Wymering Manor
Sussex Ghost Hunters visited Wymering Manor in September 2008.
Wymering Manor, recorded in the Domesday book, is the oldest house in Portsmouth. From 1042 it belonged to King Edward the Confessor and after the Battle of Hastings in 1066 it became the property of King William the Conqueror, until 1084.
The Manor House reveals much of its structure to be early 16th century although Roman and mediaeval materials are evident at several locations within the building. Beneath the house, cellars cut into the chalk of Portsdown have solid flint walls that are reputed to be Saxon in origin.
Roman pottery, tiles, spoon and a coin found in the vicinity are associated with the Saxon hamlet. This indicates that the site could have been occupied since Roman times and that the present foundations are part of the original structure.
Inside a spacious hall is dominated by twin, magnificent Jacobean staircases and gallery with barley sugar twist balusters. Panelled walls and pilasters give an impression of building styles associated with the Tudor Elizabethan period. Curious features of the house are the two priest-holes and a small square window which looked along the coast road towards Portchester Castle.
Wymering Manor is sited in a conservation area and linked with St Peter & St Paul Church and churchyard, which is the last resting place for Jane Austen's brother Vice Admiral Sir Francis Austen and his family. Sir Francis (1774 - 1865), served on one of Nelson's ships and eventually became Admiral of the Fleet.
In the 1930s the last private owner, who was a designer for Airspeed, set up lathes in what had been the magnificent early nineteenth century drawing room. Neville Shute the novelist, who celebrated his work for Airspeed on Portsmouth airport in his novel Slide Rule, and the famous solo pilot Amy Johnson both visited the Manor at that time.
Portsmouth City Council owned Wymering Manor for over 40 years and during that time it was leased to the Youth Hostel Association. In its time as a youth hostel, it provided as many as three thousand young people a year the opportunity to stay in an old house and savour its atmosphere. The Manor is now owned privately.
The Manor is renowned as a favourite of ghost hunters across the UK, many of whom visit it regularly in the hope of seeing its previous occupants.
Source: portsmouth.gov.uk