Waypoints

1. S : km 0 - alt. 10 m - Early Medieval Southampton: Hamwic, Hamtun, South Hamwic, South Hamtun. Apparently the town could be known by any one of thesse names in the Saxon period. It had relocated from the old Roman settlement at Bitterne in the 7th and 8th centuries to St. Mary's. Here it became an important port and planned town with earthen fortifications - a burh. It was the site of the Wessex royal mint from c.786-858 but lost this to Winchester. Due to its proximity to the latter, which became the capital of England, Hamtun remained very important but suffered from Viking attacks that saw industries move inland. As such, in the 10th century, the town moved again to the site enclosed by the present medieval defences. At the time, the burh only had earth embankments and ditches on the N and E with the sea guarding the other sides. Canute, the first Danish king of England was crowned here and it may have been here where he attempted to command the tides. Shortly after this, it seemed the town was decisively named South Hamtun. Trade was so significant that even prior to the Norman conquest, there were sectors of the town for French and English merchants, marked out by the present French Street and Briton Street.
2. 2 : km 0 - alt. 10 m - Town Walls: Upon the Norman conquest in 1066 a castle was built in Southampton as was common in pre-existing urban centres. However, the town walls were not upgraded until the rebuilding of its gates in stone in the late 12th century. A century later, the N and E walls were replaced in stone but there were still no defences on the other sides so not as to hinder merchant activity. Indeed, Southampton was home to a large wealthy merchant community with over 60 of their houses known. Many traded in England's principal exports - wool and cloth and its imports - wine. Eventually, by the early 14th century, more bastions were added to the pre-existing walls and the circuit along the S and W began to be built. However, the money was mis-spent, leaving large gaps in the defences. Inevitably, at the beginning of the Hundred Years' War, the town was badly pillaged by the French. This triggered a new wave of building, seeing the circuit completed, and the installation of some of the earliest gunports for gunpowder weapons in the country. The town bought its first cannon in 1382. The defences fired on French ships in 1457 but otherwise saw no action, perhaps just as well, as the N and E walls were rather thin with earth defences and a wooden parapet behind the stone walls that collectively would have been unable to stop a cannonball. The walls fell out of use in the 17th century and were gradually sold off. Bargate: Built in c.1180, Bargate is one of the earliest parts of the town defences to be upgraded into stone. Its impressive appearance has been added to over time with cylindrical towers inserted in 1290 and the parapet in the 15th century. Its rooms, one of which at the back was added in the 13th century were primarily the town guildhall but saw use as a jail from the 15th century, court leet meeting place from the 16th, with its judicial functions continuing until 1933 and a police HQ in the 19th century and WW2. The interior has some Georgian and Victorian additions.
3. 3 : km 0.07 - alt. 10 m - Turn right
4. 4 : km 0.14 - alt. 9 m - Orignally, another bastion would have been between the Bargate and this bastion, called the Arundel Tower. The N town wall, and the tower are 13th century while the W wall is 14th century. The tower was given another layer at this time (1377-79) and was named after Sir John Arundel, governor of the castle. Further S is Catchcold Tower of the early 15th century with three gunports, one of the earliest bastions in Europe to be fitted in this way. It was named after Sir John Catchcold who supervised the completion of the wall circuit. S of this are the 40 steps, inserted in 1850.
5. 5 : km 0.24 - alt. 8 m - Turn slight right onto Forest View
6. 6 : km 0.32 - alt. 6 m - From the minor square bastion to the N to the remains of one to the S, this part of town wall doubled up as Southampton Castle's after wall. Southampton Castle was originally built after the conquest as a wooden motte and bailey but was upgraded to stone in the 12th century. It was a royal residence although these were later transferred outside the castle. Nevertheless, it remained important for coastal defence and as a storage centre for royal import, particularly wine. Indeed, in the 12th century, the hall was converted into wine vaults which still exist on the inside of the town wall, complete with a window for passing barrels through directly from the quay. The castle was damaged in the 1338 raid and suffered looting until the 1383-88 when its bailey wall and keep were rebuilt with a barbican added. It remained important until the 16th century when the bailey started being used as a rubbish dump and in 1618, it was sold off to property speculators by the crown and was demolished. The Castle Water Gate, allowing direct access to the quay remains to the S of the hall and cellars, while to the E is a short section of 14th century bailey wall. More of the castle will be seen later in the walk but for now, continue S along the town wall.
7. 7 : km 0.39 - alt. 4 m - Turn right
8. 8 : km 0.4 - alt. 3 m - Turn left
9. 9 : km 0.52 - alt. 4 m - This section of wall, starting at the scanty remains of Biddle's Gate (which originally had another tower between it and the Castle) is called the Arcades. The Arcaded wall was built to link up the backs of Norman houses space apart into one continuous wall. There are two openings in the wall, one of which is Blue Anchor Postern Gate. A postern is essentially a back door into the town directly from the quay. If you briefly go through the gate, to the N are the remains of some of the Norman town houses that backed onto the wall. Immediately to the S is the shell of 'King John's Palace', not actually a palace at all but a wealthy merchant's house dating from c.1170, before John's reign. It contains original wondow frames and a fireplace with a chimney of c.1200 from another medieval house elsewhere in the town. It also has two gunports from the 14th century, in its W (town) wall possibly 1378 an these may be the oldest in the country.
10. 10 : km 0.6 - alt. 3 m - Turn left
11. 11 : km 0.61 - alt. 4 m - The Westgate, with its 16th century gunports above its medieval structure saw the army of Henry V march through it en route to Agincourt in 1415 and the Pilgrim Fathers onto the Mayflower, bound for the New World in 1620. Beyond it are more historical buildings, with the Royal Standard Inn and 9 and 10 (now one house) Westgate Street from the early 19th century sandwiching number 8 from the 18th. To the S is the Tudor Merchants' Hall, from before 1428, several decades before the Tudor era. Originally sited on St. Michael's Square, its ground floor was a fishmarket and upper floor for the cloth trade before falling into disrepair, being bought, then transferred to its present site in 1634.
12. 12 : km 0.62 - alt. 4 m - Turn sharp right onto Westgate Street
13. 13 : km 0.64 - alt. 4 m - Turn right
14. 14 : km 0.68 - alt. 4 m - Turn right
15. 15 : km 0.68 - alt. 4 m - Turn right
16. 16 : km 0.72 - alt. 6 m - Turn right
17. 17 : km 0.74 - alt. 6 m - This section of wall originally had 2 more bastions and a possible postern, but now provides a good vantage point to three memorials. One is a horse trough, erected in 1900 to commemorate a family whose house had stood on the spot, while the drinking fountain of the same year is to Mary Anne Rogers who saved the lives of several passengers on a sinking ship. The tall monument nearby is from 1913 to the Pilgrim Fathers. This section of wall ends in the Bugle Tower, next to 1A Bugle Lane, an Italianate villa from 1846.
18. 18 : km 0.79 - alt. 5 m - Turn left
19. 19 : km 0.83 - alt. 3 m - Turn left onto Town Quay, A33
20. 20 : km 0.86 - alt. 4 m - Turn left
21. 21 : km 0.87 - alt. 4 m - Turn right
22. 22 : km 0.88 - alt. 4 m - The Wool House, built by Cistercian monks shortly after the 1338 raid was, as the name implies, for storing wool and is thus the oldest upstanding warehouse in Southampton. It received a new S front in the 18th century when housing French POWs. The ruins to the SE are of a 15th century house, later used as a corn store.
23. 23 : km 0.9 - alt. 5 m - Turn right
24. 24 : km 0.92 - alt. 5 m - Turn right onto French Street
25. 25 : km 0.92 - alt. 4 m - Turn left
26. 26 : km 1.03 - alt. 4 m - Turn sharp right onto High Street
27. 27 : km 1.1 - alt. 3 m - Turn left onto Winkle Street
28. 28 : km 1.2 - alt. 3 m - A long vanished tower once sat to the S of Winkle street but the town wall is still preserved in the mid 19th century Eastgate Printing Works. Across the street is St. Julian's Church, the last remains of the Hospital of St. Julian or God's House Hospital founded c.1185 as almshouses and a hostel for pilgrims to Canterbury. This church was the hospital chapel and was built in c.1190. The old almshouses were torn down in 1861 and replaced with 1-4 Winkle Road and 5-8 to the NW. Opposite is Tower House, a 19th century building incorporating an earlier 18th century one. It was used as a mortuary due to its proximity to the prison. God's House Gate was named after the Hospital replacing its original name of the Saltmarsh Gate after its late 13th century construction. It was reinforced in the 14th century and was dramatically extended in 1417 with the creation of a two storey spur ending in a three storey tower- God's House Tower. This was both to guard the sluice that controlled the entry of seawater into the town's double ditches and to provide what was essentially a very early artillery fort for 8 cannon. After falling into decay in the 16th century, the tower became a workhouse, jail, mortuary and storage space.
29. 29 : km 1.21 - alt. 3 m - Turn left onto Back of the Walls
30. 30 : km 1.24 - alt. 3 m - This section of 13th century wall ending in a tower runs past a 12th century wall, likely that of God's House Hospital. The warden of the hospital had his own bowling green. Opened in 1299, it is the oldest surviving bowling green in the world and sits just E of here. The Bowling Green House to its N from the mid 19th century is itslef listed.
31. 31 : km 1.34 - alt. 4 m - This section of wall has two sqaure towers, one of which was also the c.1373 reredorter (toilet) for the Franciscan Friary founded in 1233 and dissolved in the 16th century that otherwise has no remains. It had a sophisticated water system that ran for 1.7km and can be seen in other parts of Southampton, completed in 1303, shared with the town in 1310 and fully handed over to the town in 1420. The tower above the reredorter could mount two cannon. There are a series of murals opposite from 1987 that depict the friary's life.
32. 32 : km 1.39 - alt. 4 m - Turn right onto Briton Street
33. 33 : km 1.4 - alt. 4 m - Turn left
34. 34 : km 1.73 - alt. 6 m - The walls are largely demolished here, but their line can be followed. It runs past the distinctive late 19th century warehouse (60, Back of the Walls) with a loading door. N of the junction with Canal Way however, there is a stretch of town wall. There were 6 more bastions and two posterns on the otherwise vanished stretch of E wall.
35. 35 : km 1.82 - alt. 5 m - Turn left onto East Street
36. 36 : km 1.91 - alt. 5 m - Turn left onto Queensway
37. 37 : km 2.02 - alt. 5 m - Enter roundabout
38. 38 : km 2.13 - alt. 7 m - Turn left onto York Buildings
39. 39 : km 2.17 - alt. 7 m - This final section of walls encompass a fragment of E wall and three bastions along the N. The NE corner tower is the Polymond Tower, named after John Polymond who with Catchcold supervised the completion of the walls. The arrow slits of the bastions were later replaced with gunports. The gap in the wall is for the later York Gate of 1769 which was demolished in 1961.
40. 40 : km 2.27 - alt. 9 m - Turn left onto Hanover Buildings
41. 41 : km 2.31 - alt. 11 m - Keep left onto Above Bar Street
42. 42 : km 2.35 - alt. 10 m - Keep left
43. 43 : km 2.35 - alt. 10 m - Keep left
44. 44 : km 2.46 - alt. 9 m - W of the Bargate are largely demolished 1930s shops while 6 High Street to their S is mid 19th century. Across the road to the SE are two former banks of 1900 - one now a jewellers, the other a Chinese restaurant. 15-17 are mock Georgian shops from 1948-52, 19-21 are from 1937 in a classical design. S of this is the Star Hotel with a coach arch telling you that it takes 10 hours to get to London by horse drawn carriage. The 3 lower storeys are pre-1800 while the upper one is from the 1830s. Adjoining this is the Standing Order pub, in a building of 1930 but its N wall incorporates the remains of the medieval St. Lawrence's Church. Next along is a former bank of 1940. Abutting this is the Dolhpin Hotel whose 1760 facade and fittings mask the 16th century buildings behind it and in its yard. The streetlamps either side of the carriageway are from the 19th century. On the opposite side of the street is Lankester's Vault, the vault of a merchant's house from c.1300. Back on the other side of the street and next to the Dolphin is the purpose built shop known as Woolwich House, constructed in the 1850s. The ruins of Holyrood Church, constructed c.1320 and partly rebuilt c.1850 was bombed in the blitz and restored to its present condition in 1957 as a memorial to merchant seamen, many of whom sailed from Southampton. Separately, in the tower is a 1912 memorial to the victims of the Titanic. Across the road is a bank of 1867.
45. 45 : km 2.64 - alt. 7 m - Turn left onto High Street
46. 46 : km 2.75 - alt. 6 m - On the crossroads, there are several listed buildings including numbers 4, 6 and 8 St. Michael's Street. 4 is a mid 19th century industrial building while 6 and 8, together with 126 High Street are commercial buildings from the 1870s. Next door are gothic Holy Rood Chambers from the same time as are numbers 123 and 124, once a fish market and still containing nautically themed tiles. Across the road is the Red Lion Inn, a late 15th century wooden building hidden behind a 20th century imitation exterior. There are plenty of 16th century fittings within. It is built over a vault of an earlier house which may have held the court that tried the Southampton Plotters of 1415 who were planning to usurp and possibly kill Henry V before he left for Agincourt. Their plan was discovered and all the plotters were beheaded outside the Bargate. Next door is a Flemish style building of 1890, a theme continued with the 1894 Post Office beyond. Below the latter is another medieval vault from the 14th century. There are three more medieval vaults further down the road - at the junction with Briton Street, on the turning with Gloucester Square and a little to the N of the Quilter's Vault group at the former number 94. This particular vault had a well, fireplace and a lobby with windows and probably acted as a warehouse for storing wine and other commodities.
47. 47 : km 2.98 - alt. 4 m - Turn right
48. 48 : km 3.07 - alt. 4 m - There are a plethora of medieval remains here. To the N in the school yard is the last remaining wall of the Church of St. John while the ruins surrounding you are those of a medieval merchant's house. To the S are the imposing ruins of King Canute's Palace, which, just like that of John, is a merchant's house. Its western gable stands to its full late 12th century height, complete with a window while the upper E room may have been a counting house or business room. To the NE of Canute's Palace are several medieval vaults. The most impressive, the covered Quilter's Vault is divided in two and contains a fireplace and windows. Vaults were trademarks of merchant houses and were usually shops. Quilter's vault, revealed by the blitz, being formerly the cellar of 89 High Street is late 13th century while that of 90 to the N is c.1300 and number 91 is a little later. S of Canute's Palace is a rare Victorian warehouse from 1866 - Geddes Warehouse which incorporates the medieval wall and Seaway House from c.1860 which abuts onto the S gate - Watergate. Watergate is predominantly 14th century but has 15th century extensions to the N and a tower to the W from the same time. Two latrines are still visible. Outside the gate are two K6 telephone boxes of 1935.
49. 49 : km 3.09 - alt. 4 m - Turn right onto French Street
50. 50 : km 3.15 - alt. 6 m - The small Mission House dates from 1901 while the school is from ten years later. In between these, within the school grounds is the 13th century Weigh House, where the royal Weigh beam was kept to weigh imports and exports. By the 15th century, this was the task of the Earl of Derby and the doorway onto French Street was built at the same time. Just N under the playground is the building's vault from the 14th century. The front part of it was likely used as a shop. Across the road to the SE is the gable end of a medieval building with a reconstructed glass window. Directly across from the Weigh House are numbers 88 and 90 - a warehouse of 1903.
51. 51 : km 3.23 - alt. 8 m - Dating from c.1290, the Medieval Merchant's House may be the oldest complete medieval house in England. Its ground floor contained a hall, while the upper floor had bedrooms. It also had a cellar and originally a yard with stairs, latrine and lock up shop. It suffered slight bomb damage in WW2 which revealed the vaults to its N. Some medieval era changes had occurred in the intervening period. To the N, under a block of flats are a pair of tunnel vaults, both with blocked spiral stairways. The S one is 15th century while the N is late 13th or early 14th.
52. 52 : km 3.34 - alt. 9 m - Turn slight left onto Castle Way
53. 53 : km 3.36 - alt. 9 m - St. Michael's Church is the oldest building in medieval Southampton, with the base of the tower and part of the nave's W wall dating from 1070, just four years after the Norman conquest. It was added to numerous times during the medieval period, with lecterns, piscinas, tombs and a font surviving from the following few centuries. The steeple was constructed in 1732 to provide a landmark for ships. At 50m, this makes the Church the twelfth tallest building in Southampton, above all university buildings except Mayflower Halls which are 3m higher. There is a late medieval vault under the NW corner of St. Michael's while there are a further two slightly to its N, probably used for storage.
54. 54 : km 3.42 - alt. 9 m - Turn left onto Castle Way
55. 55 : km 3.55 - alt. 10 m - The remains of the gatehouse with flanking towers and the large curving curtain wall belong to the outer bailey of Southampton Castle that was reconstructed in the 1380s. Outside the Castle Land Gate are two K6 telephone kiosk of 1935. Inside the former castle area are two listed buildings - the County Court of 1851-53 and the late 18th century Lansdowne House.
56. 56 : km 3.62 - alt. 10 m - Turn left onto Albion Place
57. 57 : km 3.65 - alt. 10 m - Turn left
58. 58 : km 3.68 - alt. 10 m - Turn right
59. 59 : km 3.74 - alt. 9 m - Turn slight right onto Castle Square
60. 60 : km 3.82 - alt. 8 m - Turn slight right onto Upper Bugle Street
61. 61 : km 3.9 - alt. 8 m - On the corner of Simnel Street is the Undercroft (which may have been a ground floor) of an early 14th century house, this floor used as a shop. It has rib vaults with two faces (one possibly of Jesus) a 15th century brick floor. It is the most elaborately decorated medieval vault in Southampton, and as you'll have seen on this walk, there are rather a lot. Incidentally, the buildings above it from 1902 were the first brick built council houses in Southampton. To its S is St. Michael's Square, which is surrounded by historical buildings. On the N side are number 8 and the parish hall, both of the early 19th century. These and a building to the E all have medieval vaults beneath them, the two outer ones with latrine shafts. They are all likely of the late 14th century or c.1400.
62. 62 : km 3.92 - alt. 8 m - In the middle of the sqaure is a gas lamp of c.1821, with the ladder rung and lamp since replaced in the 20th century. On the S side of the square, from E-W are 12th century vaults and part of a wall from a merchant house next to number 4. The latter also incorporates some 14th century walls but is otherwise 19th century. Number 5 is a timber building dating to the 16th century at the latest, while 6 is a former club built in 1870. On the corner is 48 Bugle Street, dating from the late 18th century. On the W side of the square is the fabulous Tudor House, built around a 14th century hall. Most of the house and its fittings come from 1492-1518 although there are some later additions. It is built over 5 medieval vaults. In its garden is an arch moved from St. Denys Priory, rebuilt after the French raid in 1338 but dissolved in the 1530s. Also present are two pedestals originally sited in front of the Bargate in 1743. Next door is the 18th century 59 Bugle Street.
63. 63 : km 3.96 - alt. 8 m - On the E side is St. Joseph's Catholic Church built in the 1840s and altered in the 1880s. Across the road are a series of historic buildings: N-S are Bugle House from the early 19th century, built in a Greek style; number 51 is a16th century timber building refronted in the 18th, 49 is from the 17th century and altered in the 18th, 47 has a mid 18th century facade but is an older house of uncertain date, but it may be from the 16th or 17th century, 45 certainly is 16th century but has upper floor windows added in the 18th. Finally, number 43 looks and is from the 18th century, but does have some later alterations. Opposite are numbers 38-42 from the early 19th century. S of this is the Duke of Wellington Pub which sits on the foundations and cellars of a house of c.1220 owned by Benedict Ace, Mayor of Southampton from 1237-45. The house was badly damaged in the 1338 raid and the subsequent building constructed over it in 1494 and named the Bere House. It became a public house after the Battle of Waterloo. Further S down the road is number 15 - a chapel of c.1900, followed by numbers 11 and 13 - an impressive mid 18th century building retaining many original fittings. Number 8 further S is from the early 19th century, as are the parapetted numbers 1 and 3. This concludes today's walk, looking out towards Southampton's industrial era docks, a period of time that would dramatically transform the town away from its medieval past.
64. E : km 4.17 - alt. 4 m

Useful Information

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