South Western House

South Western House, completed in 1872, was designed by architect John Norton. Originally the South Western Hotel, it was commissioned by the London and South Western Railway to accommodate liner passengers. The building is constructed in the French Renaissance style, occupying a corner site with a long frontage to Canute Road and a shorter frontage to Terminus Terrace. It consists of four main storeys and two attic storeys, built of red brick with stuccoed dressings and a rusticated ground floor. The roof is a high mansard, with a raised two-storey central section. The Terminus Road elevation features eleven windows, while the Canute Road elevation has sixteen. Corinthian pilasters are positioned between the first and second floors, topped by a modillion cornice. The first, third, and attic storey windows have cambered heads; the second-floor windows have flat arches, and the attic windows are oculi. Ground-floor windows are round-headed. The final seven bays of the Canute Road elevation extend with an additional main storey, culminating in a curved pediment featuring a medallion depicting Queen Victoria, flanked by winged figures and emblems related to railways and the sea. Inside, the entrance foyer and hall are notable for their marble columns and wall panelling, a high moulded ceiling, and four elliptical oil paintings above the door openings.