Alton (Hampshire)

Not having visited Alton for a number of years I was pleased to see when I visited on Market day that the town was busy and looked to be fairing well, with only a few empty shops. Thirty years ago a work colleague who lived in Alton called it a “One horse town where the horse had died” he also said it was the only place he knew where the cafes shut for lunch!

There was the aroma of brewing wafting over the town from the Coors Brewery (once owned by Courage) with the brewery chimney viewed from a number of town centre locations, pity that the original buildings have gone. Since my last visit a number of good local shops in the High Street have been lost, especially missed is the large ironmongers and hardware shop (Kingdoms I think) but generally the High Street is good for shopping.

There are some interesting buildings in Alton, mainly redbrick, some Georgian and one or two good Victorian buildings, especially the Assembly Rooms and Museum group. The Curtis Museum has exhibits on local matters and across the road is the Allen Gallery with an outstanding collection of ceramics and pottery, much more than one would expect to find in a local gallery – too much to take in on one visit.

Alton is at one end of The Watercress Line and nearby the station is a new Waitrose supermarket showing that the town has now ‘made the grade’.  A return visit with the camera I think will be worthwhile to get some considered shots when the town is not so busy.

© Michael Sleigh 2013

Charing Cross to Parliament Square

A bright morning and a walk starting from The Eleanor Memorial Cross (1863) by E M Barry with sculpture by Thomas Earp, interesting sculpture on the memorial if one stops and looks at it in detail.

Down Whitehall passing the Old Admiralty Building with a front screen and ‘Seahorses’ (1761) by Robert Adam to Horse Guards (1750’s) and fighting off the tourists crossed over the road to take a longer view of the building, a good example of stylized Palladian architecture.

At least there is not a lot of traffic around on a Sunday morning which makes walking around and taking photos easier!

Behind 55 Whitehall is an extension of 1952 by the Ministry of Works which has a series of good allegorical sculptures along its facade by James Woodford (missed these last time I was in the area)

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Wandered along taking in the sights to Parliament Square, then a change in direction to catch a new ‘Boris Bus’. I was keen to see what they were like but I’m not sure about them and don’t expect that they are going to last over 50 years or have the same respect as the original Routemasters.


M.C.Sleigh. 2013