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Jun 14, 700
Saxon Southampton
The Saxon king, Ine, built a new town on the other side of the Itchen about 690-700 AD. It stood where St Marys church is today. The new town was called Hamwic or Hamtun. It was a large and important port. It is estimated that the population of the Saxon town was 4,000-5,000, which was very large, by Saxon standards. The new town was laid out with streets on a grid pattern like the old Roman town, but all the buildings in it were of wood. In Saxon Southampton craftsmen made things like needles -
Jun 14, 1400
Southampton in the 15th century
In the late 15th century, for various reasons, the Italian trade went into a steep decline and it ceased altogether in the early 16th century. Worse, in the 15th century Southampton was the only port in England from which lead and tin could legally be exported. Southampton lost this monopoly in 1531. At first Southampton was able to compensate. The wine trade with France flourished after the end of the hundred years war in 1453. Furthermore English kings made commercial treaties with Spain and -
Jun 14, 1500
Southampton in the 16th Century
In order to help the port in 1554 it was decreed that Malmsey wine, from France, could only be imported through Southampton. In 1567, after much complaining, the rules were changed. Other ports were allowed to import it but only if they charged a tariff, half of which went to Southampton Corporation. In 1541 a visitor said Southampton had 'many fair merchants houses' and the High Street was 'one of the fairest in all England for timber buildings'. In 1552 another person wrote 'The town is hands -
Southampton in the 18th century
Then in 1750 Prince Frederick went bathing in the sea at Southampton. He liked it so much he returned again the same year. Although he died the next year his 3 sons came to visit the town. Soon many rich visitors followed. People believed that bathing in seawater could heal many diseases. In 1762 Southampton was called: 'one of the prettiest and healthiest towns in England, it is rather extensive and well populated and possesses several fine houses'. Furthermore Southampton began to recover as -
Southampton in the 19th century
During the Napoleonic wars Southampton prospered because of the soldiers passing through on their way abroad. They spent lots of money in the town. Furthermore by the early 19th century the port was booming again. Timber was imported form the Baltic, grain from Ireland and Eastern England. Coal, slate and building stone were brought from Scotland. Also wine and fruit were imported into Southampton from Portugal and Spain. On the other hand Southampton lost its position as a seaside resort to B -
20th century southampton
Meanwhile the civic centre was built between 1932 and 1939. In 1938 a new sports centre was opened at Bassett. During World War II Southampton 631 people were killed by bombs. More than 4,000 houses were destroyed as well as many shops in the High Street and above Bar. About 11,000 houses were seriously damage. After the war Southampton was left with a severe housing shortage and some people were forced to live in old army huts. In the late 1940's the council erected prefabs to house people tem -
Roman Southampton
About 70 AD the Romans built a town on a bend in the River Itchen, where Bitterne now stands. The Roman town was called Clausentum. The streets were laid out in a grid pattern and they were gravelled. All the buildings in the Roman town were, at first, built of wood but in the 2nd century wealthy people rebuilt their houses in stone. They had panes of glass in the windows, painted murals on the walls and mosaic floors. Of course, poor people could afford none of these things. -
Southampton Now
Southampton is a large city with around 250 000 people living here. It has a large shopping centre called west quay and a brand new ikea. -
21st century southampton
In 2000 a new shopping centre between Western Esplanade and West Quay Road opened. Today the population of Southampton is 208,000.
