Build date: 1827 | The house was demolished in 1927 |
Built for: Michael Hoy |
Michael Hoy bought the land while living at Midanbury House in 1825. He started building in 1827 but died in early 1828 before the House was finished. His widow moved to the House after remarrying. The estate was of around 430 acres and stretched from Moorhill Road to Bursledon Road. The House was between modern-day Thornhill Avenue and Cowper Road.
Reputed to have cost £30,000 to build it had drawing rooms 40′ by 24′ and 30′ by 20′ with 15′ high ceilings, as well as a dining room 32′ by 20′; five reception rooms; billiard room; museum; and library with a staircase of white marble. Upstairs five best bedrooms; four dressing rooms, and bathroom; ten other bedrooms; four dressing rooms, and bathroom plus servants quarters.
There were a number of owners during the life of the House including James Barlow Hoy, MP, Henry Dumbleton, Colonel Frank Willan, John Norman Campbell, whose widow Amy Campbell sold the estate in 1923. The House was demolished in 1927.
Bibliography:
Thornhill Park House by Garth Groombridge: Soon available to buy at our Heritage Centre.