St. Nicholas Chapel

The chapel, situated in Langstone High Street, was built in about 1869 by Henry Williams Jeans and was in memory of Thomas Temple Silver, his wife’s second cousin. In 1866 Henry became churchwarden to Reverend Francis Seymour of St. Faith’s church, Havant. He and his wife, Susan were by now living in Langstone House, next door to Susan’s two remaining sisters, Jane and Catherine. On 23rd June 1846, two years after her mother’s death, Susan married Henry Jeans there. They lived in Portsmouth until Henry retired.

In 1868 Susan and Henry were left £1,000 by Thomas Temple Silver the younger, an ironmonger and iron merchant of Woodbridge, Suffolk. Susan and Thomas were both great-grandchildren of Thomas Silver, cider merchant, who died in Havant in 1781. Soon after this, the childless Henry and Susan in their sixties, embarked on building a large and distinctive extension to the property now known as Langstone Towers, together with an adjoining chapel. The attractive cupola on the house was modelled on one on Portsmouth RN College. Part of the original house was pulled down in the 1960s to make way for two new houses.

Susan Jeans died in April 1887, aged 79. Under Henry’s will all their real estate was auctioned, except for the chapel. The sale included several properties and forty-five acres of land, in Langstone, about half of which had been inherited by Susan when her mother died.

It was usual in those days for larger houses to have a private chapel, well worth a visit.

Timings & Tours

Saturday 07 September:

10:00-16:00

Sunday 08 September:

10:00-16:00

Saturday 14 September:

10:00-16:00

Sunday 15 September:

12:15-16:00

Location & directions

Langstone Towers, 28 Langstone High Street, Havant, Hampshire, PO9 1RY

Directions:

Park just north of (before crossing) the Bridge and walk back towards Havant about a hundred yards. On the right is the High Street - the chapel is on the right about 100 yards along with the distinctive Tower above it

Contact on day:

Neil Spurgeon

Telephone number:

+441329313016

Booking information

Pre-booking requirement:

Pre-booking not required

Accessibility details

Difficult step entrance (to help with flooding) but could be manoeuvred with care and an assistant

Additional information

The nearby Bridge, which opened in 1956, is celebrating the Bicentennial (200 years) of the opening of the first Bridge on this site on 8th September 2024

Max no of people per tour:

20

Est. tour duration:

0 hour(s) 30 minute(s)

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