Monument record MDO48588 - Seymours Villa, Brownsea Island, Studland

A ruined building lies in an overgrown garden. A small circular building to the east is a privy. Further to the east is another large rectangular brick building which appears to be later in date. The west building is shown on the 1853 map ( D263/T1) with a flight of steps on the north side built into the cliff and leading down to the beach. The 1859 sales particulars describe it in detail ( DCRO photocopy 167).
"a comfortable residence, well adapted for the use of a manager, ( of the pottery works) and for which it has been occupied, known as Seymours Villa; a neat brick built and compoed and slated cottage residence, most delightfully situate on the crest of a hill, at the north of the island, amongst scattered groups of firs. The house contains two sitting rooms, three bedrooms, kitchen, scullery, larder, dairy, coal cellar and water closet. A verandah in front adds much to the pleasing appearance of the place; there is a good flower and kitchen garden, small paddock, in which is a fowl and knife house and loft over; cow house, piggery and common closet; also at side a yard and shed and small detached garden."

Three buildings are shown here in 1873 ( D263/T4). The building is not shown on Isaac Taylor's map of 1770 ( DCRO photocopy 1/1) but a track led to the site at that time. The ruins of Seymour's Villa are about 6m long, 3m wide and 2m high and appears to incorporate three building phases. The largest north room was once divided into two and the scar of a cross wall is visible. A fireplace survives for each of these rooms, another long room lies on the south side. The kitchen is on the east side of the north room and contains a fireplace in the east wall with an iron pump and sink on the south side of it and a "copper" on the north side. The circular privy is about 1m diameter and 2m high with remains of a pottery bowl in situ. Further east the brick rectangular building is about 5m by 2.5m with an addition at the north end of the east side which is approximately 2m square.

The site lies within scrub woodland and appears to be in fair condition as it is sheltered by trees and lies within the nature reserve with few people visiting it.

Development Seymour’s Villa was in existence by the mid-19th century and is described in the sale particulars of 1859 as
A comfortable residence well adapted fro the use of a Manager, and for which it has been occupied, known as “Seymour’s Villa”; a neat brick-built and compoed (sic) and slated cottage residence, most delightfully situate on the crest of a hill, at the north of the Island, amongst scattered groups of firs, and commanding a panoramic view of the harbour and town of Poole, and the coast from Parkstone to Poole Head. The house contains two sitting rooms, three bedrooms, kitchen, scullery, larder, dairy, coal cellar and water closet. A veranda in front adds much to the pleasing appearance of the place…

No building was shown in the area of Seymour’s Villa on Taylor’s map of 1770 (DHC Photocopy 1/1) but the property is shown on a map of the island dated 1853 which shows a L-plan building. Battrick mentions that Seymour’s Villa was in ruins in c.1960/1 and states that it was destroyed in a heath fire.

Condition Very poor.

The house is in a ruinous condition with only parts of the walls surviving to approximately first floor level. There is no surviving joinery in-situ although part of the frames of two pointed arch windows lie in one of the fireplaces.

The remains of Seymour’s Villa are of interest in relation to the history of the island and its development in the mid-19th century. Today, it is a picturesque ruin in an overgrown woodland setting.
There are no features that can be described as ‘important’ within this ruin.

<1> Taylor, Isaac, 1765, Map of Dorsetshire (Cartographic materials). SWX7290.

<2> Papworth, M, 1992, Brownsea Island, Dorset. Wessex region (Unpublished document). SWX1390.

<3> National Record of the Historic Environment (Digital archive). SDO14739.

Record last edited

Sep 9 2024 8:11PM