The North Front of Weston Grove, Southampton Water

Weston Grove was built by William Chamberlayne (d. 1829), Solicitor to the Treasury and M.P. for Southampton. Evidently a Whig, he erected a monument to Charles James Fox in the grounds. Cobbett records a visit to the house in 1826 and notes 'Mr Chamberlayne built the house about twenty years ago.' In addition to entertaining politicians, Chamberlayne was also patron to several artists including A. W. Callcott, William Westall, Henry Richter and Henry Thomson. His collection subsequently hung in Cranbury Park, a neighbouring estate inherited from his aunt, widow of the painter Sir Nathaniel Dance-Holland. Weston Grove no longer stands. For further information see Country Life, 15 November 1956, p. 1116.