2, 4 and The Coach House, Portersbridge Street, Romsey

Builder: Grist Buildings Services Ltd. Southampton

Date: 1992–1995

The buildings formed part of the Landsdowne Estate until 1875 when they were then occupied by Strong's Brewery.  Grooves in the stone floor of the hallway of 4, Portersbridge Street, made by the rolling of many a beer barrel, bear testimony to the existence of a ground-floor cellar and there was evidence that beer could be purchased in the street through a small hatch.  In 1875, the properties were purchased by Stead, Tylee and Potter, a local firm of solicitors.  Number 2 was used for offices and number 4 was the caretaker’s cottage. 

The properties were sold to B W Attlee in 1902 and the firm of solicitors Tylee, Mortimer and Attlee expanded into number 4 in 1920, occupying the buildings as offices until 1991, when the practice closed. Romsey and District Buildings Preservation Trust acquired the group of buildings for renovation and conversion into domestic dwellings. 

2, Portersbridge Street, dating from around 1820, required relatively little structural work and the most significant changes involved installing a damp-proof course and solid floors, removal of many old document cupboards and the provision of a first floor landing to permit separate access to the four bedrooms. The installation of modern toilets a shower room and kitchen completed the restoration.

Of the three buildings that made up this restoration project, 4 Portersbridge Street was by far the oldest, dating from as early as the 15th century. The most expensive and important work involved repairs to the damaged original medieval oak timber frame. Although intact from the first floor up, the ravages of time had caused major deterioration to the oak beams of the lower storey. 

Large corner oak beams were manhandled into place and the displaced wall at the eastern elevation was jacked back into place by over 10 inches.  The original oak roof timbers, which had rotted away in places, were repaired by a craftsman using green oak and left exposed to the eaves. The roof was re-tiled with the original clay tiles and the exterior timber frame, which had been obscured by cement rendering for many years, was exposed to complete a striking transformation.

The Coach House, thought to date from about 1820, had been used as a store for many years and among the array of items found gathering dust was an old penny-farthing bicycle, that was almost certainly owned by Bartram Attlee, who worked as a solicitor from the office at No 2.  He was appointed Romsey’s Town Clerk and, in addition, became the world champion penny-farthing rider in an 1891 time trial. 

Planning permission was granted for change of use of The Coach House to a domestic dwelling. The imaginative conversion to a two-storey property required substantial structural work including underpinning along the wall which formed one bank of a small stream, the provision of an internal frame supporting an additional floor and the insertion of several new windows.  The rear walled gardens of all the properties were landscaped and individually fenced and distinctive iron railings were made in the adjoining forge.