Neighbourhood Studies
No. 1 - Fulflood
4 Land Use
a Residential
Maths Department, Westgate School
The area is mostly residential, in terraced, semi-detached and closely spaced detached two-story house forms. Cheriton Road has some larger early 20th century houses set in spacious gardens, some of which are built to attractive Arts and Crafts Movement designs. Bereweeke Road has large individual Victorian and Edwardian houses with long back gardens. The oldest houses are in North View, a mid 19th century terrace with a rendered finish. The steep fall in the land from North View and Oram's Arbour to Elm Road has led to some picturesque effects. There are attractive brick and flint houses in Avenue Road, and some, such as those in Western Road, have red and yellow parti-coloured brickwork in various designs. On the lower Stockbridge Road and to the northeast the housing is in late 19th century style. A variety of treatments are used: some houses are brick with roughcast rendering, some with mock Tudor wood strutting. Tile hanging, stonework and varying amounts of carving are also used. (It is the character of such late 19th and early 20th century terraces that is most at risk from permitted development.) Fordington Avenue and adjacent parts of Cheriton Road have small better-designed detached and semi-detached houses of brick and tile hanging with small paned casement windows. Loft conversions with modern-design rooflights are also beginning to disfigure the latter.
b Educational
Westgate School
The Westgate School This school for 11-16 year olds in Cheriton Road was originally built before the First World War as the Girls High School in 'Restoration' style, with soft red brick of an attractive and warm tone. The slate roof has been extensively renovated, but the colour is still of a pleasing blue tone. The original building has been well respected and a circa 1960 block has been placed adjacent to it in such a way that two later buildings could be laid out to complete an attractive open-cornered and planted courtyard. The original building is near symmetrical with dual entrances in corner pavilions. The street entrance is at right angles to the building axis, and there is no architectural "stop" to take the eye round to the further concealed entrance. However, the courtyard and sense of arrival more than compensate this. The style of the mathematics department is that of the most recent phase of the modern movement. This makes a complete break with the past combined with elegance - a rare achievement.
Peter Symonds College
Peter Symonds College This Sixth Form College (formerly the boys' grammar school) has a more modest original building of about 1899, in mock Tudor style, with generous stone dressings, again with dual entrances at right angles to the street gate and no architectural "stop". In this case the entrance is particularly unsatisfying, probably because there is no planting beyond the boundary trees. However, this main facade is so placed that there is a clear view from Stockbridge Road when looking down Cranworth Road. Subsequent development has been northwards to Bereweeke Road and Andover Road and also westwards part way along the playing-field area. There has been recent development along the north side of the playing field reaching out to the west. This consists of three substantial blocks namely, from west to east, a hostel for students from the Falkland Islands, a sports complex and a communal building. These blocks are of similar height and mass but otherwise have no unifying strands to make a satisfying group.
c Other Land Uses
These are relatively small in area and include the railway station and associated car parking, small offices and industrial premises.
d Amenity Land
The area is without any land to which the public have free access, although Oram's Arbour lies immediately to the south, easily accessible from the area. The footpath at the north side of the Westgate School leads to the pine tree belt at the side of a playing-field, which has a pleasant and unexpectedly rural feel. The footpath continues across Chilbolton Avenue and into Teg Down. From observation, outside school hours the playing fields have a limited recreational use for the general public.
e. Retail
106 Stockbridge Road
There are about 14 shops in Stockbridge Road between Western Road and Elm Road, which form the nucleus of the area. A post office and a chemist would be useful additions and houses opposite the parade could be converted into shops if there were sufficient demand. Some of these shops have local use, while others are of a more specialist nature and serve Winchester as a whole. There are also more shops to the east of the railway bridge, just outside the area being studied.