Hampshire Architecture – Portsmouth: City Centre

Heavily bombed in the Second World War (and by a Zeppelin in the First) not so many Victorian or older buildings remain in this area of southern Landport. The photos below cover the University Quarter, Guildhall Walk and Square, Commercial Road (South) and West towards HMS Nelson. Mainly Victorian, the listed buildings are pubs, a former cinema, a theatre, assurance offices, banks, military and religious. Seemingly politics (Guildhall), finance (Prudential and Pearl), religion (the RC Cathedral and St Agathas), education (Park Building) and the military (Wardroom) compete for dominance of scale here. (Note that Park Building, behind the Guildhall, was covered in scaffolding today, so I used pictures I’d taken previously.)

Advertisement

Winchester Architecture – High Street and The Square

The familiar shopping area of Winchester, right in the city centre. Most of the shop fronts are modern but visible above are the C18 façades. The Prentice, a row of shops with a covered walkway, originates from the C16 with gabled roofs and timber frames. Some are however C19 imitations (for example, above Boots). The Prentice is on the site of the Norman palace. Further up High Street is the grander styling of the banks, one of which is in the old Guildhall. God Begot House was built in C16, it’s rear to the north still unaltered. Next to it is the Tudor-originating The Royal Oak. A sign says it is the oldest bar in England. This is just one of the hard to photograph buildings today, due to the narrowness of the streets and alleys in places. Between the High St and the Cathedral is The Square, a delightful collection of C18 buildings with some C19 shop fronts on fine Georgian buildings. Squished between The Square and Butter Cross (City Cross) is St Lawrence church. At the other end of High St is the tower of St Maurice church, the only part of this church remaining. Nearby, The Body Shop resides in a former chapel. Just off the west end of High St is Walcote Chambers and Trafalgar House, two of my favourites today. Other highlights are 63 High St, 57 High St, 30-31 The Square and 17 The Square. These are pictured first.