Hounslow High Street ought to be about as historic as it gets, being a former Roman road. It sits astride the Great West Road, a busy coaching route, and was lined by several inns because it was the first stop out of London. The town was bypassed in 1925 reducing the flow of traffic and boosting the High Street's importance as a shopping centre for the growing suburb. Then in the late 1960s it was part-pedestrianised in readiness for nearby redevelopment (as you can see explained in this marvellous public information film made by Hounslow's planning team). So why does Hounslow High Street now feel about as unhistoric as it gets, an unexciting thoroughfare of ugly shops and little more? I decided to take a closer look and brought all my negative prejudices with me.
Present
It's not a good sign when the heritage information board at one end of the High Street kicks off with the phrase "no buildings of any antiquity survive". It's even worse when that same sign apologises that only two of the old inns remain, and it turns out both of those have since closed down. At least the western end of the High Street still has a resonant pub, The Bell, which used to stand beside the tollgate that heralded the start of Hounslow Heath. But the current building's not the original pub, it's a late Victorian rebuild, and the old inn sign now sits amid a pedestrianised piazza which the council likes to use for summer events. Sorry, you don't get a very good photo of the building when the emergency glaziers have turned up.
This end of the High Street is the most mashed, with a long run of concrete-topped 1970s units and the entrance to Hounslow's major shopping mall, the Treaty Centre. It's watched over by a remarkable modern church, Holy Trinity, whose tapering reinforced concrete tower somehow manages to resemble a massive air vent. The site's actually over 800 years old, being the location of a priory established by French Trinitarian Friars, but the last vestiges of that were demolished in 1813 and the subsequent parish church burnt down in 1943 so now we have this. It undoubtedly has character, and apparently it has a beautiful vaulted sanctuary, but it doesn't bring visible heritage to the High Street.
There are however a few older buildings amongst the infill, which you might spot if you stop and look (and I spotted because I'd consulted Hounslow's Local List before setting out). The Halifax bank at 222-228 was previously the Littlewoods department store and has small art deco friezes across the top. Taco Bell at 217 is late Victorian with Italianate details and floral motifs on the windows. McDonalds at 200-202 has an elaborate Edwardian pediment.
Boots at 193-199 is substantially art deco and was Edmond’s department store until 1976. Vision Express at 177 is turn of the century and has a laurel wreath decoration on the second floor. Argos at 137-143 was formerly Platts and still has the department store's name in protruding letters poking out from the flat roof.
The mobile phone shop at 135 retains Victorian Gothic windows on the first floor. The charity shop at 125 is topped with terracotta balustrades and a pediment dated 1905. And yes, most of the High Street is undistinguished anonymous scruff, seemingly randomly sequenced in a motley and higgledy line-up, but it's good to know these little flourishes remain inbetween.
There's not much 21st century architecture here either, but you only have to stand halfway to see a whopping example of that. This is High Street Quarter, a crush of Barratt homes and leisure hubs with twisty balconies and flashy gold cladding, not actually on the High Street but set back from it. Head here for a new 10 screen cinema, a half-empty Starbucks and bland public realm. Behind is a slightly older curving behemoth anchored by Asda, and all of this is very much a nod towards where the council think central Hounslow should be going...
Future
A draft masterplan for Hounslow town centre published last summer picked out several problems including limited green space, insufficient leisure facilities and lack of evening opportunities. A particularly telling issue was 'low level of “draw” for consumers with higher disposable income'. The proposed solution will include more high quality office space, more emphasis on hospitality, plenty of greenery and a fair amount of housing. The High Street should survive mostly intact, maintained as "the heart of Hounslow", but will be backed, topped and tailed by considerable redevelopment. Expect landmark towers.
At Bell Corner very little may survive other than the pub and Neal's Mansions, which is the current turrety focal point. At the Broadway end, if complex ownership and logistical issues can be solved, the bus garage and bus station are pencilled in for walls of flats. And the Treaty Centre is up for a total overhaul, stepping back from low-rise infill to a row of four courtyard blocks to potentially 20-storey towers. This mall already feels a waste of space with too much empty atrium and the recent disappearances of Debenhams and Wilko, but the trick will be to keep the shoppers coming while gaining hundreds of new residents.
In short Historic Hounslow High Street doesn't feel particularly historic and will increasingly look even less so if the masterplanners get their way. But there are still historic features if you know where to look, which I'm glad I have, because even the drabbest retail centres have their moments.
