Historic Gosport building once home to Mumby Mineral Water Company to become flats

A historic building once home to a water company will be transformed into flats.

The remaining part of Mumby Mineral Water Company in Gosport will be given a new lease of life after councillors approved plans to turn it into six flats.

The building in Mumby Road formed part of the business set up by Charles Mumby in  1849, a chemist and mineral water manufacturer who supplied the army and the Royal Navy and received a Royal Warrant from Queen Victoria.

Now 177 years on, the site will “meet the pressing need for local housing”, the applicant said.

Previously offices, applicant Morgan Sheldon tried various commercial approaches after buying the building in 2023. After this failed, he submitted an application to Gosport Borough Council in December 2025 to transform the building into flats instead.

Speaking at the council’s regulatory board on June 3, Mr Sheldon said: “I bought the building in 2022 when it had been unloved and vacant for some time and was at risk of further deterioration. It was in a very poor state.

“In 2023, I spent as much money saving the building as I did purchasing it. I am proud to have saved it and been its custodian.”

He added: “This proposal secures the future of the last surviving part of this historic site, and it meets the pressing need for additional local housing.”

The building will have six flats across three storeys, and space for approximately five cars on the gravel driveway.

The documents submitted to the council said: “The proposed development is modest in scale. Given the scheme is for six new flats, the scheme is not expected to place any significant pressure on existing services or community facilities.”

Cllr Colin Towell, Reform ward member for Alver and Grange Valley, asked Mr Sheldon what motivates him to undertake this work on a building with “a rich history”.

Mr Sheldon said: “I always said to myself that one day I would like to own the building, and I saw it fall into disrepair. I was in a fortunate position to buy it. Other people wanted to tear it down, and there was stiff competition, and I paid over the asking price to secure it.

“I then set about discovering what was wrong with it.  It was sensitively done from beginning to end.”