Spring Hill, East Cowes
| Spring Hill, East Cowes | |
|---|---|
Spring Hill House, as a convent | |
| General information | |
| Architectural style | Unknown |
| Town or city | East Cowes, Isle of Wight |
| Country | England |
| Coordinates | 50°45′41″N 1°16′42″W / 50.761441°N 1.278215°W |
| Construction started | Conversion 1863 |
| Client | William George Shedden |
| Technical details | |
| Structural system | Brick |
| Design and construction | |
| Architect(s) | T W Burrell esq. |
| Engineer | Dashwood Builders |
Spring Hill, East Cowes is an estate on the Isle of Wight, England, the centred around the manor house of the same name. It was to become the family home of the Shedden family. The estate has sweeping views over The Solent. It currently occupies 22 acres, although it was formerly larger, perhaps around 100 acres. The estate encompasses Spring Hill House, a farmhouse, farm cottage, a gatehouse, one other large residence and around half a dozen fields. From the 1800s, East Cowes contained four prominent estates, with Spring Hill being among the first to be built. Spring Hill lay between East Cowes Castle and Norris Castle, with Osborne House, the country estate of Queen Victoria, nearby.
Spring Hill estate was purchased in 1794 by the wealthy William Goodrich, partner in a Bristol shipping business with his brother-in-law, Robert Shedden. The business traded in tobacco and sugar and at the time, East Cowes was the main customs post for importing tobacco and rice into Great Britain from America, making the Isle of Wight a useful base for him. William Goodrich and his wife, Catherine Cole, moved into Spring Hill in 1794. Their daughter Mary and her husband George Shedden, soon moved to the Isle of Wight as well, living in the nearby Slatwoods estate, in Old Road, East Cowes.
Spring Hill House was rebuilt in 1863, by Goodrich's grandson, William George Shedden. The house now encompasses 15,380 square feet and has some 30 bedrooms. In 1947, Spring Hill was purchased by the Congregation of Holy Cross, who used it as a convent until 2016, when it was sold to a development company.