Woolston School, situated in Portsmouth Road, was also named Mayfield House. This building was not the original house on the ''Mayfield Estate'', it merely shared its name. The Chamberlayne Leisure Centre was opened in April 2000.Southampton City Council Weston Park Boys school has been renamed the Grove Park Business and Enterprise College and more recently

Oasis Academy Mayfield Oasis Academy Mayfield is a city academy in Southampton, England, run by Oasis Community Learning (a foundation established by the Oasis Trust) with approximately 900 pupils. The Academy was established in 2008, when two local secondary schoo ...

Weston Park Girls school was renamed the ''Chamberlayne Park School'' and then Chamberlayne College for the Arts. However the school is now known as

Weston Secondary School Weston Secondary School is a coeducational secondary school located in the Weston, Southampton, Weston area of Southampton, in the English county of Hampshire. History Weston Park Girls' School opened in 1957. Nearby was Weston Park Boys' Scho ...

References

{{Reflist

External links

Mayfield Park

Balliol Oxford, Jowett papers (mention of Lord Radstock and Mayfield)
Monuments and memorials in Hampshire Obelisks in England Geography of Southampton Parks and open spaces in Hampshire