The Old Coach House, Church Street, Romsey

Builder: J. L. Wren Ltd. Cadnam

Date: 2000-2002

Few people in Romsey know of the existence of this building, used by Griffiths the Chemist from 1957 as a store-room and hidden between the shops of Church Street and the Abbey, quite close to the site of the Nuns' mediaeval burial ground.  

The exact date of the construction of the Old Coach House is obscure, with its earliest appearance on a map suggesting a date before 1865.  At that time it was probably used by a local surgeon, Dr John Beddome who lived in Abbotsford House, now a bank at 10, Market Place. Dr Beddome may have used the building as an operating theatre or for carrying out autopsies.

For such a very small building, this project was probably one of the most difficult undertaken by The Trust.  Not only was the access through the common hallway from Church Street difficult for ferrying materials in and out but any renovation on three sides of the building involved the co-operation of adjacent property owners.  The ground floor was well below the soil level and required extensive tanking, while major problems with a blocked communal drain were solved only after excavating a neighbour’s car park. 

The ground floor has the only bedroom with an en suite bathroom and a kitchen with a small dining area.  The whole of the first floor is a single open room with a pair of unusual exposed cruck beams, which formed part of the original roof structure. With its small enclosed garden in the lea of the Abbey, this must be one of Romsey’s most secret and peaceful homes.