Woodlands Lodge

Bowden-Smith: ‘This house was called Fletchwood. My great uncle, Captain Jervis, nephew of Lord St. Vincent, built it. It was a wooden house, built of oak with a verandah round it.In the year 1804 when King George the Third came to Lyndhurst, Captain Jervis bought some horses which the King’s suite brought down. There was with them a pretty French girl called Cecilia Vinet, who was given him with the horses. This girl had two boys. Then in 1805 Captain Jervis was drowned at sea, and the girl and the babies were taken care of by my grandmother. Years afterwards the eldest was foolish enough to claim the title of St.Vincent. He gave a great deal of trouble by his folly, being a claimant without the slightest thing to go upon as my uncle did not marry her. [It is named Woodlands Lawn on the 1860s OS map.] The old house was empty for a long time till Mr. & Mrs. Mansfield bought it and nearly rebuilt it. They bought it from Mr. Timson. [1905?] Mrs. Mansfield came one day to ask me if I had ever heard of the ghost of Captain Jervise [sic] which was supposed to walk about the house. I told her that as he was drowned at sea it was not likely his ghost would walk on shore. She said she did not wish her servants to know that people had said such things or they would not stay with her.’