Staunton Country Park

The whole area has had a long history with evidence of a Roman Road running between Havant and Rowlands Castle, a site of Roman pottery production. During medieval times small villages and hamlets grew up around agricultural practices and the movement of animals to and from the Thicket and Forest of Bere. On early maps the hamlet of West Leigh can be seen to have a farm, large residence, and several houses. This residence was from 1793 inhabited by Samuel Harrison who either enhanced or rebuilt what was already there. Harrison had already created a fenced park and it is this that William Garrett purchased in 1802. In 1861 he in turn sold the gardens and the estate to William Henry Stone for £60,000. Stone not liking the position of the Regency house demolished it and, using bricks from his new estate brickyard, built a Gothic Mansion overlooking the lake. Finished in 1865 this change of focus to the Northern part of the park also saw some of Staunton's follies removed and an avenue created running from the house to an upper bathing lake with a Boathouse and Bathing house. Stone's tenure was relatively short as he sold the estate and gardens to Frederick Fitzwygram in 1875. Fitzwygram, a renowned army veterinarian, continued to manage the estate as it was intended and when he died in 1904 the park and estate passed to his son Frederick Loftus Fitzwygram. Dying in 1920 the estate passed to his sister Angela Fitzwygram who continue to live at the house till round about 1936 when she sold most of the southern half to a developer and moved away . The house was requisitioned by the MOD in 1941 for use by HMS Vernon responsible for mine disposal and mine countermeasures. Unfortunately following the MOD's exit in 1956 and unable to find a suitable use for Stone's House, by 1959 PCC had no option but to have it demolished. Following several attempts in the late 1990s and early 2000s in 2017 the park received lottery funding to revitalise the park, reinstate the landscape, carry out conservation work on its follies, and construct a visitor centre within the park's old Coach House. Reinstating some of the former glory while both Staunton's and Stone's house no longer exist the Gothic Library from Staunton's Regency house and the Coachhouse & Stables from Stone's Gothic Mansion still remain. Used by people of all ages from places far and wide Staunton Country Park has hosted Havant parkrun since 16 June 2012. ==Leigh Water and its follies/structures ==

The park contains a man made lake called Leigh water constructed between 1828 and 1836 on the site of a watering hole a few yards in diameter. The lake is home to a number of islands, on the largest of which was a cottage used to house the under-gardener whose job it was to look after the lake area. A third island was Swan Island which as its name suggests was used for swans. On the North side, Water Meadow was a focus for several structures with a three arched bridge known as the Chinese Bridge built in 1830 In either 1832 or 1834 an ornamental Turkish kiosk was added to the lakeside. At the Western end of the lake the Corinthion Bridge, based on a design by Papworth, was added allowing visitors to access long Island. Under Henry Stone the lake was expanded and an extra island added. He also had the cottage demolished and replaced by an American garden. Many of the surrounding follies/structures were also removed at this point when Stone undertook his landscape changes however it may be the state of them forced demolition anyway. The Chinese bridge remained but alterations were made to its appearance. ==Follies==

The park originally contained a number of follies/structures, of which the following still survive: The Shell House The Shell house, a Grade II* listed building, was built in 1828 and is covered in shells from Hayling Island. The house is hexagonal in shape and was based on the design of the Chichester Cross. By 1836 George Staunton was using the shell house as a museum of curiosities for such items as a stuffed crocodile and examples of Roman pottery. The Beacon The beacon designed by Lewis Vulliamy is a folly built in 1830 in the style of an Tuscan order temple. It was largely built with material from the demolished Purbrook house and features a hole in a roof designed to allow a flag to be placed there. The roof is domed, with a plain frieze and architrave and supported by eight Tuscan columns. The follies/structures which do not survive include: The Temple The temple was a memorial commissioned by George Staunton in 1824 with a large memorial urn at its centre. In the following years an eight busts were added in a semi circle around the urn. In 1840 Staunton decided to add no further memorials to the temple. Further busts were added after this time but they were primarily of people still living. The temple was removed when William Henry Stone had his new home constructed on its site. The Canning obelisk The 50' obelisk was another Lewis Vulliamy design built in August 1832 to honour George Canning. Although noted as being still present in 1986, situated in the Thicket it appears to have been removed in 1960s during deforestation. The Moss House The moss house appears to have been built at some point in the first half of the 1830s and featured covered seat. The inside was lined with moss and the floor was made up of Emsworth pebbles of differing colours. It was removed in the 1860s as part of the building work undertaken by William Henry Stone. The Election Column The Election Column was erected in 1837 and initially featured the date of Staunton's then sole election victory and two defeats. A year later the date of his election as an MP for Portsmouth was added. The column was removed at some point during Stone's ownership of the park with the inscription recording Staunton's election victories being moved to the shell house. ==References==