De La Warr House in Woodside, Lymington was built by Earl De La Warr, who was Lord Warden of the Forest in the late 18th century. It was inhabited by Francis Crozier in the late 19th century then purchased by Algernon Thomas St George Caulfield in the early years of the 20th century. Born in London on 31 July 1869, by 1911 Caulfield is recorded as a single man of ‘private means’ living at De La Warr, then known as Thatched Cottage.
There were then 16 rooms in the house and Caulfield employed five live-in servants: a butler, Edward Joseph Dalton (39), a pantry boy, Francis R Neale (16), a housekeeper, Jane Ann Fairclough (47), a housemaid, Marion CM Golden (23) and a kitchen maid, Edith Pyke (20). None were born locally. Probably in the following year he purchased Vicars Hill, formerly the residence of Edward Henry Pember, in Boldre parish. His great interest in engineering led him to establish a workshop in the grounds of Vicars Hill which cost £10,000.
Caulfield was a member of the British Radiography Society and gifted Lymington Hospital its first x-ray machine. He died in London on 4 July 1933 and was brought to Boldre for burial.
In the mid-20th century Robert Hole (1897-1963) lived at De La Warr House. He was instrumental in founding Lymington community centre.
