William Ravenscroft’s creative legacy by the sea

Cornwallis-West shared an ambition with his second cousin, the 7th Earl de la Warr, to create a seaside resort from his estate, but, unlike his titled relation, lacked the financial resources, the marketing acumen, and, perhaps most significantly, the railway station needed to achieve his ambition.

Thus, whilst de la Warr’s Bexhill-on-Sea prospered, Cornwallis-West’s newly created road system on Hordle Cliffs echoed emptily with the names of members of his own family, but with few houses.

By the time of his death in 1917, Cornwallis-West’s inherited fortune had diminished near to bankruptcy, a legacy of both poorly resourced property development, and of over-active engagement in the social circle of the fabulously wealthy friends of the Prince of Wales (later Edward VII). The estate was broken up and sold off to settle the liabilities of his even more indebted son, George.

Yet, little by little, Milford-on-Sea developed. That it did so was essentially down to one man, an architect, William Ravenscroft.

Ravenscroft was born in humble circumstances on 21 March 1848 at 48 Minster Street, Reading. His father was a fishing tackle maker and, later, a tobacconist. There was just one sibling, a brother, Frederick, who died early aged nine.

When he was 16, Ravenscroft was articled to a local architect, working later in London, and established his own practice in Reading in 1875. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architects in 1892, and, in a clear nod to other interests, a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries two years later.

His work in Reading was prodigious, including the University Hall, British Dairy Institute, Reading and Kendrick Schools, the creation of Palmer Park (now an important sports stadium), and the elegant Victoria Hall. His interest in church matters, besides being a member of the Winchester Diocesan Advisory Committee and of the Board of Finance, is reflected in designs for at least ten churches of all denominations. To these must be added several substantial houses across Berkshire.

Clearly, he was prospering. In 1875, Ravenscroft married Elizabeth Rose, by whom he had four children: three boys and a daughter.

He may, though, have been working too hard, for in 1898, shortly after the death of his mother and on medical advice, he travelled to Milford, providentially perhaps, to his own, and the village’s, mutual benefit.

By the time of Ravenscroft’s recuperative vacation, Cornwallis-West’s grand design had resulted in the building of just nineteen houses in ten years. The projected pier, esplanade, bandstand and hydropathic establishment had not been built, and were never to be so. Nor did Keyhaven become the busy port envisaged.

Whether or not he had been working too hard in Raeding, Ravenscroft great work in Milford can be dated from the time of his holiday in 1898. During increasingly frequent visits to Milford, he lived in Seacroft, the first house in the village he designed, close to the sea. On settling permanently in the village in 1908, it was to another house of his own design, Briantcroft, named after his mother (née Briant). This residence, still standing in Barnes Lane, has its spacious principal rooms looking over an extended garden towards the sea.

During his practice in Milford, he was involved with 400 or more projects including alterations and internal works, war memorials and other public buildings. Many were in Milford, but were a far cry from the grandiose schemes of Colonel Cornwallis-West.

Ravenscroft’s contribution to the village cannot be over-stated. Between 1898 and 1928, he designed some 120 houses out of a total of about 210 new builds, and the New Milton Advertiser asserted that, ‘it was due to him almost entirely that Milford, in spite of its rapid growth, has retained its old world charm and character.’

Other work in the village included the Church Hall in Sea Road, the Women’s Institute Hall, the Keyhaven War Memorial, and extensions to Newlands (the largest property in Milford, once the home of Admiral Cornwallis). Further work in nearby Lymington, including the Masonic Hall, reflected another of his activities as a practising freemason. Over his lifetime, he won several competitions including one from RIBA and the Local Government Board in his seventieth year.

He was honorary architect for thirty years for All Saints’ Church, providing designs for the Choir Vestry, the Children’s Corner (a gift from his future wife, Alice), and the conversion of the Lady Chapel into the War Memorial Chapel. In 1933, a century after its demolition, he recreated the lay-out of Hordle Old Church.

This last indicates an interest in history, especially church history, and he was one of six founder members and first secretary of what was then called Milford-on-Sea Record Society. It is perhaps no accident that the society was founded in 1909, the year after his move to Milford. It was (as he explained in the Society’s first Occasional Magazine, ‘of a limited number of members, formed for the purposes of research and record in relation to matters of local interest, both ancient and modern.’

The society was indeed of limited numbers, being very much a club for the more affluent residents of the village, and with a committee from which ladies were excluded.

Ravenscroft’s articles, being mostly on the church and religious themes, were those of a man who was a church warden for seven years and architectural adviser to the Winchester Diocesan Advisory Committee. Their importance - and his own continuing interest - is reflected in his 1911 work on Milford church, running, uniquely, to a second edition in 1936. His wide-ranging interests extended not only to Hordle old church (the ruins of which now lie in Milford parish), but to mediaeval religious history, and to a religious prisoner in Hurst Castle (where Charles I was held prior to his execution), who died in his cell in 1729 after thirty years of incarceration.

His history of freemasonry traced the movement back, according to one obituary, to the builders of Solomon’s Temples through the mediaeval guilds of Swiss lake dwellers.

On a more personal note, he co-authored A Pedigree of the Ravenscroft Family, tracing his family back to the reign of King John. His own family life was not entirely serene, however. The last of his four children was born in 1884, and by the time of the 1891 Census, the name of his cousin, Alice Cooper, had replaced that of wife. The exact nature of that relationship is obscure, but they were to marry in 1934 just eight days after the death of his first wife.

Alice’s funeral on 8 May 1943 was attended by several members of the Ravenscroft family, Ravenscroft’s two surviving sons were both present, as indeed were the cream of Milford society including, as may be expected, friends old and new from the church and the (Historical) Record Society.

Ravenscroft himself, bedridden and unable to see to read or write, passed away six months later on 2 November 1943. He would doubtless be proud to know that Ravenscroft-designed houses are much sought after today, and that Milford-on-Sea Historical Record Society is currently digitising its Occasional Magazines, including all his articles, for the benefit of future generations.

Message from the editor Kimberley Barber

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