News
Elegant homes with a historic past
19th January 2023An historic former military hospital on the south Hampshire coast is being transformed into elegant historic homes, writes Victoria Scarlett.
With its Georgian, Victorian and Edwardian architectural grandeur and illustrious military heritage, Royal Haslar was originally built as a waterside community to convalesce sick and wounded sailors and marines of the Royal Navy, operating for over 250 years until 2007.
The main hospital building, known as the Quadrangle, was started in 1745, opened in 1753 and completed in 1762. Over the following 155 years the hospital was expanded to create the waterside village community of historic buildings that exists today.
Famous Royal visitors to Royal Haslar included Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, King George V and Queen Mary, Lord Mountbatten, Princess Alexandra and the Prince of Wales in 1982 to visit the injured from the Falklands Campaign.
Royal Haslar was decommissioned as a hospital on in March 2007 and a development consortium purchased the site in 2009. New designs and planning were finalised between 2010-2017 and following site and building works, the first phase of the new residential village was unveiled in 2021.
The then Prince of Wales – now King Charles III – visited the Royal Haslar in 1982 to see the injured from the Falklands Campaign.
The new residential village at Royal Haslar will provide over 550 converted and newly built, one-, two- and three-bedroom homes.
The first phase of homes for sale consisted of the Goodrich House apartments (now sold out) and Canada House independent living apartments. This Edwardian waterside building has now been converted to provide 36 one- and two-bedroom senior living apartments, complete with communal lounge and library.
At the entrance to Royal Haslar the period buildings will be converted to provide a local convenience shop, a gastro pub/restaurant, a coffee bar and other local convenience retail.
Under the auspices of Haslar Heritage Group, a voluntary organisation of ex-service people who provide historic tours and history books about the site, the Royal Haslar museum will be reopened in a 5,630 sq ft two-storey period building located to the front of the site on Haslar Road.
Benefitting from natural daylight and fresh coastal air, all the residential units have spacious rooms with generous ceiling heights and a bright and airy ambience with natural light cascading in.
The first phase of the new residential village was unveiled in 2021.
The apartments at Royal Haslar combine modern interior specifications with the character of the classical architecture of the period buildings, creating a unique blend of new and historic that is rarely found in a modern residential development.
Each apartment has an open plan or enclosed fully-fitted high-quality designer kitchen with stone worktops and integrated appliances. There is a spacious living room, many with tall sash windows, providing ample space for a drawing room and dining room. The principal bedroom suites have an ensuite bathroom, space for dressing and fitted wardrobes. The fully-fitted and tiled luxury bathrooms offer high-quality sanitary ware.
The grounds of Royal Haslar provide acres of open space including tree-lined lawns, and private waterfront walkway, allowing residents to enjoy relaxation and walks outdoors without even leaving the waterfront village community.
Pat Power, director of Haslar Developments Ltd, says: “Royal Haslar is one of Britain’s landmark Naval heritage sites, part of the Britain’s historic fabric, now reborn as a luxury waterfront residential village.
“Combining historic architectural grandeur with modern specifications the senior and open market apartments at Royal Haslar provide coastal living at its very best, with the Solent waterfront, marinas and beaches and Portsmouth all on the doorstep.”
Royal Haslar is located off Haslar Road between Haslar Marina and the village of Alverstoke, and a short distance from Gosport town centre.
Senior living and open market apartments at Royal Haslar are available priced from £200,000 to £450,000. For further information contact Fox & Sons on 023 9250 3733 or visit: royalhaslar.com
Originally published in Coast Magazine