Swiss Cottage no more

Swiss Cottage to be demolished soon

Waterlooville 200

It is 200 years since Wellington along with Blücher and other allies, defeated Napolean at the Battle of Waterloo.

This year Waterlooville is having it's own celebrations to commemorate that event and the creation of the town, unsurprisingly it's called 'Waterlooville 200'. The project was officially launched at the town library yesterday (are we allowed to call it a library now?) and the planned events include a talk at The Spring in Havant (why is it in Havant??), additional talks and events at Waterlooville Library, a re-creation of the return of soldiers from Waterloo and an open air theatre production commissioned for the event.

The event has got £44,000 from the Heritage Lottery Fund.

It's a shame that all those 19th century buildings that would have made this year a bit special have been ruined by Havant Borough Councils bungling over planning in past decades. As mentioned previously the only building that remains true to the past is Swiss Cottage which is currently occupied by Citizens Advice Bureau.

Swiss Cottage - Waterlooville

Swiss Cottage Nearby Office block and flats

Swiss Cottage is probably one of the last remaining unaltered buildings in Waterlooville that dates back before the 1950s. There is a photograph of the building that is dated 1906, this one was taken today. It is now occupied by the local Citizens Advice Bureau branch, an organisation devoted to giving free legal and financial advice. It's a shame that the roof tiles at the front have been replaced by plastic sheeting, but most of the building retains its original character. It is however in poor repair. A few yards further down the street is this non-descript block of offices and flats. About two years ago some beautiful Georgian cottages were demolished so that these could be built. The same type of cottages in Chichester would be protected and cherished, but the local Waterlooville authorities and property developers consider Waterlooville the ideal place to demolish any previous history. Unfortunately i didn't photograph the Georgian cottages before they were demolished. A lot of the worst defacing of Waterloovilles historic buildings occured in the 1950s and 1960s. Take a look at photographs of the period and the old Victorian buildings had either been replaced or modern fronts had been put on the old shops. Of course today, developers and councillors see fit to continue the trend.