Lawrence House, Calshot Activities Centre

Lawrence House, part of the Calshot Activities Centre, is a barrack block constructed in 1927. It is built of stretcher bond brick with cavity walling, featuring a gabled slate roof and brick stacks. The building's plan consists of dormitory rooms flanking a central entrance and stairhall.

The west front has two storeys and thirteen windows. The entrance features a late 20th-century glazed door with an overlight, set within a slightly projecting bay with a ramped cornice. Above the door is a plaque displaying the construction date, positioned over a keyed semi-circular arch with voussoirs and a bracketed cornice at impost level. The windows are twelve-pane sashes set under concrete lintels with stooled cills, with two small lights to the left of the entrance and smaller eight-pane sashes to the end bays. The interior of the building has been remodelled.

Lawrence House is closely associated with the nearby group of II* listed seaplane hangars, which date from between 1913 and 1918. The site, built on a spit projecting into the Solent, was originally a coastal fort constructed in 1538 and opened as a Royal Naval Air Service base in March 1913. It became a key coastal base during the First World War, playing a significant role in anti-submarine warfare and aerial bombing. A narrow-gauge railway was constructed in 1917 to facilitate expansion. From 1927 to 1931, the base was the location of the RAF High Speed Flight, which won the Schneider Trophy in 1931. The development of aviation technology that led to the winning Supermarine S.6B seaplane directly influenced the design of the iconic Spitfire. The site was later used as a training and repair base for Sunderland flying boats during the Second World War before it closed in 1961. It is now incorporated into a large Outdoor Adventure Centre.