Fair Oak Lodge facts for kids

An aerial view of Fair Oak Lodge. You can see St Swithun's Church at the top and the newer Fair Oak Lodge house to the bottom left.

Fair Oak Lodge, also known as Lakesmere House, is an old country house in the village of Fair Oak, Hampshire. It used to be a very large estate with lots of land. Today, many modern homes are built on what was once its property.

The main house is still standing. It is now owned by the Hampshire Christian Education Trust. They use the building for The King's School. Some original parts of the estate, like the two entrance lodges, parts of the woodland, ponds, and special trees, are still there too.

History of Fair Oak Lodge

Early Beginnings

The land where Fair Oak Lodge stands was once a hunting ground. It belonged to the Bishop of Winchester way back in the 11th century. This was around the time of the Domesday Book, a famous survey of England.

Some historians think the site might have been a resting place. Monks traveling between Netley Abbey and Winchester might have used it. However, there is no clear proof of this idea.

How the House Grew

The eastern entrance building on Botley Road.

Maps from 1810 show a building on this spot called "New House." By 1819, it was renamed Fair Oak Lodge. An 1826 map shows the house within a beautiful park. It had long driveways leading east and west from the house. These drives connected to Botley Road and Allington Lane.

In 1842, John Twynham lived in the house. He had the building made bigger. Many changes were also made to the grounds around the house. By the early 1870s, maps called the property "Oak Lodge." A glass room called a conservatory was added to the south side by 1870. Later, by 1896, a bird house (aviary) was built on the east side.

Gardens and Lakes

By the 1870s, the garden had many different kinds of trees. There was an open area behind the house. This area might have been used for games like tennis or bowls. A path led south from the house to two lakes. These lakes were called the Quobleigh Ponds. Their water levels could be controlled by special gates called sluices.

The parkland also had eight fenced areas. Each of these areas held two or three conifer trees. The fields of the estate were surrounded by trees.

About 20 years later, many trees had been cut down. A walled garden was created to the west of the house. Four glasshouses were also built there. A turning circle was added to the driveway in front of the house. More buildings appeared around the Quobleigh Ponds. There was a boathouse on the north side and a hide (a place to watch wildlife) to the southeast.

Changing Owners

In 1891, the Gillett family lived in the house. They had eight staff members working for them. In 1900, Mr. Gillett won a silver gilt medal for his orchids. Sadly, he passed away that same year. The house was then put up for sale in 1901. It was described as a "sporting estate" with fishing, shooting, and golf.

Sir Arthur Grant of Moneymusk, who was Mrs. Gillett's brother-in-law, bought the property. In 1908, the estate, still owned by Grant, covered about 120 acres. This included a 7-acre lake.

By 1924, a Mr. Wolff owned the estate. He asked for permission to drain some land and make other changes. In 1939, Mr. Wolff wrote to The Times newspaper about eight baby swans hatching on the lake.

Within two years, the lakes started to fill up with mud. By 1941, maps showed the upper lake as a marshy area. The northeast part of the lower lake was also becoming marshy. A sundial was shown where the bird aviary used to be. The conservatory on the side of the house was gone, and so were three of the four glasshouses.

New Uses for the Lodge

The Morrogh Bernard family owned the estate by 1954. In 1963, Lt Colonel Morrogh Bernard tried to sell the house and 55 acres of the estate. His advertisement in The Times said the house was built in 1842. It also mentioned that parts of an older house were still part of the building. The grounds were part of the Itchen valley. They included a 4-acre lake, a market garden, fields for animals, and woodland.

Morrogh Bernard built a new house on the land he kept. He also called this new building Fair Oak Lodge. The original house was turned into a convent by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Clifton. By 1974, the driveway to Botley Road was gone. The only way to the house was through Allington Lane. Much of the land around the house was now just grass. To the west of the house were large greenhouses and rows of young trees. There were also smaller plants behind the house and other buildings.

St Swithun Wells Roman Catholic Church.

The Diocese built St Swithun Wells Church next to the lodge on Allington Lane in the late 1970s. They moved the nuns to a different place. Then, they sold the house and some land to a company called Lakesmere. Lakesmere made the house bigger. They also built Rockford House, a building with ten flats, within the old walled gardens. In 1987, Lakesmere sold the house and 3.5 acres of land to The King's School.

In 2018, the local council gave permission to a company to knock down Morrogh Bernard's newer Fair Oak Lodge. They planned to build 50 new houses on that site.

The King's School

The King's School bought Fair Oak Lodge from the Lakesmere company. The school now calls the building Lakesmere House. The school teaches students from 4 to 16 years old. They welcome all students, as they have a non-selective admissions policy.

As of August 2025, the school can have up to 270 students. Currently, 228 students attend the school. The Hampshire Christian Education Trust bought Fair Oak Lodge in 1987. However, The King's School had already started in September 1982, using other buildings before moving to the Lodge.