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signage and store frontages. It was hoped that premium stores would occupy the centre but as the centre was not connected to
Portsmouth Town Centre, these stores never moved in. Instead the units were let to smaller stores. As well as small traders, tenants included a supermarket and two pubs. In 1967 the site received a commendation from the
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Opponents of demolition argued that the structure, while sadly undermaintained, was still salvageable with the work of ingenious designers and a long-term city plan. However, government and public opinion was that the building had decayed too far and had attracted such a bad reputation that the only
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Opened in 1966, the centre was an attempt to revitalise
Portsmouth, costing the city council £2 million. Originally called 'the Casbah' by its creators, it was deliberately designed with vast amounts of blank surfaces with the expectation that tenants would provide the colour and character via their
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described it as "a mildewed lump of elephant droppings", although it was much admired by others, who saw it as an irreplaceable example of
Brutalist architecture. Demolition of the Tricorn began on 24 March 2004 and lasted approximately nine months. As of 2022, the site is a ground level car park
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supermarket. The council succeeded in getting the fruit and veg market to move from
Commercial Road but there were soon complaints. Conditions were found to be dark, damp and poorly ventilated. Access was also a problem with lorries finding it difficult to get to the market via the spiral ramps.
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architecture failed throughout the 1990s, and neglect, in addition to
Portsmouth's wet coastal climate, caused the building to fall beyond the scope of easy repair. Structural steel within the concrete began to rust causing expansion of the concrete, and in some sections, small
156:– The Casbah and The Golden Bell – were located inside the Tricorn Centre. They were officially opened on 31 August 1966. There was also a club for live music – originally named the Tricorn Club, later renamed Granny's and subsequently Basins – which hosted live performances by
323:. The shops slowly left, with the last ones closing in March 2002. The centre's car park was also the scene of many suicide attempts, being amongst the tallest publicly accessible buildings on the south coast. For this reason, a plaque offering support from
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deliberated the demolition of the centre for many years; however, the uniquely designed car-parking block, which provided 400 parking spaces, was too useful for the city to destroy until 2004. The site is now occupied by a ground-level open-air car park.
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The centre included eight flats. While initially popular with some residents, the flats suffered from poorly constructed roofs and leaking walls. Only one tenant was left by March 1979 and the flats were later boarded up.
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commented: "You don't go knocking down
Stonehenge or Lincoln Cathedral. I think buildings like the Tricorn were as good as that. They were great monuments of an age."
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With the failure of a large store to move in, most of the shops were small traders of various types, including market traders with a range of stalls. There was also a
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The
Tricorn was the subject of such strength and diversity of public feeling that opinion boards were placed around its boarding for the public to write on.
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The centre was a well-known example of 1960s architecture, and in the 1980s it was voted the 3rd ugliest building in the UK. In 2001,
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120:. A short documentary film by David Ferrone and Martin Fickling featuring interviews with architect Rodney Gordon (6 mins 2 secs).
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664:"Death, Brutalism and pre-pubertal sex: Jonathan Meades embraces some difficult subjects in his TV series and memoir"
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hat. Constructed in the mid-1960s, it was demolished in 2004. It was home to one of the first
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During the 1980s, the centre became increasingly seedy and the nightclub was developed into a
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Numerous attempts to get the building listed as amongst the best examples of
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and took its name from the site's shape which from the air resembled a
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683:"Brute Ugly: heritage, memory and decorated boards"
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716:The Tricorn: The Life and Death of a Sixties Icon
857:Demolished buildings and structures in Hampshire
57:, Hampshire, England. It was designed in the
16:Former shopping centre in Portsmouth, England
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759:"Country's ugliest building to be torn down"
892:Buildings and structures demolished in 2004
681:Kerswell, Jeannie; Swales, Valerie (2004).
315:Demolition of the Tricorn Centre, July 2004
842:Buildings and structures completed in 1966
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299:Learn how and when to remove this message
604:"Victim of brutalism's fall from grace"
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327:was positioned at this infamous point.
852:Buildings and structures in Portsmouth
376:Croft, Catherine (10 September 2008).
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877:Shopping malls disestablished in 2004
617:from the original on 10 December 2022
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423:"A brutal end for a brutal building"
237:adding citations to reliable sources
781:"R.I.P. Britain's ugliest building"
714:Clark, Celia; Cook, Robert (2009).
348:option was to replace it. Essayist
872:Shopping malls established in 1966
748:. 15 December 2004. Archived from
411:. London. 29 May 2008. p. 29.
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887:2004 disestablishments in England
847:Brutalist architecture in England
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662:James Kidd (22 February 2014).
224:needs additional citations for
882:1966 establishments in England
757:Weaver, Matt (10 March 2004).
554:"Surprise and ribald comments"
552:Owen, Chris (31 August 2011).
467:Twentieth Century Architecture
405:"Other brutalist structures".
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718:. Portsmouth: Tricorn Books.
471:The Twentieth Century Society
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339:began to grow off ledges.
192:, as well as local acts.
135:Businesses in the Tricorn
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97:Construction and opening
90:Charles, Prince of Wales
341:Portsmouth City Council
77:and housed the largest
862:Defunct shopping malls
818:50.802583°N 1.090033°W
641:The Portsmouth Society
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116:Taped Up: The Tricorn
93:for the city centre.
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23:The Tricorn logo sign
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867:History of Hampshire
823:50.802583; -1.090033
233:improve this article
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752:on 8 December 2013.
428:Today (BBC Radio 4)
33:The Tricorn Centre.
742:"The Tricorn Page"
601:(22 August 2008).
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806:50°48.155′N
621:19 February
337:stalactites
289:August 2014
190:Vinegar Joe
182:Edwin Starr
129:Civic Trust
86:BBC Radio 4
79:Laser Quest
53:complex in
836:Categories
613:. London.
359:References
259:newspapers
205:Demolition
178:Mary Wells
174:Status Quo
158:Marc Bolan
63:Owen Luder
55:Portsmouth
791:24 August
771:24 August
695:24 August
647:24 August
566:24 August
479:1353-1964
435:24 August
408:The Times
390:24 August
332:Brutalist
170:The Sweet
141:Fine Fare
61:style by
59:Brutalist
47:nightclub
785:BBC News
767:. London
615:Archived
559:The News
386:. London
51:car park
43:shopping
273:scholar
71:tricorn
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321:casino
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188:, and
118:(2000)
41:was a
746:Vodex
686:(PDF)
469:(6).
364:Notes
280:JSTOR
266:books
196:Flats
162:Slade
793:2014
773:2014
720:ISBN
697:2014
690:SCAN
649:2014
623:2015
568:2014
475:ISSN
437:2014
392:2014
252:news
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152:Two
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166:Mud
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