Southampton's Ocean Terminal was old before its time

Opened by Prime Minister, Clement Atlee on July 31, 1950, it was a throwback to an age of Art Deco glamour in a time of continuing post-war austerity with rationing still in operation.

It was designed to serve the classic liners that had sailed the North Atlantic between Southampton and America in the inter-war years.

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However, the Second World War delayed construction. It materialised some 20 years after its internal decoration suggested it should. It was a building unprepared for the jet age that was dawning.

The building was part ocean liner terminal and part railway station.

Southampton Docks was owned by various railway companies until it passed into state ownership in 1948.

Its new owners were the British Transport Commission, the parent body of British Railways, and they were determined to complete the 395 metre by 34 metre building to an opulent style to match the liners such as the Queen Mary and Queen Elisabeth. It replaced two previous steel sheds built in 1911.

The Ocean Terminal had three levels.

The bottom had two tracks served by British Railways’ passenger trains; boat trains from London. One track served a platform on the outside of the terminal while the other went inside and had a platform on both sides, allowing for the easiest possible loading and unloading of passenger luggage.

One end had a Streamline Moderne turret and a liner-like funnel, adorned with fins which wouldn’t have been out of place on a 1930s Odeon cinema.

The building was constructed in white concrete squares which became badly discoloured over the years.

Rows of glazing gave a strong horizontal emphasis to the long building.

The terminal had 12 telephone bays where international calls could be made.

At the northern end of the terminal, lettering proclaimed its status as both a British Railways station and liner terminal.

The terminal could process 2,000 passengers within an hour.

The building contained a First Class waiting hall with a W.H.Smith newsagent stand topped by an impressive Art Deco bauble-on-a-pedestal.

The curvaceous seats were interesting, and the tiered construction of the ceiling, with concealed uplighting, was soft on the eye.

Meanwhile, in Cabin Class – second, or standard, class today – conditions were still excellent. The Art Deco clock added to the stylish feel of the terminal.

The Cabin Class hall had its own small W.H. Smith, reminiscent of a tiny American-style Airstream caravan.

Passengers made their way between the floors of the Ocean Terminal via some of the smartest escalators ever found at a British transport terminal. Not only was the metal cut-out lettering for “ESCALATOR” stylish, but so was the uplighting over the escalator.

The wood panelling on the walls added the final luxurious touch.

Leaving the terminal, the Ocean Terminal was the last view of mainland England that passengers on the liners would have seen.

The top storey of the Ocean Terminal had a viewing balcony, that spanned the entire length of the quayside roof, where family and friends could wave loved ones off.

However elegant, the Ocean Terminal looked to the past, not the future. Ten years after its opening, the terminal was already being rendered obsolete. Liner traffic on the north Atlantic was declining rapidly as intercontinental jet travel became possible and increasingly affordable.

The Ocean Terminal closed in 1980 and was demolished in 1983.

It missed out by a decade or so on the resurgence of Southampton as one of the key locations for the cruise ship market. This is still growing today with Southampton the cruise capital of Europe.

Had the Art Deco terminal survived, perhaps it would be the preferred retro choice for today’s luxurious cruise ships.

A new functional Ocean Terminal was built in 2009 for Southampton’s cruise business, but it has little of the style of the original.

Martin Brisland is a tour guide with SeeSouthampton.co.uk .