THE name Prospect Place has long disappeared from the map of Southampton.

And while there is still at least a couple in the district in Chandler’s Ford and Hythe, the city-centre based version hung on until in the 1960s – but only just.

Many places in and around modern Southampton bear no resemblance to earlier times, and Prospect Place, together with its one-time castellated gateway – Ellyet’s Folly – is a perfect example.

Prospect Place stood at the junction of Above Bar and Commercial Road, and back in the 1930s was home to the wool shop of Fleming Reid and Company, Curry’s bicycle store, Dolcis shoes, the watchmakers Dimmer and Son, and costumiers Leon and Company.

At the end of the 19th century, the castellated building in Prospect Place was correctly known as The Towers, but more popularly as Ellyet’s Folly after a Portsea merchant who lived there.

Later the building was bought by Sir Frederick Perkins, who lived in London, but who liked to bring his family to Southampton in the summer.

Up until 1963 an imposing mid-18th century house called Prospect House still stood overlooking Andrews Park, but when a redevelopment scheme for Prospect Place was given the go-ahead, the demolition bulldozers moved in.

The Daily Echo in April 1963 said: “There was some thought given to the preservation of Prospect House, but it was considered not to be of such outstanding architectural merit. It had lost its original character and its position was also against preservation and so Prospect Place vanishes, with the great majority of the buildings in Above Bar now post-war, and the pre-war ones not very old.”

In addition, Park Walk, the service road behind the former Tyrrell and Green site running from New Road to a point outside the parks’ offices, was widened. At the same time Moira House, which previously stood on the nearby corner, was also demolished to make way for new shops.