Building MPM1354 - Jubilee House, Medina Road

Red brick building dating to the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries. The central section was originally part of the farmhouse to East Wymering farm, the majority of the present building having been added in 1935 when the site was opened as Jubilee House for the Aged Blind. The remaining façade and structure of the farmhouse date to the 18th/19th century. A much earlier building which had formed part of the farmhouse was demolished during the early 1930s. A Tudor door frame removed from the earlier building in 1930 is now held by Portsmouth Museum Service. The house is now a home for the elderly.

Surviving building and façade to 18th/19th century East Wymering farmhouse, altered and extended in 1935 for use as Jubilee House for the Aged Blind. A much earlier building which formed part of the farmhouse was demolished during the early 1930s. Jubilee House is now a home for the elderly.

The central section of Jubilee House was originally part of the farmhouse to East Wymering farm (also known as Lower Farm and Wymering Farm). [1] A photograph taken prior to the redevelopment of the site as Jubilee House in 1935, shows the farmhouse as being made up of two buildings. [2] The entry for this photograph on the collections database for Portsmouth Museum Service states that the principle façade 'is said to date from 1784 (the back wing is much earlier).' [3] The earlier building was demolished in the 1930s. The façade of the later farmhouse remains, but ornate plaster ceilings and panelling from the interior having been removed. [1]

The farm was mainly occupied by tenant farmers, their landlords often being the owners of Wymering Manor. The Pittis family were tenants between c1750 and 1886, briefly owning the farm between 1812 and 1838. George Peel took over as tenant in 1886, having purchased Wymering Manor in 1883. Peel is said to have removed panelling from the manor and installed it in the farmhouse. George Peel died in 1907 and his widow and children remained at the farm until 1915 when it was taken over by the military. During the First World War the farm was used as a transit camp for troops, the farmhouse becoming the officer's quarters. After the war the farm was compulsorily purchased by Portsmouth Corporation to be developed for housing. The farmhouse had become run down and the older of the two buildings was demolished during the early-1930s. The remaining section of the farmhouse was remodelled and extended in 1935 when it became Jubilee House for the Aged Blind. [1] This included the addition of the east and west wings [4].

The main farm buildings (outbuildings) were located approximately 50m to the north-east of the house on the south side of Medina Road [5] and immediately east of the house [10]. A pond is shown on ordnance survey maps approximately 10m to the north-east of the house. [5]

A Tudor oak door frame from East Wymering Farmhouse held in the collections of Portsmouth Museum Service (still on display in the Introduction to Portsmouth 2nd floor galleries 2017) and 18th century panelling from the house were taken to Cumberland House in 1930 [3, 6]. The panelling does not appear to have survived, as there is no record for it on the Museum Service collections database.

The Museum Service database records the following information on the entry for the door frame, taken from a label painted onto a piece of panelled wood:

'Label painted onto a piece of panelled wood (possibly itself 18th century) read "This door (of the Tudor period) and the early 18th century panelling in the room it opens into, were formerly in East Wymering Farm, Cosham; they were brought here for preservation in 1930".' [3]

An article which appeared in the Portsmouth Evening News on 7th March 1931 p8 (entitled 'An Early Tudor Door') states that the doorway was the back door to the old part of the farmhouse. The door frame and panelling were used to create a room in Cumberland House known as the 'Oak Room' and were moved there after Portsmouth Corporation bought the farm. [7] A photograph of the Oak Room appeared in the edition of the Portsmouth Evening News for 6th March 1931 p4. [8]

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Two-storey red brick property with clay tiled roof, built between 1800 and 1850. Property has been extended and altered but central section appears to be former Lower or East Wymering Farmhouse. Subsequently used as home for the blind from 1935 and now home for the elderly. [9]

<1> Hird, Janet, 2016, Jubilee House (Bibliographic reference). SPM425.

<2> Unknown, Peel's Farm, Wymering (Photograph). SPM423.

<3> Portsmouth Museum Service, N/A, Portsmouth Museum Service Collections Database (Index). SPM424.

<4> Ordnance Survey, 1938, Ordnance Survey Map 1938 (Map). SPM378.

<5> Ordnance Survey, 1910, Ordnance Survey Map 1910 (Map). SPM266.

<6> 1500s, Door frame, East Wymering Farm (Artifact). SPM420.

<7> Portsmouth Evening News, 1931, Portsmouth Evening News (Bibliographic reference). SPM421.

<8> Portsmouth Evening News, 1931, Portsmouth Evening News (Bibliographic reference). SPM422.

<9> Portsmouth City Council, 2011, City of Portsmouth Local List of Buildings (Bibliographic reference). SPM37.

<10> Lewis, 1839, Wymering Tithe Map (Map). SPM426.