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27 Southampton City College Campus and St Mary’s Church

ContextThis character area has a high degree of overlap withthe St Mary Street character area (CA29) which takes inthe front (western) section of the churchyard and thewest elevation of the church and college to reflect theimportant role in both community and townscape termsthat these buildings play in St Mary Street. To the northis the Golden Grove Estate (CA28) and to the east thedocks railway branch line and beyond the industrialsheds of Melbourne Street (CA40). St Mary’s Churchwith its magnificent spire sits to the south and west ofthe college campus which wraps round the churchyard.The church sits slightly raised from the level St MaryStreet.

St Mary’s Church is on the site of the Saxon minsterchurch which served Saxon Hamwic. The college build-ings to the north of the church originated as a work-house. Prior to the building of the workhouse there hadbeen a poor-house on the site which had itself replacedsome almshouses.

GrainThe buildings within the campus and the church are ofmedium grain but well proportioned and architecturallyaccomplished throughout. The converted workhousewhich now forms the City College principal building withcentral cupola is set well back from the road in its owngrounds as is the church on roughly the same buildingline.

ScaleBuilt form is of three storeys generally with the churchequivalent to three and a half storeys. The spire of thechurch stands at approximately twenty five metres and isa major historic landmark in the Southampton skyline.This can be seen from some considerable distance. Thespire is also glimpsed from a significant number ofvantage points around the city. It is worth noting that theview south is dominated by the tall buildings cluster tocharacter areas CA20 and CA25.

UsesEcclesiastical and educational.

Public RealmPublic realm is fair to good but is characterised by someexcellent tree groups to the churchyard, and the robustenclosure to the churchyard by the finely detailed wall ofstone with brick dressings.

ConnectivityThere is very limited connectivity through this characterarea other than the pedestrian routes through thechurchyard. The City College is a private security-

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City Characterisation Project

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controlled campus. The elevation to the Golden GroveEstate is similarly impenetrable.

ViewsThe spire of St Mary’s Church designed by G.E Street isan historic landmark of city significance and can be seenfrom as far north as Bevois Hill and north-west fromNortham Bridge, both over a mile away.

There are a number of local views focussed on the spireof St Mary’s Church. There is also a good view of thechurch and spire from the south-east corner of thechurchyard.

There are three strategic views to the spire from theItchen Bridge, Hanover Buildings and the Central Parks.There is a strategic view to the campanile of the CivicCentre which passes over the character area just to thenorth of the church.

Building typesGood example of a Victorian Church. Former workhouse,converted to college buildings. Functional bespokecollege buildings to Chapel Road.

Architectural qualitiesThere is considerable architectural quality in old and newbuildings with the church of St Mary attributed to thehighly acclaimed and successful Victorian church archi-tect G. E. Street and the survival of the early to mid-Victorian workhouse in a recogisable, readable form andsome accomplished additions to the college from the1960s and late twentieth century.

Heritage AssetsThe area is considered to possess a high degree ofevidential value due to fact that St Mary’s Church is onthe site of the minster church which served the Saxonsettlement of Hamwic. The minster stood within aprecinct that was probably larger than the present-daychurchyard based on the evidence of graves being foundoutside the area of the churchyard. Whilst settlementshifted from Hamwic to the higher ground to the west bythe late Saxon period, St Mary’s remained the motherchurch of Southampton through the Middle Ages. As animportant element of mid-Saxon Hamwic, the area isregarded as being of national importance for its archae-ology and St Mary’s Church is Grade II listed.

The Church of St Mary, despite its rebuilding as a resultof bomb damage, has significant associative, aestheticand spiritual values within its community. It is also a land-mark of considerable importance within the wider citycommunity. Views to St Mary’s spire represent the impor-tant link between Saxon and medieval Southampton.

The City College complex incorporates buildings fromthe nineteenth century workhouse. The older structures

01 The juxtaposition of old and new – college buildings on St MaryStreet

02 1960s block fronting Chapel Road, part of the college campus03 Views to the spire of St Mary’s Church from Chapel Road

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are locally listed buildings. These buildings are ofconsiderable historic significance with associative,cultural and aesthetic values, the latter particularly interms of the design; their institutional form which is stillreadable today. The 1960s building with projectingupper storey, expressed frame and curtain walling toChapel Road is a bold architectural statement of its timeand has some aesthetic value and makes a positivecontribution to the area.

MaterialsAshlar stonework with natural slate roof to the church.The former workhouse is a deep red brick with naturalslate roofs. College building to Chapel Road – expressedconcrete frame and shuttered concrete finish and fullyglazed screen walls. The upper storey is projected onraked supports.

ConditionGood.

OwnershipChurch of England and institutional.

Interventionn Remove cars and provision for parking from church

graveyard.

Key design principlesn All new development should have regard to the impact

on significant views of the spire of St Mary’s.n All new development should have regard to the setting

of St Mary’s Church particularly the open, tree-linedchurchyard which forms such an important part of itscharacter and townscape quality.



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