Solent Cottage

In the eastern area of Lepe Country Park once stood a large house known for most of its life as Solent Cottage. Originally named Solent Hotel, the house was built on the Cadland Estate in the late 1800s as a small lodging house. Over the years, Solent Cottage grew in size and grandeur through renovations and extensions. In the early 1900s it was described as an elegant house with a dozen or more bedrooms and a large attractive garden with approximately 40 acres of land.

In 1926, the house was purchased by Sir Fisher Wentworth Dilke (1877 to 1944) and his wife Lady Ethel Lucy Clifford (1876 to 1959). Ethel (whose titled name was Lady Dilke) was a notable writer who had published several volumes of poetry. One of her books, Songs of Dreams, was even included as a miniature in the doll’s house made for Queen Mary.

Hampshire County Council took ownership of the land in 1997, almost 40 years after the last resident had died. The grounds have since been transformed into a thriving conservation space. In the spot where the house once stood, a sensory garden has been built with the history of the house in mind. There’s a replica of the windpump that once stood in Lady Dilke’s garden and the name, Sensory Cottage Garden, commemorates the land’s history.