Southampton Castle was located in the town of
Southampton
Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...
in Hampshire, England. Constructed after the
Norman conquest of England
The Norman Conquest (or the Conquest) was the 11th-century invasion and occupation of England by an army made up of thousands of Normans, Norman, French people, French, Flemish people, Flemish, and Bretons, Breton troops, all led by the Du ...
, it was located in the north-west corner of the town overlooking the
River Test
The River Test is a chalk stream in Hampshire in the south of England. It rises at Ashe near Basingstoke and flows southwards for to Southampton Water. Settlements on the Test include the towns of Stockbridge and Romsey. The river's vall ...
, initially as a wooden
motte and bailey
A motte-and-bailey castle is a European fortification with a wooden or stone keep situated on a raised area of ground called a motte, accompanied by a walled courtyard, or bailey, surrounded by a protective ditch and palisade. Relatively easy ...
design. By the late 12th century the royal castle had been largely converted to stone, playing an important part in the wine trade conducted through the Southampton docks. By the end of the 13th century the castle was in decline, but the threat of French raids in the 1370s led
Richard II
Richard II (6 January 1367 – ), also known as Richard of Bordeaux, was King of England from 1377 until he was deposed in 1399. He was the son of Edward, Prince of Wales (later known as the Black Prince), and Joan, Countess of Kent. R ...
to undertake extensive rebuilding. The result was a powerfully defended castle, one of the first in England to be equipped with
cannon
A cannon is a large-caliber gun classified as a type of artillery, which usually launches a projectile using explosive chemical propellant. Gunpowder ("black powder") was the primary propellant before the invention of smokeless powder during th ...
. The castle declined again in the 16th century and was sold off to property speculators in 1618. After being used for various purposes, including the construction of a
Gothic mansion in the early 19th century, the site was flattened and largely redeveloped. Only a few elements of the castle still remain visible in Southampton.
History
11th–13th centuries
Southampton Castle was first constructed in the late 11th century, at some point after the
Norman conquest of England
The Norman Conquest (or the Conquest) was the 11th-century invasion and occupation of England by an army made up of thousands of Normans, Norman, French people, French, Flemish people, Flemish, and Bretons, Breton troops, all led by the Du ...
. Southampton at this time was a relatively large town, but not as significant as in the later medieval period. The royal castle was erected within the existing town on the site of a probable large English hall, and considerable damage was caused to the surrounding local buildings as space was opened up for the new fortification.
[Drage, p.119; Ottaway, p.171; Liddiard, p.19.] The town of Southampton was protected by water on most sides, surrounded by protective ditches and banks, and the castle was built on rising ground in the north-west corner of the town, overlooking the mouth of the
River Test
The River Test is a chalk stream in Hampshire in the south of England. It rises at Ashe near Basingstoke and flows southwards for to Southampton Water. Settlements on the Test include the towns of Stockbridge and Romsey. The river's vall ...
, an important medieval waterway. The initial castle was a timber
motte and bailey
A motte-and-bailey castle is a European fortification with a wooden or stone keep situated on a raised area of ground called a motte, accompanied by a walled courtyard, or bailey, surrounded by a protective ditch and palisade. Relatively easy ...
design, with a motte across; at least some of the bailey walls were rebuilt in stone during the first half of the 12th century. The wealthiest parts of Southampton were in the west of the town, just to the south of the castle, with some of the poorest districts just beyond the castle to the north-east.
[Brown (1999), p.156.] The castle was positioned so as to adjoin the town's quays.
During the years of
the Anarchy
The Anarchy was a civil war in England and Duchy of Normandy, Normandy between 1138 and 1153, which resulted in a widespread breakdown in law and order. The conflict was a war of succession precipitated by the accidental death of William Adel ...
, in which the
Empress Matilda
Empress Matilda (10 September 1167), also known as Empress Maud, was one of the claimants to the English throne during the civil war known as the Anarchy. The daughter and heir of Henry I, king of England and ruler of Normandy, she went to ...
and
Stephen
Stephen or Steven is an English given name, first name. It is particularly significant to Christianity, Christians, as it belonged to Saint Stephen ( ), an early disciple and deacon who, according to the Book of Acts, was stoned to death; he is w ...
fought for control of England, the castle was held by
William le Gros, the bishop of Winchester and supporter of Stephen.
[White, p.7.] When
Henry II
Henry II may refer to:
Kings
* Saint Henry II, Holy Roman Emperor (972–1024), crowned King of Germany in 1002, of Italy in 1004 and Emperor in 1014
*Henry II of England (1133–89), reigned from 1154
*Henry II of Jerusalem and Cyprus (1271–1 ...
came to the throne in 1153, he took back the castle and took steps to improve the condition of Southampton castle, as part of his attempt to improve the general standard of security in the south.
[ At this time, Southampton was considered a key fortification, classed alongside other important castles such as the ]Tower of London
The Tower of London, officially His Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress of the Tower of London, is a historic citadel and castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London, England. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamle ...
, Windsor, Oxford
Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town.
The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...
, Lincoln and Winchester
Winchester (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in Hampshire, England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government Districts of England, district, at the western end of the South Downs N ...
.
By the second half of the 12th century, Southampton Castle was valued more for its role in coastal defence and as a coastal base for operations on the continent than for its value in ensuring internal security.[Pounds, p.152.] Following the threat of French invasion in the 1170s, Henry II invested modest additional resources in the castle, and in 1187 the wooden keep was converted into a stone shell-keep. John
John is a common English name and surname:
* John (given name)
* John (surname)
John may also refer to:
New Testament
Works
* Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John
* First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John
* Second E ...
increased spending on the castle during his reign.[ Royal visits to Southampton were quite common, and additional royal accommodation, called the King's House, was built outside the castle.
Southampton was an important trading port in the 12th century, with trade routes to ]Normandy
Normandy (; or ) is a geographical and cultural region in northwestern Europe, roughly coextensive with the historical Duchy of Normandy.
Normandy comprises Normandy (administrative region), mainland Normandy (a part of France) and insular N ...
, the Levant
The Levant ( ) is the subregion that borders the Eastern Mediterranean, Eastern Mediterranean sea to the west, and forms the core of West Asia and the political term, Middle East, ''Middle East''. In its narrowest sense, which is in use toda ...
and Gascony
Gascony (; ) was a province of the southwestern Kingdom of France that succeeded the Duchy of Gascony (602–1453). From the 17th century until the French Revolution (1789–1799), it was part of the combined Province of Guyenne and Gascon ...
.[Mackenzie, p.212.] The castle played an important role in this trade, in part forming a warehouse for the king's imports, this process being managed by a Crown Bailiff. Royal purchases of wine were particularly important for the castle, being stored and distributed to royal properties across the south of England. The former castle hall was turned into a subterranean vault in the 13th century, probably for storing wine.
14th–15th centuries
By 1300, Southampton was a major port and a large provincial town, with a population of around 5,000. In 1338 there was a successful French attack on Southampton, burning various buildings down and damaging the castle.[Ottaway, p.171; ]
Southampton HER MSH23
'' Heritage Gateway, accessed 20 January 2011. Edward III
Edward III (13 November 1312 – 21 June 1377), also known as Edward of Windsor before his accession, was King of England from January 1327 until his death in 1377. He is noted for his military success and for restoring royal authority after t ...
responded by improving the quality of the town defences, including building walls along the old ditch and bank defences, and particularly focusing on improving the west side of the town, but little work appears to have been done to improve the castle itself.[ By the middle of the 14th century, Southampton Castle sat alongside of town walls, although the castle and the walls were kept administratively separate.]
In 1370 the French made a successful attack on Portsmouth
Portsmouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. Most of Portsmouth is located on Portsea Island, off the south coast of England in the Solent, making Portsmouth the only city in En ...
, commencing a new sequence of raids along the English coast.[Emery, p.284.] In due course first Edward, then Richard
Richard is a male given name. It originates, via Old French, from compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic language">Proto-Germanic ''*rīk-'' 'ruler, leader, king' and ''*hardu-'' 'strong, brave, hardy', and it therefore means 'st ...
, responded with a new building programme of castles, including work at Southampton, where the castle was in a poor condition, owing in part to the theft of building materials, including stone and lead, by the citizens of the town. Henry Yevele and architect William Wynford rebuilt the keep from 1378 to 1382, whilst additional defences were added between 1383 and 1388, including a barbican and a protective mantlet wall. Thomas Tredynton was appointed to the castle as the chaplain, being paid an unusually high wage of £10 a year, reflecting his other skills as a military engineer. Southampton Castle was equipped with its first cannon
A cannon is a large-caliber gun classified as a type of artillery, which usually launches a projectile using explosive chemical propellant. Gunpowder ("black powder") was the primary propellant before the invention of smokeless powder during th ...
in 1382, making it one of the first castles in the country to be so equipped.[Pounds, p.253.] At this time cannon were still unreliable, only capable of reaching relatively short ranges and required the construction of specialist gunports; once again, the decision was driven by the fears of French attack.[ An "expert in guns and the management of artillery" was retained during the 15th century to manage the new weaponry.
After the scare of 1457, when French troops successfully attacked the town of ]Sandwich
A sandwich is a Dish (food), dish typically consisting variously of meat, cheese, sauces, and vegetables used as a filling between slices of bread, or placed atop a slice of bread; or, more generally, any dish in which bread serves as a ''co ...
on the south coast, Southampton Castle was once again put on alert, and one of Henry VI's more "dependable captains", Nicholas Carew, was given control of the castle for life. Despite investment in the castle declining, the antiquarian John Leland could describe the new keep in the early 16th century as being "the glory of the castle, both large and fair and very strong, both by works and by the site of it".
16th–19th centuries
The castle began a second period of decline in the 16th century.
Southampton HER MSH23
'' Heritage Gateway, accessed 20 January 2011. After 1518, no more money was spent repairing the castle.[ The inner bailey became used first as a rubbish tip, then for ]small-scale agriculture
A smallholding or smallholder is a small farm operating under a small-scale agriculture model. Definitions vary widely for what constitutes a smallholder or small-scale farm, including factors such as size, food production technique or technolo ...
.[ By 1585, the castle was "very ruynaise and in greete decaye".][ In contrast to many royal castles, Southampton Castle was never converted into a gaol, with Southampton's two prisons instead being built in the town at the Bargate and on Fish Street. In 1618 James I sold the castle to property speculators; it was then sold on to George Gollop, a local merchant, and a ]windmill
A windmill is a machine operated by the force of wind acting on vanes or sails to mill grain (gristmills), pump water, generate electricity, or drive other machinery.
Windmills were used throughout the high medieval and early modern period ...
was subsequently built on the motte. The castle played no role in the subsequent English Civil War
The English Civil War or Great Rebellion was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Cavaliers, Royalists and Roundhead, Parliamentarians in the Kingdom of England from 1642 to 1651. Part of the wider 1639 to 1653 Wars of th ...
, although some of the masonry was used to strengthen the town walls in 1650.[ Two of the entrances to the castle, Southgate and Castle Eastgate, were demolished in the late 18th century; and the remaining castle buildings fell into significant disrepair.][
Several short-lived buildings were later constructed on top of the motte. The first of these around the turn of the 19th century was a banqueting house constructed by Lord Stafford. In 1808 John Petty, 2nd Marquess of Lansdowne built a mansion in a Gothic style on top of the motte using some of the stone remains of the old keep; it became known as Landsdowne Castle, providing famous views across the town. Landsdowne Castle was pulled down in either 1815 or 1818, and most of the motte was subsequently flattened.
From the late 19th century onwards the castle site was subject to considerable development.][ A new road – Upper Bugle Street – was built through the old bailey site, and various local council buildings constructed.][ Development continued after the ]Second World War
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, in which large parts of the city around the castle were significantly damaged by bombing.[
]
Today
Only fragments of the medieval castle survive today, with most of the original site covered by modern buildings and dominated by the block of flats built in 1962 over the remaining part of the castle motte.[Emery, p.292.] A sequence of archaeological investigations between 1973 and 1983 excavated around 10% of the total castle area, and more limited work has occurred since, including a "watching brief" excavation carried out in Forest View road in 2001.
The castle hall, Castle Vault, Castle Watergate and the foundations of the garderobe tower were incorporated into the Town's city walls and still survive and are viewable as part of the Walk the Town Walls walking route. The hall can be viewed from above from a metal gantry and information panels provide the story of the site. Visitors can go inside the Castle Vault as part of guided tours run throughout the year or for special events including the Heritage Open Days events. Additionally, the castle gateway remains at foundation level as does sections of the southern and northern bailey walls, the latter of which stands to 20 feet high as the removal of the earth banks against these walls has exposed the foundation piers of these walls which are the prominent feature of the curtain wall.[
As part of Southampton's bid to be named UK City of Culture in 2025, the city council announced a £6.7 million package of restoration and repairs to monuments across the city including the Castle.]
See also
* Castles in Great Britain and Ireland
* List of castles in England
Notes
References
Bibliography
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Stephen and Matilda: the Civil War of 1139–53.
' Stroud, UK: The History Press. .
*Brown, Duncan. (1999) "Class and rubbish," in Funari, Hall and Jones (eds) 1999, chapter 9, pages 151–163.
*Brown, R. Allen. (1962) ''English Castles.'' London: Batsford.
*Danziger, Danny and John Gillingham. (2003)
1215: The Year of Magna Carta
'' London: Coronet Books. .
*Drage, C. (1987) "Urban castles" in Schofield and Leech (eds) (1987)
*Dugdale, James. (1810)
The New British Traveller, or Modern Panorama of England and Wales, volume two.
' London: Robins.
*Dyer, Christopher. (2009)
Making a Living in the Middle Ages: The People of Britain, 850 – 1520
'' London: Yale University Press. .
*Emery, Anthony. (2006)
Greater Medieval Houses of England and Wales, 1300–1500: Southern England.
' Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. .
*Funari, Pedro Paulo A., Martin Hall and Sian Jones (eds). (1999)
Historical Archaeology: Back From The Edge.
' London: Routledge. .
*Gerrard, Christopher M. (2005)
Medieval Archaeology: Understanding Traditions and Contemporary Approaches.
' Oxon, UK: Routledge. .
*Griffiths, Ralph Alan. (1981)
The Reign of King Henry VI: the Exercise of Royal Authority, 1422–1461.
' Berkeley, US: University of California Press. .
*Liddiard, Robert. (2005)
Castles in Context: Power, Symbolism and Landscape, 1066 to 1500.
' Macclesfield, UK: Windgather Press. .
*Mackenzie, James D. (1896)
The Castles of England: Their Story and Structure, Vol II.
' New York: Macmillan.
*Ottaway, Patrick. (1992)
Archaeology in British towns: from the Emperor Claudius to the Black Death.
' London: Routledge. .
*Pounds, Norman John Greville. (1990)
The Medieval Castle in England and Wales: a social and political history.
' Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. .
*Pugh, Ralph B. (1968)
Imprisonment in Medieval England.
' Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. .
*Schofield, J. and R. Leech. (eds) (1987) ''Urban Archaeology in Britain: CBA Research Report 61.'' London: CBA.
*White, Graeme J. (2000)
Restoration and Reform, 1153–1165: Recovery from Civil War in England.
' Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. .
{{Buildings in Southampton
Castles in Hampshire
Buildings and structures in Southampton