George Williams House, Cranbury Place, Southampton (SOU1655)
Southampton City Council Archaeology Unit, 2016. https://doi.org/10.5284/1039000. How to cite using this DOI
Data copyright © Southampton City Council Archaeology Unit unless otherwise stated
This work is licensed under the ADS Terms of Use and Access.
Primary contact
Matthew F
Garner
Southampton City Council Archaeology Unit
18 Melbourne Street
Southampton
SO14 5FB
Tel: 023 8083 2937
Resource identifiers
- ADS Collection: 2340
- DOI:https://doi.org/10.5284/1039000
- How to cite using this DOI
Introduction
Parts of George Williams House, the YMCA building at the west end of Cranbury Place, were refurbished in 2014-15. The refurbishment involved removal of small areas of historic fabric and an archaeological building record was made of the affected areas prior to and during the works.
Local architects Hinves and Bedborough constructed the building as Cranbury Villa in 1843 for John Ewer, described as a yeoman, of Great Eastley Farm, South Stoneham. Early maps show it standing in its own grounds with a coach house and numerous flowerbeds. After becoming the YMCA additional wings were added in 1927. The building suffered severe bomb damage during the Second World War after which much of the Cranbury Villa part was rebuilt.
The refurbishment works exposed three areas of what was predicted to be original fabric. The two instances on the first floor showed that much of the structure had been rebuilt in the post-war period, the instance on the ground floor revealed original brickwork and an original door opening, later blocked. Where original fabric survived it was constructed of red brick bonded with lime mortar, as opposed to the yellow brick used on the more visible elevations.
