ANYONE living in Bassett, Southampton, would no doubt be pleased to know that it had a “salubrious atmosphere unaffected by sanitary evils”.

Today Bassett is still considered to be one of the more pleasant areas of the city – a fact which seems to have been the case over the centuries and down the decades. In ages past it was where Southampton met the countryside, a place where the rich could escape from the built-up centre of the town, as it was then, and elegant houses and estates were the only developments. These days the Avenue, one of the best tree-lined entrances to any city in Britain, still retains a little of this atmosphere from long ago, but Bassett has long lost its countryside feel and is now busy with traffic and new homes.

Where the name Bassett came from has never really been answered. Some people reckon the area took its name from a family called Forbes-Bassett that once lived in the area, but it is more than likely a derivation from an old French word for an outcrop of land. At the beginning of the 19th century a local guidebook described the journey from the outskirts of the town, through Bassett and into the centre of Southampton.

“From this place, a gentle descent of three miles through highly beautiful countryside presenting enchanting views of the River Itchen and Southampton Water which appear like a noble lake,” said the book. At this time it seems the area was known as Basset, with only one ‘t’, and in 1853 a London architect came up with plans to develop and build homes on the east side of the Avenue at Basset Wood or North Ravine and the South Ravine, later to be called Glen Eyre.

Under the heading “Advantages of the Site”, the architect drew up a description of where the 21 houses would be built. “A salubrious atmosphere unaffected by sanitary evils. An abundant supply of excellent water at a moderate depth.

"The wells which have been as yet sunk have during very dry seasons yielded an unfailing supply,” the architect told potential home buyers.

“Southerly aspect and splendid and extensive prospects over the whole of the Isle of Wight from the Needles to St Helens and over the Solent, Southampton Water, the New Forest and the country from the sea up to the Winchester Downs. “Easy access to the town of Southampton by pleasant drives and a large portion of the land will be retained in its present ornamental state by restrictions on the parts to be built upon and the prevention of its being denuded of its timber.”

Many notable people lived in and around Bassett including the ex-dictator of Argentina General Rosas, who arrived in Southampton in 1852. At about the same time as the general died and was buried on the Common, William Erasmus Darwin, the eldest son of Charles Darwin, arrived to live in Bassett. Well known in the town, he was a partner in the bank of Maddison, Atherley, Hankinson and Darwin in the High Street.