Bournemouth: Royal London House

Introduction

The photograph on this page of Bournemouth: Royal London House by Chris Downer as part of the Geograph project.

The Geograph project started in 2005 with the aim of publishing, organising and preserving representative images for every square kilometre of Great Britain, Ireland and the Isle of Man.

There are currently over 7.5m images from over 14,400 individuals and you can help contribute to the project by visiting https://www.geograph.org.uk

Bournemouth: Royal London House

Image: © Chris Downer Taken: 23 Nov 2007

Named after its former occupants, Royal London Insurance, this building is on the acute corner of Holdenhurst and Christchurch Roads at Image The previous building on the site was the Hotel Metropole, which was bombed on 23 May 1943 with the loss of many lives. Evidently, the enemy had discovered that it was a popular drinking spot with allied (particularly American) soldiers on Sundays during the War. The building now comprises shops on the ground floor (Kentucky Fried Chicken, a sandwich bar, a newsagents and a recently closed branch of the HSBC bank) with offices on the floors above. The University occupied many of these but I am not sure whether it still does; Meridian TV have also broadcast from studios in the building, with the Lansdowne clock tower an instantly recognisable backdrop.

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