The historic house would be used as a single home with nine bedrooms

Plans have been submitted to return Southsea’s Grade II listed Brankesmere House to a single home with nine bedrooms.

The application, which includes both planning permission and listed building consent, relates to a four-storey property on the corner of Queens Crescent and Kent Road, within the Thomas Owen Conservation Area in Southsea.

The building is currently divided into three separate parts: two residential units and a third used as offices. In total, the property spans around 1,128 square metres across all floors.

No external changes are proposed, with the applicant stating the impact on the conservation area would be “entirely neutral”.

The listing says: "Built in Victorian times but heavily influenced by Jacobean, Tyrolean and French architectural styles it would have been one of the significant homes within Southsea, with high quality and skilled workmanship typical of the era and displayed in splendour externally and internally." | Local Library

placeholder image — The listing says: "Built in Victorian times but heavily influenced by Jacobean, Tyrolean and French architectural styles it would have been one of the significant homes within Southsea, with high quality and skilled workmanship typical of the era and displayed in splendour externally and internally." | Local Library

The plans focus on internal works to bring the building back into single-family use. This would include reopening doorways that were previously sealed to divide the property, removing two staircases, and taking out some internal partitions and kitchen fittings.

The basement would be reconfigured to include a music and games room, TV room, dining area, conservatory and living room. The ground floor would provide further living space along with a kitchen.

The first floor would contain six bedrooms, including two master bedrooms with en-suites. The second floor would add three more bedrooms, bringing the total to nine.

Planning permission has been granted to convert this back to a family home comprising of four bedrooms, four shower/bathrooms, a kitchen/lounge/dining room, a utility room and a double cloakroom. It could be reconfigured into the neighbouring property to form one large home. | Sophie Lewis

The property, known as Brankesmere House, was originally designed as a single home by architect A E Cogswell for Henry Brickwood, owner of the Brickwood Brewery, and completed in 1896.

The site has a long history of change. Before Brankesmere House was built, it was occupied by a pair of semi-detached houses designed by Thomas Ellis Owen from 1844, which were later cleared to make way for the larger residence.

Over the years, the building has served a number of uses, including a Red Cross hospital during the First World War, a girls’ school between the wars, and a police headquarters after the Second World War.

More recently, permission was granted in 2023 to convert the building from office use into a four-bedroom home. Although the office use ended in 2019, that consent remains valid until August 2026.

Residents can view and comment on the application using the planning reference 26/00602/FUL.