Listed Building record MDO15384 - Royal Arcade, Christchurch Road, Boscombe, Bournemouth

An L-shaped shopping arcade facing on to Christchurch Road and Palmerston Road, built 1892-3 by Lawson and Donkin, part of a development including the Boscombe Hippodrome. Built of red brick with stone, stucco and buff brick dressings. The Arcade has two walks, each of eight bays, meeting at a central octagon.

L-plan shopping arcade (from Christchurch Road to Palmerston Road), 1892-3, Lawson and Donkin. Mixed Renaissance facade, red brick with stone, stucco and buff brick dressings: triple-arched stucco entrance to arcade, doubled in depth, over it, vast glazed lunette outlined in buff brick with rosette in each spandrel and ornate circular balcony corbelled out of keystone on sculptured plumes, all enclosed by shaped gable with 3 stepped round-arched windows, central one with septfoil tracery, behind flanking balustrades high splayed hipped roof rising to cupola with segmental pedimented bull's eye and square leaded dome with obelisk finial and vane. Symmetrical side wings, 3 storeys, with rounded corners to centre, pilastered shopfronts with egg-and-tongue cornice, scrolled pediments to 1st floor mullioned and transom windows within blind round-headed arcade, mullioned and transomed 2nd moor windows, lunette with bull's eye over in shaped gable. Similar wings to Palmerston Road facade, where the central lunette of the arcade is framed in simple flat-parapetted red brick walling. Red brick rear to Haviland Road West has workshop-type shops with living accommodation over (bargeboarded dormers). The Arcade itself has 2 walks, each of 8 bays, meeting at central octagon. Shop fronts with detached ornamental iron co1umns, lst floor windows with Cinquecento tracery in glazing bars; roof with transverse iron arches supporting pitched roof of glass with pitched lantern down centre. Octagon has bow shop front to east supporting big ornamental bowed balcony (perhaps originally a cafe). (1)

L-plan shopping arcade (from Christchurch Road to Palmerston Road), built 1892-3, Lawson and Donkin. Mixed Renaissance facade, red brick with stone, stucco and buff brick dressings: triple-arched stucco entrance to arcade, doubled in depth, over it, vast glazed lunette outlined in buff brick with rosette in each spandrel and ornate circular balcony corbelled out of keystone on sculptured plumes, all enclosed by shaped gable with 3 stepped round-arched windows, central one with septfoil tracery, behind flanking balustrades high splayed hipped roof rising to cupola with segmental pedimented bull's eye and square leaded dome with obelisk finial and vane. Symmetrical side wings, three storeys, with rounded corners to centre, pilastered shopfronts with egg-and-tongue cornice, scrolled pediments to 1st floor mullioned and transom windows within blind round-headed arcade, mullioned and transomed 2nd moor windows, lunette with bull's eye over in shaped gable. Similar wings to Palmerston Road facade, where the central lunette of the arcade is framed in simple flat-parapetted red brick walling. Red brick rear to Haviland Road West has workshop-type shops with living accommodation over (bargeboarded dormers). The Arcade itself has two walks, each of eight bays, meeting at central octagon. Shop fronts with detached ornamental iron co1umns, lst floor windows with Cinquecento tracery in glazing bars; roof with transverse iron arches supporting pitched roof of glass with pitched lantern down centre. Octagon has bow shop front to east supporting big ornamental bowed balcony (perhaps originally a cafe). The Royal Arcade Nos 562 and 566 and the Hippodrome form a group. <2>

<1> DOE (HHR), 27 Feb 76, List of Buildings of Special Architectural or Historic Interest: Borough of Bournemouth 1976 (Scheduling record). SWX3488.

<2> Historic England, Historic England Archive, BF104764 (Index). SDO14738.

ROYAL ARCADE, CHRISTCHURCH ROAD, BOSCOMBE, BOURNEMOUTH

<3> National Record of the Historic Environment, 1317743 (Digital archive). SDO14739.

Record last edited

Nov 26 2023 11:43AM