Southdown

Southdown is a prefabricated timber bungalow of approximately 1923, designed and built by S. E. Saunders Ltd of Cowes, Isle of Wight. It is constructed on an iron frame set in concrete, using the proprietary plywood material Consuta. The external walls are rendered in cement, and the original copper roof has been replaced with roofing felt. Iron brackets support the eaves.

The bungalow has an unusual dodecagonal (12-sided) plan form, approximately 11 metres in diameter, with alternating rectangular projections. The principal north-east elevation features a timber walkway with balustrade leading to a panelled front door with rectangular fanlight above and single light windows to either side. A timber dodecagonal roof light sits centrally. All original window openings survive, though many metal window frames have been replaced. The bungalow is connected to a more conventional bungalow extension to the south-east via a short linking passage.

The interior is accessed through steps and a small walkway to the entrance hall, from which double doors open into a central dining lounge. This central space has a hexagonal pattern and is lit from above by the dodecagonal roof lantern. Three segmental bedrooms (one now a sitting room) open off this central space. To the north of the entrance hall is a small utility room, originally a bathroom, and a short passage leading to a bedroom originally used as a drawing room. To the south is a short passage opening onto a small kitchen, originally a servant's bedroom, and the bathroom, originally the kitchen with integral larder. A curving corridor extends from this passage with a door leading to the linking passage. The interior retains many original light and electrical fittings and door furniture.

Southdown was designed by S. E. Saunders using his patented Consuta plywood, a material comprising four veneers of mahogany planking interleaved with waterproofed calico and stitched together with copper wire. The design was featured at the 1923 Daily Mail Ideal Home Exhibition as part of a "Bungalow Town" display exploring new materials and techniques to address the post-World War I housing shortage. Saunders likely departed from his core boat and aircraft business to promote the value of Consuta for panel work in domestic construction. Besides Southdown, the only other known example of a Saunders Consuta bungalow, at Newport on the Isle of Wight, has recently been demolished.

Consuta was a revolutionary construction method, originally patented by Samuel Saunders of Goring-on-Thames and first used to build a steam launch in 1898. The technique remained in use until suitable waterproof glues for marine plywood became available in the 1950s. S. E. Saunders Ltd moved to the Isle of Wight in 1901 and expanded rapidly, moving to larger premises in East Cowes in 1909. The company built motor yachts, hydroplane racing craft, and aircraft. Among notable examples was the Batboat, a biplane flying boat built for Thomas Sopwith, which in July 1913 became the first British aeroplane to complete six five-mile return flights within five hours. The company also built Britain's first airship, HMA1 May Fly.

Southdown was purchased by the Fleming banking family and brought from the Ideal Home Exhibition in or shortly after 1923. It was erected on its current site in South Milton with the linked bungalow extension and was originally known as Newholmes. The external timber walls were rendered in the 1930s. In 1952 the house was sold to a Mr Ronaldson, who probably replaced the copper roof with roofing felt. In 1972 it was sold to John Goodwin, who established a covenant with The National Trust in 1973 covering the property and surrounding farmland largely to the east. This covenant requires written consent from the Trust for any external alterations and does not extend to the interior. The property was bequeathed to the present owner in 2008.