THOMAS ELLIS OWEN.
Thomas Ellis Owen is recognised as the architect, builder and developer who shaped the develpment of Southsea and built some of the finest buildings that still exist in the area today, such as St Jude's Church in Palmerston Road, Portland Terrace and Eastern Parade.
Thomas Ellis Owen was born in 1804,the son of Jacob Owen who was the Chief Surveyor for the Royal Engineers' Ordanance Department responsible for the design and overseeing of building works in the Portsmouth Area.
THE DEVELOPMENT OF SOUTHSEA
Owen's Southsea is an example of what has been called a 'villa suburb' (D.Lloyd, 1984).
The earliest examples of this type of suburb include John Nash's Park Villages in Regents Park, built c1820-30, which comprised detached villas set out on winding roads with lush landscaping.
This 'villa suburb' feel can be appreciated by walking around the area of Kent Road and Queen's Cresent and the Merton Road, Nelson Road, Albany Road area, although a few of Owen's buildings were lost during the blitz of the 2nd world war and some to more recent redevelopment,
you can still see superb villas and Regency terraces, with large gardens and tree lined streets.
Another superb example of the winding, tree lined lanes of the 'villa suburb' can be found in The Vale and Villiers Road area.
Villa suburbs such as these provide a historical link between early picturesque estate villages and later planned settlements such as Port Sunlight on the banks of the River Mersey at Warrington and Hampstead Garden Suburb, London.
Owen was trained by a London architect and engineer and completed his training in Italy.
He identified Southsea as a prime area for development even though it consisted at the time of mostly disused
marshland and tidal inlets with intermittent areas of poor grazing land.
The growth of Southsea started in the early years of the 19th Century outside the fortifications of Old Portsmouth, the earliest areas to be built include The Terraces, Croxton Town and the Castle Road area.
These early developments were initially viewed as an extension to the Dockyard Garrison, but quickly attracted the nobility and gentry of Portsea Island.
They flocked to the stylish terrcaes such as Kings Terrace and Bellevue Terrace and it was generally agreed that the appearance and build of these new buildings was superior to previous Portsmouth buildings.
Thomas Ellis Owen began his developments in the Grove Road area in the 1830's and building work continued in the Kent Road area with Swiss Cottage (1837) and Queens Terrace (1837-40).
Further works followed in Kent Road (Kent Lodge etc), Grove Road South (The Shrubbery), The Thicket (1844/6) and Queens Place (1847).
Major schemes followed at the end of the 1840's with Portland Terrace (1846), Dovercourt (1848) and St Jude's
Church (1851) and later building, in the northern part of the area, included Sussex Terrace (1854/5) and 30-34 Sussex Road (1857).
TEO also played a part in local politics and was a member of the Reformed Corporation. He had been an active agitator for its reform and in November 1843, was elected to represent St Thomas and St Paul's Wards.
Thomas Ellis Owen became an Alderman in 1850 and held the office of Mayor twice, in 1847 and in 1862 shortly before his death.
