If one were to think of an historic port city and a spa town of renown, Southampton would not be the first place to spring to mind. Heavily bombed in WWll, it isn’t pretty. However, it is now the cruise capital of the U.K. and we found some interesting historic corners to explore before we sailed to other climes.

Southampton is dominated by the giant West Quay shopping centre, home to, amongst others, a giant John Lewis and a glossy Apple shop.

Our bus dropped us in their shadow, an easy 10 minute walk away to our handily placed Ibis Hotel where our room offered a fine view of a massive IKEA and a McDonald’s.

Southampton has always been an important port with trade throughout Europe from medieval times whilst boats also departed for the rich Newfoundland fishing grounds.

More recently, the Titanic sailed from the city on 10th April 1912, only to sink on April 15th with the loss of 1,496 people. The city was badly affected with 549 of the crew having been recruited there in the week prior to sailing.

The Titanic Walk

We decided to follow the Titanic Walk on the useful GoJauntly app which started at the Musicians’ Memorial, a simple white marble plaque. The central section depicted a grieving woman and the first few notes from Nearer My God to Thee, which they supposedly played as the ship sank.

Just across the road at the edge of leafy East Park, we found the Engineers’ Memorial with a huge angel statue and then walked south to the Civic Centre.

Within a lofty entrance hall there is a memorial to the postal and telegraph workers on the Titanic and a Book of Remembrance to those who came from the city. A model of the R.M.S. Andes is nearby – this was also built by Harland and Wolff.

For those with more time, just behind the Centre is the SeaCity Museum which delves into the Titanic story in greater depth, as well as covering the history of the city and its people.

Bargate marks the old entrance to the city and has a pair of handsome lions to its outside and a 1605 watch bell. We passed through its arches and continued down the High Street, passing the old Dolphin Hotel where Jane Austin once danced.

A little beyond, there is an anchor from the old QE2 which was given to the city upon its retirement in 2008. It is near the Sailors Church of Holy Rood; dating back to the 1330’s, it was heavily bombed in WWll and today is an empty shell dedicated to merchant seamen.

In one corner, a marble fountain is a memorial to the crew, stewards, sailors and firemen of the Titanic. Don’t miss the Quarter-Jacks who strike the hours and quarters with a battle axe on the outside of the tower – they are about 300 years old and survived the bombing.

We detoured slightly here to see the old Merchant’s House on French Street. This dates back to 1290 and was built as both a residence and business premises for John Fortin, a wealthy merchant who imported wines from Bordeaux.

Outside, the original shop shutters can be seen, whilst the cosy wooden framed interior shows how the medieval house may once have looked.

Back on the walk, it led us into Oxford Street, an attractive street of old houses with bow fronted windows. The Sailors Home dates back to 1909 and was used for sailors accommodation.

Handy for those sailors, a few doors down, one finds the Grapes, a popular pub with rooms dating back to the 1850’s where many of the Titanic crew drank, including the three Slade brothers who famously missed the boat.

The old railway station stands at the end of the street, just past the picturesque London Hotel. It is now a casino.

The first class passengers stayed at the adjacent South Western House, then a smart hotel. Around the corner on Canute Road, lies Canute Chambers, which were the Southampton offices of the White Star Line. It was here that people gathered to hear news of their loved ones and the survivors names were pinned to the railings.

Backtracking a little, we came to Dock Gate 4 and the Ocean Dock. Once the White Star Dock, it was from here that the Titanic departed and there is a memorial at the gate.

The old post office, which once sorted the Titanic mail, is now apartments. The last stop was the Gatti Memorial, an oak table within St. Joseph’s church dedicated to all the restaurant workers who died.

This was unfortunately closed and we decided to call it a day at the Dancing Man Brewery. A 14th century wool storage house, this is now a popular pub with a decent menu. The white pavilion opposite was once the entrance to the Royal Pier and is now an Indian restaurant.

The Walls Walk

The following day, we decided to continue our explorations of Southampton, this time on the Walls Walk. The walls came about due to the dastardly French who ransacked the town in 1338. Annoyed by the loss of his wine and goods, Edward lll ordered that a large encircling wall should be built to protect the town.

Only limited sections of this still survive, mostly on the western side. We started at the 1180 Bargate and walked westwards on an elevated walkway to Arundel Tower which gave us a good view of all the shopping outlets.

Catchcold Tower just below was a 15th century addition and was last used to house an anti aircraft gun in WWll. The walk is quite elevated here although it was difficult to visualise the River Test once running below the walls; the land was reclaimed in the 1920s.

Following the wall we came upon the old site of Jane Austin’s home from 1807-09. A mock Tudor pub, now apartments, stands on the spot; it was once next to Southampton Castle which was demolished in 1815.

Its vaults once held the Kings wine: one out of every ten barrels went to the King and the old 1400 Watergate gave access to the cellars.

Mr Martin’s Baths and the Assembly Rooms were near Simnel Street which leads up to the jolly Titanic Pub and around to St Michael’s Church which is built around the original 11th century tower.

It has a few interesting things inside: medieval monuments, a 12th century black marble font from Tournai and a 14th century brass lecturn, the oldest in the country and unfortunately occupied by the priest whilst we were there.

It survived the bombing of WWll although not the windows: only those in the Lady Chapel are original. The spire dates back to the 15th century but was rebuilt in 1732 and then heightened in order to guide shops in the 1870’s. I also liked the Jacobean cupboard nestling behind the font – I’d love it for my kitchen!

In the square outside there is the Tudor House and Garden which is open to visitors. We followed Blue Anchor Lane along it’s side back to the old West Quay at Biddle’s Gate.

A section of red brick wall on the opposite side of the road displays WWll American graffiti; 3.5 million Allied service men passed through the city from D-Day onwards.

The Arcades here were once the entrances to warehouses that were lost when the walls were erected and there are boat and keel models at their edge.

Westgate once stood at the end of the walls: Henry Vth and his armies marched through here on their way to victory at Agincourt in 1415 and in 1620 the occupants of the Mayflower and her sister ship, the Speedwell, left for America.

Westgate Hall dates back to the early 1400’s and once stood in St. Michael’s Square. It was a cloth selling hall and was moved to its present location in 1634.

There is a marble monument to Mary Anne Rogers, a stewardess on the Stella who went down with her ship in true heroic British fashion in 1899, proclaiming Lord Have Me!

The tall Mayflower memorial, topped with a jaunty ship, is largely hidden behind a nearby tree. We crossed the road and wandered back along the waterfront. The tall silhouette of the Queen Mary 2 was visible above a Belgian frigate; we were shortly to board her for a crossing to New York.

NOTES

We stayed at the centrally located Ibis Hotel: train and coach stations are only a 10 minutes walk, as are the West Quay shopping centre and the town centre. Simple rooms start at £60.