Polygon
Polygon, Southamptoncounty:
coords:
Hampshire
SU4112
POLYGON (THE) in Southampton
This district (once well outside the borough boundary) derives its curious name from the development planned and begun in the early 1770's as a self contained resort for the aristocracy to rival (or outdo) the Long Rooms in Southampton. The frontages of the houses were to be arranged in a regular dodecagon, with the backyards of the properties tapering towards a central hotel intended to be the venue for glittering social occasions. The scheme was beset by financial problems as early as 1773 and was never completed (cf Patterson 1966: 52-5). Perhaps best known now as the name of the famous hotel which commemorates the scheme, the original hotel having been demolished.
