Exploring North Stoneham Park

Introduction

North Stoneham Park's landscape is almost unique at present in that it is one of the few ancient manors in England where development can be traced in an almost uninterrupted line for two thousand years. It is unfortunate that these discoveries should be made only after much of the landscape has already been destroyed, or seriously damaged.   C K Currie, archaeologist

Construction of M27 motorway through southern parkland, pictured in May 1982

North Stoneham Park, or Stoneham Park, at North Stoneham in Hampshire, was a landscaped country park, with a mansion of the same name, and was the seat of the Willis Fleming family. The Georgian mansion was demolished in 1939, and the Park disappeared after the estate was sold in separate lots in 1953. The parkland was, in part, designed by 'Capability' Brown.

North Stoneham Park, a deer park, was probably part of a Saxon ecclesiastical estate in the early Middle Ages. Later it belonged to Hyde Abbey. After the dissolution of the monasteries, the manor was acquired by Thomas Wriothesley, Earl of Southampton. In 1599, the Wriothesley family sold the estate to Sir Thomas Fleming, whose descendants owned it until the 1950s.

John E A Willis Fleming died in 1949, and the Park was divided and sold by his heirs in 1953. Stoneham Golf Club, which celebrated its centenary in 2008, occupies a large part of the former Rough Park, preserving much of the character of the landscape. The former Deer Park is now lost to sports playing fields. The central lakes belong to Eastleigh & District Angling Club. Another surviving area is Home Wood, managed by the Forestry Commission. In 1983, the M27 motorway was completed through the southern side of the park, followed in 1991 by the M3 through the western side.

The remaining parkland is of great nature conservation and historical interest. Much of the Avenue Park area of the Park is accessible to the public, including the environs of North Stoneham Church and the whole of Avenue Park public park, which are linked by a public footpath across the open fields of Park Farm. There are a number of permissive footpaths, including through ancient Home Wood.

The free printed guide contains a map and a suggested circular walk in the parkland. On the first Saturday of each month, parking is available at North Stoneham Church, between 10am - 4pm.

• C K Currie, North Stoneham Park: its origin and development (1992)
   
• Report of the County Planning Officer, Eastleigh-Southampton Strategic Gap Planning and Management Framework - North Stoneham (6th July 1993) (external link)
   

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