Bassett | |
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Bassett's neighbourhood shops on Winchester Road |
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Bassett shown within Southampton | |
Area | 4.53 km2 (1.75 sq mi) |
Population | 14,532 (2001 & 2011 Census.Ward) |
• Density | 3,208/km2 (8,310/sq mi) |
Unitary authority | |
Ceremonial county | |
Region | |
Country | England |
Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
Post town | SOUTHAMPTON |
Postcode district | SO15 |
Dialling code | 023 |
Police | Hampshire |
Fire | Hampshire |
Ambulance | South Central |
EU Parliament | South East England |
UK Parliament | |
Bassett is a suburb and electoral ward of the City of Southampton, England. The suburb lies to the north of the city centre and is largely residential, including the University of Southampton's Glen Eyre Halls of residence complex (including Chamberlain), which houses around 2,100 students. Bassett gives its name to part of the A33 arterial road which links the city centre to the M3, described by Pevsner & Lloyd as "part of the splendid tree-lined route into Southampton from Winchester, London and the north". The highest point in the City of Southampton (its "county top") lies on Bassett Avenue at a height of 82 metres (269 ft) above sea level.
Bassett Ward comprises Bassett, Bassett Green and Lordswood. It had a population of 14,532 at the 2011 census.
A family named 'Basset' is known to have lived in South Stoneham in the 15th century, and the place name may be from their name. The area broadly occupied by Bassett today was known as Stoneham Common, shown on the 1791 map by Thomas Milne on which 'Bassets Lane' also appears (without any associated village). The village of Bassett appears on a 1810 map, located roughly where Bassett Green Village is today. In the late 18th century it grew as a retreat for rich people outside (and away from civic responsibilities in) the borough of Southampton. By the time of the Ordnance Survey of 1897, Basset had been renamed Bassett Green (with a double 't'), and a more westerly area (west of Bassett Wood) was identified as Bassett.
By the late 19th century, Bassett consisted of many substantial villas occupied by the middle classes. Despite having the appearance of a well-to-do district on the edge of the town, Revd. Elliott Kenworthy-Browne (rector of North Stoneham from 1886 to 1912) observed that three-quarters of the population of 800 were poor, chiefly mechanics and labourers.