Report - South Stoneham Halls, Southampton, June 2017

[above_ground]

The site


The South Stoneham halls consist of two parts, a manor house and a tower block. South Stoneham house in its current state was built in 1708, enjoying a variety of wealthy occupants until it was sold to the University of Southampton in 1920. To satisfy the ever growing need for student accommodation he house was converted into halls of residence. Despite taking a beating in the Second World War, the halls housed students up until closure in 2005. The tower was built in 1964 and at 48.7m high is the 8th tallest building in Southampton; boasting 180 student rooms a bar and dining hall.

The Grade II listing of the house and difficulty of demolition of the tower has left both standing vacant since 2005. Plans to sell by the university apparently surfaced in 2015 but whether anyone has bought the site yet isn’t clear.


The visit

For some reason we decided sweltering temperatures were the ideal conditions for a sweaty tower climb, but what else is there to do on lazy summer afternoons? The objective was solely to top the tower and we left the manor house and gardens unexplored (perhaps for a revisit). The hardest part was getting to the first floor, a lot of squeezing through tight gaps with rusty nails, then upwards was as easy as climbing a ladder. We didn’t manage to gain entry into the tower itself, but this didn’t really bother us as the views and climb were enough.

The tower.

The manor on the left.

The front entrance

If the dates are too faded to read it must be safe.

Nature adapts.

Best guess was that these were for planes?

The Montefiore Residence down on the right.

This is my first report so feedback appreciated.

 

[Rich4rd1]

I've been inside the manor house before, you should really go in

 

[above_ground]

I've been inside the manor house before, you should really go in

I was thinking of going back, would like to check it out. We were just focused on the tower last time.

 

[Dave J]

Thank you for this report. I'm both pleased and sad to read this explore. I was a student in Stoneham in 1997. I was on the 8th floor. I knew the halls had fallen in to disrepair over the last ten years, but it is sad seeing somewhere you had some great times in this condition.
For sure it was old when I was there - I remember queuing to use the pay phones to call home! Still, it was one of the smallest halls on the Southampton estate, and it was very friendly as a result. Using the bar and the lawns out of the old house was great - many a happy evening was spent there! I remember being tucked up in a duvet watching the Australian GP in the communal TV room in the old house too.

Those lights on the roof were definitely for aircraft - there was occasionally a Hercules that used to fly over - it seemed pretty low & it used to resonate through the block!

RIP Stoneham Hall.

 

[above_ground]

Thank you for this report. I'm both pleased and sad to read this explore. I was a student in Stoneham in 1997. I was on the 8th floor. I knew the halls had fallen in to disrepair over the last ten years, but it is sad seeing somewhere you had some great times in this condition.
For sure it was old when I was there - I remember queuing to use the pay phones to call home! Still, it was one of the smallest halls on the Southampton estate, and it was very friendly as a result. Using the bar and the lawns out of the old house was great - many a happy evening was spent there! I remember being tucked up in a duvet watching the Australian GP in the communal TV room in the old house too.

Those lights on the roof were definitely for aircraft - there was occasionally a Hercules that used to fly over - it seemed pretty low & it used to resonate through the block!

RIP Stoneham Hall.

Interesting to hear. Yeah it is a shame that the lovely grounds go to waste, especially while the uni is building new accommodation elsewhere.

 

[Chloe Jones]

Is this place still empty? If so how easy is the access? Thanks!

 

[Thebfg]

Is this place still empty? If so how easy is the access? Thanks!

The tower is simple. We had a mooch around and climbing up is simple.

Now what if love is to get in the old part.l, we thought it might be a case of going through from the tower but dident get into the ground floor, yet.

 

[Dave J]

The tower is simple. We had a mooch around and climbing up is simple.

Now what if love is to get in the old part.l, we thought it might be a case of going through from the tower but dident get into the ground floor, yet.

Rather you than me climbing the tower - I never liked visiting one of my mates on the top floor. 8th floor was high enough for me and my vertigo...

You may well know this, but the tower was linked to the old house by a glass lined corridor that ran past the bar on the ground floor. With the change in use from student accommodation to offices for the Soton estate, I don't know if they will have blocked off that access in to the house. I had heard that the old house had a severe dry rot problem at this link point, so I think it has probably had changes from the days that I knew of it when some students were in there.
I do remember the student rooms in the old house were absolutely huge compared to the tower block! The old house was also home to the TV room and it was used to house some of the mature students who were wardens for the hall. I hope the old house can be restored but I know the problem is the tower block!

 

[X mysterious X]

Is the building and tower block still their? If so Is the building easy to get into?

 

[johnny gomez]

pretty sure its still there not too sure on access though

 

[above_ground]

Both are still there, access is fun to figure by yourself, all i will say is that you have to get into the tower first.

 

[panopticon]

Nice report, looks like just the thing I'd like to check out, bit far for me though.
Cheers

 

[Stuthms]

Is the building and tower block still their? If so Is the building easy to get into?

It's listed as attached to the house apparently!

 

[Louis Stacey]

Both are still there, access is fun to figure by yourself, all i will say is that you have to get into the tower first.

Did you have any problems with an alarm? as soon as we hit the scaffolding an alarm went off and 2 people came out shouting!

 

[Louis Stacey]

Is the building and tower block still their? If so Is the building easy to get into?

The building sure is still there. I payed a visit on 23rd July 2018. As we were walking round the site we noticed a white Van parked inside.
After making are way into the grounds we arrived at the tower and found the gaps people used to squeeze through have been covered.
The only way we found into the scaffolding was over a large wall. Difficult to climb - only 1 of us managed to climb it without recieving a boost.
We then found a slit in the netting and proceeded in.
But we heard an alarm going off once we hit the scaffolding (we believe it was when we touched the scaffolding) and 2 guys came shouting at us - they must have been the van owners. I believe one had a key for the tower and started opening it up so he could get us if we climbed higher. we left and one guy tried taking our photo as we jumped off the roof.

Does anyone know if its possible to get past the alarm or if they alarm gets switched off?