London Road, Southampton, key moments and landmarks

From its humble beginnings as a medieval trackway facilitating passage through agricultural lands beyond the town walls, it blossomed into a vital corridor, reflecting Southampton's growth and changing fortunes. 

Its narrative encompasses the elegance of Regency expansion, the imposing presence of national institutions, the clatter of horse-drawn coaches and electric trams, the devastating scars of war, and the continuous cycle of demolition and rebirth that defines urban evolution.  

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The very alignment of London Road speaks to its ancient origins, established long ago as a primary route for those journeying north from the growing port town of Hantune, as Southampton was known in Saxon times. 

Its name, "London Road," follows a practical and widespread British convention, particularly crucial before widespread signposting. Roads were often named after the next significant destination they led towards, serving as an indispensable navigational aid. 

Thus, London Road marked the way towards the nation's capital, a stark contrast to streets within London like Southampton Row, which were named after local landowners such as the Earl of Southampton.  

Development began to grace its edges in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, initially characterised by substantial houses set within generous grounds, hinting at the area's desirability. 

By 1802, for instance, land to the southeast formed part of the extensive estate of a grand house named Bellevue. 

A prime example of this era's residential ambition was New Place House, a magnificent mansion likely built just before 1800, occupying the block between London Road, Bedford Place, Cumberland Place, and Waterloo Terrace. Described in 1849 as a "substantial uniform building with two wings... well calculated for a large establishment," it boasted three storeys, numerous reception rooms and bedrooms, and extensive gardens.  

The early 1800s also saw efforts to manage the road itself. 

While perhaps not the pristine surface we know today, it was seen back then as little more than a dirt track prone to dryness in summer. 

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Indeed, it's recounted that two cast-iron water pumps were needed to dampen the dust during warmer months, one strategically placed at the junction of Cumberland Place and London Road. 

Though its original function is long gone, this very pump is said to reside today in nearby Watts Park, a silent relic of a bygone era.

This period coincided with the golden age of coaching. 

With the improvement of roads facilitated by turnpikes, like the one established along The Avenue in 1758, London Road became the undisputed main coaching route northwards. 

While a journey from London to Southampton had reportedly taken a gruelling three days in 1648, the turnpikes dramatically slashed this time to around ten hours by the coaching heyday. 

Southampton thrived as a coaching hub, with inns like the Dolphin, Star, and Royal York serving as vital nodes. Their arched entrances, still visible today, were designed for coach access. 

Ten coaches departed for London daily in 1840, alongside services to numerous other towns. 

The famed 'Red Rover' coach, owned by Robert Gray, was renowned for its speed, capable of making the London run in under eight hours on a good day.

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However, this romantic era was short-lived; the arrival of the railway in 1840 swiftly rendered long-distance coaches obsolete, though the Red Rover valiantly competed until 1843.  

The Victorian era ushered in a period of profound transformation. 

While elegant Regency-style houses continued to define parts of the road, particularly noticeable in the development of Carlton Crescent from the 1820s onwards, with buildings like No 77 London Road - originally 1 Carlton Crescent -  the street's character shifted dramatically with the arrival of major institutions.  

The most significant of these was the Ordnance Survey (OS). 

Following a devastating fire at their Tower of London headquarters, the nation's mapping agency relocated to Southampton in November 1841 or 1842. 

They took over a site already layered with history, previously occupied by cavalry barracks and then a branch of the Royal Military Asylum, which housed military orphans. 

The open space opposite, known as Asylum Green, took its name from this period. 

The OS rapidly expanded, erecting numerous specialised buildings for printing, platemaking, and administration over the next sixty years, demolishing most of the earlier structures. 

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A grand main office building with a prominent clock tower became a town landmark, and facilities for pioneering photographic techniques like Heliozincography were added. The sheer scale of the OS campus, stretching along a significant portion of London Road, fundamentally altered the street's identity, turning it into a major employment and institutional zone.  

Alongside this giant, commerce flourished. 

Many grand houses saw their ground floors converted into shops, while purpose-built commercial blocks and distinctive bank buildings, like the National Provincial Bank branch at No 77, also appeared, reflecting the street's growing economic importance. 

The late 19th and early 20th centuries saw a vibrant mix of traders. Street directories from before the Second World War paint a picture of a busy shopping area: John Wickham took over Frank Brecknell's shop at No. 39 in 1904, running a business as a draper, blind maker, and bedding producer. Adjacent stood Vinton’s Cycle Company (later replaced by Maypole Dairy) at No 37, and John R Dodd's paper hanging store at No 41. Other establishments included Pilgrims’ Tearooms, David Greig's provisions store, Mary Wren's clothing shop, Miss Frances Legg's millinery, and William Tickle, coal merchant. It was indeed a place where one could find almost everything needed. Some might even have described it, with its impressive buildings and lively atmosphere, as one of Southampton's finest streets of the era.  

The turn of the 20th century saw London Road buzzing with activity, now served by the new electric trams introduced in 1900. These trams, initially open-topped to navigate the low arch of the Bargate, became a defining feature, connecting areas like Portswood and Shirley to the town centre via The Avenue and London Road. 

An innovative domed-top tram design was later introduced in 1923 to allow covered passage through the arch, though eventually, bypass roads were constructed around the Bargate in the 1930s. 

Grand buildings still punctuated the streetscape. Among them was the town's first purpose-built Central Library and art gallery, opened in 1893 on the corner of Cumberland Place, on the site where New Place House once stood. 

This served the town until the library relocated to the newly built Civic Centre in 1939. 

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Adding to the local colour was the small Carlton cinema at No 45, fondly remembered by some as Southampton's "cosiest," drawing crowds for Saturday morning shows and matinees until the early 1920s..  

However, this vibrant scene was brutally interrupted by the Second World War. The Southampton Blitz, particularly the devastating raids of November and December 1940, inflicted heavy damage on London Road. 

The Ordnance Survey headquarters was severely hit, with numerous key buildings, including the main office, library, and vital records stores, destroyed. The handsome, though recently vacated, old library building at the corner of Cumberland Place was also reduced to rubble.  

The post-war era brought reconstruction, but the landscape had irrevocably changed. 

New blocks of shops and offices rose from the debris, often built quickly and economically in the "restrained Festival of Britain style" characteristic of the period, utilising modern materials like concrete and metal-framed windows.

 While functional, this rebuilding inevitably meant that much of the ornate Victorian and Edwardian grandeur was lost, replaced by more utilitarian structures. 

The bomb damage, coupled with the pre-war limitations of the site, catalysed the Ordnance Survey's departure. After dispersing operations during and after the war, the OS completed its move to a new, purpose-built campus in Maybush in 1969, ending a 128-year presence on London Road. Most of the remaining OS buildings were demolished by 1973, leaving only a few remnants like the Western Range barrack block and the substantial Director General's House at the corner of The Avenue. 

The tram era also drew to a close, with the last service running on New Year's Eve 1949, replaced by diesel buses.  

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The clearance of the vast OS site opened up new possibilities. 

In the late 1980s and early 1990s, the Courts of Justice building rose on the central part of the former campus, followed by the Magistrates' Court around 2000, transforming this section into a legal precinct. 

Today, London Road continues to evolve. It remains a busy thoroughfare, home to a mix of shops, businesses, and, notably, a concentration of eateries and estate agents. 

From Regency elegance and institutional might to the scars of war and the patterns of modern commerce – London Road tells the ongoing story of Southampton itself.