TrustNews Mar 20

Carfax Hotel

 

The cover of December's TrustNews was a photo of the former Carfax Hotel, and our caption said that it was demolished to make way for the County Record Office. However, Geoffrey Burnaby, who was a senior member of the County Architect's Department from 1964 to 1990, points out that the Carfax Hotel was actually demolished in the late 1960s. He says:

 

“lt was to make way for the widening of Sussex Street to form part of a mad proposal for an inner ring road from Bar End along Chesil Street, across the river, along North Walls and City Road, up Sussex Street, Romsey Road, Crowder Terrace and on. This was fortunately cancelled, but not before some buildings had been demolished along the route.

 

“The proposal for a new County Record Office on the ‘Carfax site’ was not mooted until the early 1980s. The City Planning Officer asked the County Architect to produce an outline plan for the future redevelopment of the whole site. It was proposed to build along the whole perimeter, leaving a central secluded “green” space. The landscaping behind the Record Office would form part of this. The siting of the Record Office left space along Station Hill (at present used for HCC car parking) for future commercial development. The Great Western Hotel - later the Register Office - was of course to be retained.

 

“The present outrageous proposal for development totally ignores earlier informal discussions.“

 

The Editor