A collector's home

An idyllic 17th-century house set between two branches of the River Itchen has been revived. John Goodall explores its remarkable history and the personalities who have shaped its character

- John Goodall

IN August 1682, Winchester opened its gates to receive Charles II. For the ageing monarch, bruised by the recent attempts of Parliament to bar his Catholic brother from succeeding to the throne, his stay proved a great success. The Hampshire city was welcoming—unlike London with its unpredictable crowds—and offered excellent hunting and horse racing. In the cathedral, he performed the ritual of the touching for the King’s evil and was reported to have cured about 60 people from the affliction of scrofula.

The visit had one completely unexpected result: Charles II determined to build a palace in Winchester (COUNTRY LIFE, March 3, 2005). Speed was of the essence. ‘If it be possible to be done in one year,’ the King observed, ‘I will have it so; for a year is a great deal in my life.’ Following a prolonged visit the next summer, the Earl of Sunderland predicted: ‘We are like to be here twice a year, the King growing fonder of his building and the country every day.’ No doubt aware that Louis XIV had abandoned the Louvre for rural Versailles that same year, the ambitious began to look for residences in and around Winchester.