The house is Grade II and was listed 18th July 1963 with an amendment on 14th May 1986
The house is probably early 18th Century with extensions in mid-18th century and later.
The front of Selside has been changed and photos show a different shape to the right-hand bay. There is evidence in the photo above of the original shape of the bay in the short wall on the roadside.
Little about the residents of the property can be confirmed prior to 1911 census, although there is an unconfirmed recollection that it may have been a home for the Apprentices at the Shillingford Engineering Works. The Engineering Works closed in 1903.
The 1911 census shows William James Lock, a publisher living there with his wife, sister and two servants.
The census of 1921 shows the residents as Joseph and Martha Pocock. Joseph was a gardener to Alexander Mitchell who lived in Riverview, Shillingford. Martha died in 1925 and is buried in St Laurence churchyard. Joseph died in September 1935.
The next confirmed resident is in 1939 when Lillian Mary Manners is recorded as a Boarding Housekeeper but at the time was living there alone. Lillian was married to Frank Donald Manners who appears to have been living in Benson at the time and indeed died there in 1941.
Lillian Manners died in Littlemore Hospital in 1959 and although her probate states ‘of Selside, Shillingford’ she had not been living there since 1952 because the house was sold in December 1952.
Following the end of WWII some of the Polish soldiers who had settled initially in The Camp in Nettlebed moved to Dorchester and were living in Halliday’s Guest House. Among them were Jan Lewicki and Tony Jarczewski who bought Selside from The President and Scholars of St John the Baptist College on 31st December 1952.
Originally, they lived there, with a number of Polish soldiers as shown in the photo below.
There was a significant amount of land attached to the property of Selside
Jan, built a new family home in 1964/5 which was originally called Sunnyside, 25 Wharf Road, Shillingford but either the District Council or Post Office changed the address to Sunnyside, 25 Henley Road. Then in 2018 the address became Sunnyside, 3 St Johns Lane as Sunnyside wasn’t located on Henley Road. Sunnyside, 3 St Johns Lane was sold to The Mole family on 7 December 2020
Then in 2018 the address became Sunnyside, 3 St Johns Lane as Sunnyside wasn’t located on Henley Road. Sunnyside, 3 St Johns Lane was sold to The Mole family on 7 December 2020.
In 1971 Selside, 21 Henley Road was converted into 3 flats, the garage was converted to provide a fourth flat with the new address of 23 Henley Road, these were rented out. Retrospective approval was given when the property was sold to The Quinn Family on 18 December 1997. The main property was renamed from Selside, 21 Henley Road Flat 1, 2, 3 and 23 Henley Road to St John’s Cottage, 21 Henley Road, with Flats being 23A, 23B and 23C in 2001.
Jan Lewicki kept hens, pigs and had a large vegetable garden which remains in the Lewicki ownership. Marysia built St Johns House, 1 St Johns Lane on the land, there is still evidence of Jan’s shed. The short lane from Wharf Road was renamed to St Johns Lane at the time the new house was built in 2018.
Although much changed and with various name and address changes the property is still listed as Selside on the British Listed Buildings website as of 2024
Lynda Raynor would like to acknowledge the information and personal photos given by Marysia Lewicki.
Researched by L.Raynor, April 2024