Geotype Submission

The Geotype project charts the rich history of lettering and type forms that have established the identity of cities and towns around the world. Explore the map

How does this letter-form communicate its location?

Called the ‘Old Bonded Warehouse', this building was built before 1795. The structure of the building resembles a swiss chalet but is considered to have strong culture, illustrative and aesthetic values as it represents a lost building type for Southampton. Such stores of this structure were common around this time period. In 1820, it was used as a builders store and later was seen as a malt house but presently used as a co-working space. The typography on the structure looks to be stencilled or hand painted due to the close letters as the brick gets narrow. Around the arch there seems to be multiple layers of weathered paint, showing that this structure had multiple purposes throughout its life. A lot of the lettering seems to have worn away but the ‘old bond store’ wording seems strong. Being sat on an arch, makes me think that this was used as advertising / branding purposes.

Location

Back of the Walls, Southampton SO14 3BH, UK