Tricorn Centre

The Tricorn Centre was a municipal shopping, leisure and car-parking complex in Portsmouth, Hampshire, England. Opened in 1966, it was commissioned as part of an effort to revitalise the city and was designed by architects Owen Luder and Rodney Gordon in a strongly expressive Brutalist style. Its unusual plan and elevated concrete forms gave the development its name: viewed from above, the site was considered to resemble a three-cornered tricorn hat. The architects initially referred to the project as the Casbah, a name that was later retained by one of its pubs. The centre combined retail units, market accommodation, public parking, licensed entertainment and a small number of flats. It included approximately 400 car-parking spaces, making the complex an important piece of city-centre infrastructure as well as a commercial destination. The original concept assumed that larger and more prestigious retailers would occupy the development and provide much of its visual identity through shopfronts and signs. Because the centre was not directly integrated with Portsmouth's principal shopping street, those ambitions were not fully realised. Instead, many units were taken by smaller independent traders, market sellers and other local businesses. A Fine Fare supermarket operated there, and the city’s fruit and vegetable market was moved into the complex from Commercial Road. The Tricorn also had a notable entertainment role. The Casbah and Golden Bell pubs opened in August 1966, while the on-site live-music venue began as the Tricorn Club and later operated under the names Granny’s and Basins. Acts associated with the venue included Marc Bolan, Slade, Mud, The Sweet, Status Quo, Mary Wells, Edwin Starr and 10,000 Maniacs, alongside local performers. The complex also contained one of the earliest Virgin Megastore locations and later became associated with a major Laser Quest arena described as the largest in Europe at the time. Although the architecture received early recognition, including a 1967 Civic Trust commendation, the centre developed a poor public reputation. Its dark and damp internal spaces, difficult servicing arrangements, separation from the main shopping area and maintenance problems undermined its commercial performance. The market was criticised for inadequate ventilation and awkward access for delivery vehicles. The residential flats suffered from leaking walls and defective roofs; by 1979, only one tenant remained and the units were subsequently boarded up. During the 1980s the complex became increasingly run-down, and its nightclub was converted into a casino. Retail occupancy continued to decline, with the final shops leaving in March 2002. At the same time, the structure became a focus of architectural debate. Supporters regarded it as an important and inventive example of post-war Brutalism and repeatedly sought statutory listing. Critics viewed it as an unattractive, deteriorating obstacle to city-centre renewal. Public hostility intensified after it was ranked among Britain’s ugliest buildings and, in a 2001 BBC Radio 4 listener poll, identified as the country’s most hated building. Charles, Prince of Wales also famously criticised its appearance. Coastal weather and prolonged neglect contributed to serious deterioration. Rusting structural steel caused sections of the concrete to expand and break down, while the parking structure’s height and accessibility made it a site for repeated suicide attempts, prompting the placement of a Samaritans support plaque. Despite arguments that the complex could be rehabilitated, Portsmouth City Council concluded that replacement was more practical. Demolition began on 24 March 2004 and took about nine months. By 2024, the former site had become a ground-level open-air car park. The Tricorn remains a prominent case study in the contested legacy of British 1960s architecture and in debates over whether unpopular Brutalist buildings should be preserved.

The Tricorn Centre emerged from Portsmouth’s post-war programme of urban redevelopment. The city council invested approximately £2 million in a scheme intended to strengthen the city centre through a combination of retail, market, entertainment and parking uses. Owen Luder and Rodney Gordon designed the complex in an uncompromising Brutalist language, using sculptural concrete forms, elevated circulation routes and extensive blank surfaces. The architects’ working name, the Casbah, reflected the inward-looking and maze-like character of the design, while the completed development became known as the Tricorn because its plan was thought to resemble a tricorn hat when seen from the air. The centre opened in 1966. Its design assumed that major retailers would occupy prominent units and enliven the otherwise austere concrete envelope with signs and shopfronts. In practice, the complex’s lack of a direct connection to Portsmouth’s main shopping core made it less attractive to those larger stores. Smaller traders, market businesses and independent retailers filled much of the available space. Fine Fare operated a supermarket, and the council moved the fruit and vegetable market from Commercial Road into the centre. The market’s internal environment and servicing arrangements soon attracted criticism: visitors and traders complained about darkness, dampness and poor ventilation, while delivery vehicles found the spiral access routes difficult to navigate. The Tricorn nevertheless offered a varied social and cultural programme. Two pubs, the Casbah and the Golden Bell, opened on 31 August 1966. A live-music club operated first as the Tricorn Club, then as Granny’s and later Basins. Its programme included nationally recognised performers such as Marc Bolan, Slade, Mud, The Sweet, Status Quo, Mary Wells, Edwin Starr and 10,000 Maniacs, as well as local acts. Retail and leisure tenants later included one of the first Virgin Megastores and a very large Laser Quest arena. Eight flats formed part of the original scheme, but construction and weatherproofing problems led to leaking walls and roofs. Their residential appeal declined sharply, and by March 1979 only one occupant remained. The development received a Civic Trust commendation in 1967, showing that its architecture initially attracted professional approval. Its fortunes changed over the following decades. The shops gradually left, the entertainment area became more seedy, and the nightclub was converted into a casino during the 1980s. The complex’s multi-storey car park remained useful, with around 400 spaces, and this practical value helped delay demolition. The building also became associated with repeated suicide attempts because of its height and public accessibility; a Samaritans support plaque was installed at the site. From the 1990s onward, preservationists argued that the Tricorn was an unusually complete and ambitious example of British Brutalism. Several attempts to secure listing failed. Meanwhile, the building’s concrete and embedded steel deteriorated in Portsmouth’s wet coastal climate. Corrosion of the steel caused concrete expansion and breakdown, with visible signs of severe decay in some areas. Public opinion was also strongly negative. It was ranked third in a 1980s poll of Britain’s ugliest buildings, and BBC Radio 4 listeners selected it as the most hated building in the United Kingdom in 2001. Charles, Prince of Wales publicly compared it to a decayed mass of waste, reinforcing its notoriety. The last shops departed in March 2002. Arguments over repair, adaptive reuse and replacement continued, with architectural commentators including Jonathan Meades defending the building as a monument of its era. Portsmouth City Council ultimately judged that the structural condition, cost of intervention and hostile reputation made demolition preferable. Work began on 24 March 2004 and lasted approximately nine months. The site was later cleared and, by 2024, was being used as a ground-level open-air car park. The Tricorn’s legacy now lies in the tension between its failed commercial model, its lively entertainment history and its significance within the history of post-war British architecture.

• 2004

  Demolition begins

  [1]Tricorn Centreen.wikipedia.org

  Demolition started on 24 March and took approximately nine months to complete.

• 2002

  Final shops leave

  [1]Tricorn Centreen.wikipedia.org

  The last retail businesses departed the centre in March.

• 2001

  Named Britain's most hated building

  [1]Tricorn Centreen.wikipedia.org

  BBC Radio 4 listeners voted the Tricorn the most hated building in the United Kingdom.

• 1979

  Residential occupation collapses

  [1]Tricorn Centreen.wikipedia.org

  Only one tenant remained in the centre’s flats by March, following problems with leaking roofs and walls.

• 1967

  Civic Trust recognition

  [1]Tricorn Centreen.wikipedia.org

  The development received a Civic Trust commendation for its architecture.

• 1966

  Centre opens

  [1]Tricorn Centreen.wikipedia.org

  The Tricorn Centre opened in Portsmouth as a council-backed mixed-use development containing shops, markets, pubs, entertainment facilities, flats and a substantial car park.

• 1966

  Pubs formally open

  [1]Tricorn Centreen.wikipedia.org

  The Casbah and Golden Bell pubs were officially opened on 31 August 1966.

A municipally developed, mixed-use city-centre complex combining shopping, markets, entertainment and parking. Its lasting identity is tied less to commercial success than to its distinctive Brutalist architecture, cultural venues and controversial public reputation.

• Shopping-centre retail · 1966

  Retail units

  The centre provided a range of shops for independent traders and smaller businesses after larger department-store tenants failed to commit. Its retail mix included general shops, market stalls and a Fine Fare supermarket. The units were intended to gain colour and identity from tenant signage and frontages against the otherwise largely blank concrete architecture.

• Market trading · 1966

  Fruit and vegetable market

  Portsmouth’s fruit and vegetable market was relocated from Commercial Road to the Tricorn Centre. The arrangement brought market trading into the new complex but generated complaints about poor lighting, dampness, ventilation and the difficulty of bringing delivery lorries through the centre’s spiral ramps.

• Parking infrastructure · 1966

  Public car park

  A multi-storey car park with approximately 400 spaces was integrated into the complex. Its practical value helped preserve the building from earlier demolition proposals, even as retail occupancy declined. The parking structure was also one of the most visible and controversial parts of the site because of its height and public accessibility.

• Entertainment venue · 1966

  Live-music club

  The venue began as the Tricorn Club and later operated as Granny’s and Basins. It hosted touring and local performers across rock, pop and soul, including Marc Bolan, Slade, Mud, The Sweet, Status Quo, Mary Wells, Edwin Starr and 10,000 Maniacs. It was later converted into a casino during the centre’s decline.

• Leisure attraction

  Laser Quest arena

  The Tricorn housed a major Laser Quest facility that was described as the largest arena of its kind in Europe. It formed part of the complex’s later leisure identity alongside the pubs, nightclub and other entertainment uses.

• 2004

  Portsmouth City Council proceeds with demolitionStrategy

  Background

  The centre had lost its final shops, suffered from prolonged neglect and developed serious concrete and structural-steel deterioration. Preservation campaigners argued that the Brutalist complex could be repaired or adapted, but listing attempts had failed and the council faced pressure to replace a building with a deeply negative public reputation.

  Action taken

  Demolition began on 24 March 2004 and continued for roughly nine months. The site was cleared rather than rehabilitated.

  Aftermath

  The former complex became a ground-level open-air car park. The demolition ended the building’s commercial life but intensified its status as a subject of architectural and heritage debate.

  Source

1. 1Tricorn Centreen.wikipedia.org
2. 2Country's ugliest building to be torn downtheguardian.com
3. 3R.I.P. Britain's ugliest buildingnews.bbc.co.uk