Baffins, a Ward in the eastern part of Portsmouth, was originally part of the extensive estates of the Wymering Manor. The land was primarily used for farming until the early 20th century, when the steady eastward expansion of Portsmouth transformed Baffins into a suburban neighbourhood, characterised by terraced housing built from locally-sourced red brick. The centrepiece of the area is Baffins pond, a former farm reservoir that was preserved as a public park and remains a popular recreational spot.
Aerial view of Baffins
Note
I’d like to find the original source for this image - it’s not in Britain From Above. It’s been desaturated at some point on its travels but the grain makes me think it’s from a printed source rather than a photographic one).
This image is a snapshot of Baffins in the process of being built. North is at roughly 8 o’clock. There’s a lot of detail here if you look carefully. St Joseph’s is centre along with the bowling green, but in the top-right is St Cuthbert’s1, with its original pre-WWII north end intact and the original houses opposite. Hayling Avenue is mostly unbuilt, and the roads south of it are still fields. The roads between Hayling Avenue and Tangier Road are laid out, and the houses are under construction. Top-left we just catch the corner of an unimproved Baffins pond, and bottom-centre we see Tangier Road ending in a level crossing. Bottom right, right of Copnor bridge, is the tannery.
I’m intrigued by the railway embankment - are we seeing cultivation there, just below the bowling green?
St Joseph’s, Tangier Road
This image shows the presbytery behind the church with its original steps up from street level, and the church only partially constructed. The presbytery and Lady Chapel were built in 1908, the rest of the church followed in 1913-14. The architect was A. J. C. Scoles, and the builder was Domenico Marchetti, a parishioner, who built extensively in the diocese and who was knocked down by a vehicle and killed as he left the church in May 19182.
Compare with today’s completed church:
The modern church hall is on the site of the building with the portico in the bottom-left corner of the image. It might be the most interesting thing in the picture - it seems to pre-date not just the church, but Tangier Road itself. Here it is on Tangier Lane, complete with portico, on the 1896 OS 25” map:
Note the lack of a bridge over the railway, and the tannery very sensibly sited well away from any other buildings. By the time of the 1933 OS map we’ve got the bridge, the church, the bowling green, and a whole lot of housing:
Some time between the 1933 map and Dec 1945, the portico’d buildings were replaced by a church hall. The maps suggest two houses with two gardens, but adding a dash of AI colour to the aerial image highlights a more complex roof line than I expected. I wonder if we’re looking at four cottages, possibly associated with Baffins Farm. If they survived until 1933, I’m hopeful there’s a better image of them out there somewhere, possibly in St Joseph’s archives.
(Note: The Dec 1945 aerial image shows what I assume are water storage tanks at the western end of Tangier Road, just north of the bowling green).
Southsea Dairy Co, St Pirans Avenue, Portsmouth
The other corner of the Tangier Road/St Pirans Avenue junction, also visible in the aerial photo above. The mixed paved/dirt road is interesting - I wonder if those bricks are still under the modern tarmac. When I was a kid it was a corner shop with accommodation above and at the back, but this plot and the one next to it have now been rebuilt as flats.
(source: google maps)
Baffins pond
Hard to tell, but I think this must be looking north, towards the hill, before most of the housing was built. We could be seeing the old farmhouse behind the trees.
Tangier Road level crossing
Suggested dates for this one float around a bit, but “c.1905” is probably the best guess. Obviously it’s after Tangier Road is filled out, but before the level crossing is replaced with a bridge. I’ve never seen it without a divided back.
Railway cottage (the building on the left) was built in 18532, and can be seen on the maps above. Copnor Bridge was opened in July 19083, replacing the level crossing.
Langstone Road, Baffins
source: facebook
