John William Newcombe (1856-1924) was a successful property agent in the Leicestershire town of Market Harborough, later extending his activities to other midland towns. He founded the Newcombe Estates Company in 1905 and expanded its operations into the London suburbs and other southern towns and cities. In 1905 the company bought land in the Polygon area of Southampton and the adjoining Terrace House estate. The next few years saw the company laying out streets and selling off plots of land for the building of moderate sized houses, for which there was then a growing demand in Southampton. Newcombe's company also built the Central Baptist Church at the junction of Kenilworth and Devonshire Roads, providing the land and building costs at a discount. The names of many of the new roads reflect the firm’s Midlands connections, including Coventry, Kenilworth and Harborough Roads, while Newcombe Road was named after the founder of the company.

John William Newcombe

Image Unavailable

Photograph, c.1900


Newspaper clippings (available from the Local Studies Library):

"The Newcombe connection" - (Southern Evening Echo, 30/09/1983). Article about Newcombe's business career, with details of his building works in Southampton. Traces his descendants to the Newcombe Estates Company.


Further reading:

More Stories of Southampton Streets, by A. G. K. Leonard, p18-22. (HS/h)


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