Millbrook presented a quaint and tranquil scene 100 years ago. 

The streets were primarily filled with the gentle rhythm of bicycles and horse-drawn carts, with the occasional motor vehicle a rare interruption. 

This was a place of lively trade, where dealers bought and sold horses and ponies. 

Local rumour even whispered that an unsuspecting buyer might find their new steed possessed an uncanny ability to steer them towards every public house in town, regardless of the rider's intentions.

The landscape itself was markedly different. The tide once lapped against the "steam railway" line, which traced a path along a pebbly shore. This very shore offered a walkable route from Millbrook to what was then the West Station, now known as Southampton Central Station.

Millbrook's pavements were a playground for the local youngsters. 

Boys skillfully spun iron hoops, while girls often favoured wooden ones. 

More daringly, some children would engage in games of marbles right in the middle of the roads – a sight unimaginable in today's traffic-filled streets. Even as recently as the 1930s, a journey along Millbrook Road towards Totton offered an experience vastly different from the urban environment of the present day.

Millbrook Road itself was once flanked by a vast expanse of open land, a training ground for members of the Territorial Army. This open space has since been developed, first into housing and the British American Tobacco factory, and later becoming the site of Costco.

Further west along this historic route stood an old coaching station, the Royal Mail public house, complete with stalls for the horses that transported mail. 

Nearby, a newsagent’s shop and two cottages were situated beside a stream that once served as a natural boundary for the borough. 

Heading back towards Southampton, the old Millbrook Pond occupied the very spot where the Millbrook roundabout now directs traffic.

Reflecting on these changes more than 50 years ago, John Knight, a former local resident born and raised in the area, shared his memories with the Daily Echo.

 "When I was a child," he recalled, "Millbrook was a lovely place with plenty of open fields where people could enjoy the countryside." 

He lamented the transformation, adding, "The present-day generation will have nothing to look back on as all the characters have gone and they are pulling down better houses than they are building."