CACrown ArchivesThe cinema collection
EN/FR
Search
Menu
Research dossier · General Reference

Peartree House

grade II listed architectural structure in Southampton, Hampshire, England, UK

Cross-disciplinary reference desk with index cards, atlas, dictionary and catalogue
General referenceInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionSep 1, 2026
Entity authorityQ15265792 ↗
Source-derived summary

Peartree House is a Grade II listed building in the Peartree Green area of Southampton, England. The oldest part of the property was built for Francis Mylles, M.P. for Winchester, using stone from the Roman settlement at Clausentum. The most notable former resident of the property was Lieutenant-General Henry Shrapnel who invented the weapon named after him.

History

Peartree House was built during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, at the end of the 16th century (probably between 1590 and 1600). Its builder and owner was Francis Mylles, M.P. for Winchester from 1588 to 1593; he was also the tenant of Bitterne Manor, owned by the Bishop of Winchester, from whom Mylles obtained consent to use stone from the Roman fort and settlement at Clausentum, close to which Bitterne Manor stands.

Frances Mylles' daughter was married to Captain Richard Smith, who lived in Peartree House in 1617, and who was responsible for the building of nearby Jesus Chapel. Peartree House was occupied by the Mylles family for almost three centuries; the last of the family died in 1780, and it was then passed to members of the Speed and Waring families, who were related to the Mylles. During the early 19th century, the property was extended and the castellated facade was added.

Notable occupiers were Lieutenant-General Henry Shrapnel – inventor of the shell of that name – who died there in 1842; and the Cruickshank family – active in local education matters – who owned the property from 1893 to 1917.

In the 1930s, the land around the house was sold off for development.

Editorial summary

This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Peartree House” as grade II listed architectural structure in Southampton, Hampshire, England, UK. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.

Editorial reviewA concise reference frame for defining the subject, testing terminology and identifying the institution closest to the evidence. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1590, 1600, 1588, 1593—that can be checked directly. The selected authority fields contribute no independent date. The account is most persuasive where Peartree, House and grade can be independently traced.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

The subject matters to the general reference register because the source frames it as grade II listed architectural structure in Southampton, Hampshire, England, UK. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.

Evidence profile

Vocabulary and entity names are the principal evidence signals here, because they determine the precision of every later search. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 1, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q15265792. Authority coordinates are 50.905, -1.373. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1590, 1600, 1588 and 1593.

Critical limits

A concise general-reference account can conceal disagreements about scope, terminology or the weight assigned to individual sources. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.

Best used for
  • Subject orientation
  • Search vocabulary
  • Locating named sources
Verify next

The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “Peartree House”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow Peartree House primary sources, Peartree House archive and Peartree research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Peartree House”?
  2. Which institution is responsible for the underlying evidence?
  3. Which cited source is closest to the event, object or claim?
Subject index

Search terms from this dossier

Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from “Peartree House” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.