Colour My World: Salmon

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The Grande Old Post Office, 58-9 High Street, Southampton. Grade 2 listed building that has laid empty for some time. Now up for let.

Photos by Southampton Old Lady
Colour photos by Southampton Old Lady

The town’s former Hight Street post office was opened on 5th November 1892.

Built in the Flemish style of terracotta brick with dressings. It is three storeys high surmounted by three elaborate pediments. Below the pediments is a modillion cornice with a frieze. The building has five mullioned and transomed casement windows on the second and first floors. On the ground floor, there are four round-headed windows with a projecting pedimented porch supported on console brackets to the left. In the pediment, there is a moulded crown. Beneath the building is a 14th-century vault, which is a Scheduled Ancient Monument. The upper floors have been converted into apartments. 

Planning permission has been granted to convert the ground floor into a restaurant or possible retail enterprise.

southampton blitz 6

 

 

The Post Office miraculously survived WWII bombing, including the 1940 Blitz.

In response to WordPress challenge: Color Your World. Where a calendar has a different Crayola Crayon colour as a photo promt.

To see more photos in the challenge or to submit your own, visit: http://jennifernicholewells.com/2016/03/29/color-your-world-salmon/

by Categories: architecture, Britain, Challenge, Color, Colour, Decaying Old Grandeur, Historical, Other Blogs I love, Photo, Photo Art, Southampton, street, UK, WarTags: , , , , , , , , 23 Comments

23 thoughts on “Colour My World: Salmon”

  1. I know it’s about colour, and the photo is lovely, but I was more interested in the other photo and trying to work out whether or not that was Holy Rood in the background. Those people in the photograph could have had no idea what the next couple of weeks would bring. I’m guessing that it was taken in the early days of the blitz.

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    • You are correct. Holyrood church was heavily bombed in 1940. Everything up to the Red Lion pub (half-timbered building two doors up from this one) and all in Bernard Street behind the church and adjoining this corner was FLATTENED. This well-known photo must have been taken in the late 30s.

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    • Yes I noticed that the second cornice over the window has been removed. There are lots of good buildings like this in England that are proving too expensive for the owners to keep up. I started a series on “decaying old grandeur” shall have to post a few more

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  10. In the last week of october 2016 my family and me (mother 84 ) visited Southampton because our uncle/ granduncle was deadly injured by the bombing of this post-office in on 15 th of september.
    He was seaman on a dutch coaster, the coaster was part of Operation Dynamo.
    We went to his grave at the Hollybrook Cemetery.
    Unfortunally there was no time to go to High Street and the Royal Hants Hosital ( where he died a day later.
    I was very surprissed to find this picture of the post-office on the net.
    It feels good to see the place where it happened.

    Renita Hessels, Winschoten, Holland

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    • Hello Renita, I am so glad that you found your relative’s grave – a very brave ally in the lead up to D-Day. He might have been stationed at the Port very near this post office and just popped out to post a letter home. You may also be interested in this post: https://southamptonoldlady.wordpress.com/2016/06/07/the-d-day-wall/
      Here is a photo of the Royal South Hants Hospital http://archaeologydataservice.ac.uk/archives/view/southamp2-SOU1570/
      My father is buried in Hollybrook cemetary – It is unmarked and difficult to find. I know the RSH quite well. Do let me know if you have any other questions – I will be happy to try and help. “Lest we forget!”

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      • Hello, thank you for the reply.
        The internet is a wonderful thing. Two weeks before our trip I found accidentally a call for information
        about my granduncle from Dutch/English association in Southampton which has adopted his grave and the grave of another Dutchman who died during WW 2. We mailed and they gave us a very warm welcome at the cemetery. They gave us some information and photos too.
        There are very kind people in Southampton.

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  11. During the last week of october this year my family and me (mother 84) visited Southampton.
    We went to the grave, on Holybrook Cemetery,of our uncle/grand uncle Willem Dijkstra, a Dutch seaman, who was deadly injured at the bombing of the post-office in High Street, on the 15th is September 1940.
    His ship, the Kaap Falga, was part of Operation Dynamo.
    He had just send telegram “I’m coming home”.
    Unfortunately we had no time to visit High Street and the Royal Hants Hospital nearby,
    So I was glad to see these pictures on the net.
    Renita Hessels, Winschoten, Holland

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  12. That’s a very interesting story Renita, and I am so glad that the Dutch/English association has adopted your grand uncle’s grave – they can fall into disrepair so easily. The people of Southampton do not forget so easily our allies in the fight for freedom. You must come again one day. – Sol

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