The Pavilion

The Pavilion, West Meon

Cricket pavilion built in 1912, constructed of weatherboard over a timber frame on a brick plinth with a pantile roof. The building was converted to holiday accommodation in the late 20th century.

The pavilion is rectangular in plan with gabled ends. At the front, a verandah and balcony feature timber posts supporting the balcony above, which has a balustrade with stick balusters. External timber stairs are positioned at the left end of the balcony, and a scoring box sits at the right. The scoring box has plank shutters and a distinctive copper ogee-shaped roof topped with an ornate metal finial. A small projection protrudes from the left rear where an extension has been added. The building is one storey with an attic conversion.

The front elevation, within the verandah, displays central glazed double doors flanked by two pairs of 5/4 sash windows with glazing bars and 2 light 2/3 windows to the left and right, also with glazing bars. A large gabled dormer window occupies the centre of the front pantile roof, flanked by late 20th-century rooflights. The rear features two large gabled roof dormers, each with a 3/2 casement window with glazing bars below. A small brick lateral stack stands on the right, and at each gable end there are sash windows (one 3/4 and one 4/4) and an oculus. A double glazed door opens at the north-east gable end.

The ground floor interior is divided into three main areas by original wooden planked walls and planked doors. The central area was originally the tea room, with smaller changing rooms and kitchen at either end. These wooden panels remain visible only in the central room; elsewhere they have been covered with plaster board. The kitchen, still functioning as such, retains a cast iron fireplace surround of Regency design and contains modern kitchen units. The changing rooms have been converted to a front bedroom and rear bathroom, both of modern construction, with the bathroom extended beyond the original building extent. A false ceiling and wooden spiral staircase have been inserted. The attic has been converted to form a central landing with a bedroom at either end, all of modern construction, demarcated by a balustrade with stick balusters.

The pavilion was built in 1912 on land that formed part of the Westbury Estate, then owned by Colonel Le Roy Lewis of Westbury House. His enthusiasm for cricket, and hopes that his son would share this interest, motivated him to level a piece of estate land to create a cricket pitch and build the pavilion. A photograph from 1908 shows the cricket team with a thatched building in the background, which the Colonel considered inappropriate and had demolished to make way for the new pavilion. The cricket ground and pavilion were subsequently used by a preparatory school located at the Estate house. After the school's closure, the ground was closed, then sold into private ownership. The pavilion was converted to a holiday home in 1992, with alterations made in the late 20th century.