Distant Day Out - Southampton (Part 1)

How did you spend your New Year's Day? I reckon most of you weren't setting off early in the morning to go to Southampton.

Situated on the South Coast, the area around Southampton has been inhabited since the Stone Age, but the first major settlement where Southampton exists today was built in 70AD. This was the Roman town of Clausentum, and lasted until the Romans left Britain in 407AD. Yet Southampton itself only sprung up in the 7th century, when a port was built here, and Southampton became one of the key entry and exit points to the UK for both trade and travel. 

Today, Southampton is home to around 250,000 people, making it the largest city in Hampshire. And you won't be surprised to learn I came here to see Millwall play. 

Southampton Central station

I know this is quite an underwhelming place to start, but it wouldn't be an AO2a post without some station-gazing. 

 

Southampton Central isn't a particularly remarkable station either way; it takes in 6 million passengers annually, they leave Southampton, as expected. But historically speaking, the station's a bit odder than that. You see, it used to be called Southampton West when it opened in 1895, which makes sense. The station's not exactly in the centre, and it's a ten minute walk from there to the high street. Before then, there used to be a smaller station in the same area, called Southampton West End, which opened in 1847. And even then, that station was once called Blechynden, after a nearby road. 

It is definitely a station. 

Southampton Port

Truth be told, Southampton originates from Anglo-Saxon times, when a port was built here in the late 7th century. For most of Southampton's history, it was exactly that - a major port and industry centre. To this day, Southampton Port is the second largest container port in the UK, and also acts as a cruise ship terminal (where it's the largest in the UK). 

The port is situated at the head of Southampton Water, a large estuary that flows into the English Channel. Up stream, this is the River Test, one of a few rivers which flows through or near Southampton. Possibly the most notable of these rivers is the Itchen, which flows into the estuary not too far downstream.

Two notable historical ships have sailed from the port before, one probably more embedded in public conscience than the other:

• In 1620, the Mayflower set sail from Southampton transporting around 100 passengers across the Atlantic to the New World. These were the Pilgrims; amongst them were several Puritans, who were fleeing to avoid persecution. The journey took ten weeks, and saw the Puritans embark in what would eventually become Plymouth, Massachusetts, forming the second settlement of the future Thirteen Colonies, and eventually the US.
• The influence of the Mayflower can be seen across Southampton. This photo was taken at the waterfront near Mayflower Park, which was surprisingly busy on New Year's - several families with children were walking around here. As well as this, there's a memorial to the Pilgrims who made the journey not too far from the port.

   

• More famously, in 1912, the Titanic made its maiden, and only, voyage. 2,224 passengers set off from Southampton towards New York City, on a ship famously said to be unsinkable. That turned out to be a lie, though, as it hit an iceberg en route and sunk, resulting in the deaths of 1,635 people, both passengers and crew. At the time, this was the deadliest peacetime maritime disaster. The ship still lies at the bottom of the ocean to this day.
• There is also a memorial to the Titanic in Southampton, but it's farther away from the port. In fact, there are two - the Engineers' Memorial, as pictured, remembers the engineers who worked on the Titanic, and the Musicians' Memorial, which I didn't visit but dedicates the musicians who performed on the ship, even as it was sinking. 

Titanic Engineers' Memorial

I also quite like the fact that it's rumoured that Southampton was where King Cnut famously attempted to control the tide, thus proving he wasn't as powerful as God was. Then again, some people claim this happened in the Wirral, or even Thorney Island in what is now Westminster, so no one's certain, really.

You can watch the boats from afar along the water, or admire the docked cruise ships. From afar, you can spot the town of Hythe, which doesn't seem that different to Southampton in terms of vibes. One thing you can't do, oddly enough for a coastal town, is go to the beach. Southampton's entire history is built on industry, and that largely persists to this day, even with the sorry-looking pylons amidst overgrown fences and abandoned shops.

   

The less pretty industrial Southampton, near the port

The Bugle House

Not too far from the port lies this sleek white building. This is the Bugle House, built in 1846 to house the Royal Southern Yacht Club. This was presumably a place for rich people to meet up and talk about their yachts. because no way you're fitting one in there. Over the years, it's been used as a merchant's office, requisitioned by the Admiralty during World War 2 for its location, and even used as the offices for the Air Squadron of Southampton University. In 2013, the house met a fate that meets most stunning buildings like this one - becoming a wedding venue. 

 

Central Parks

Closer to the city centre, which I'll discuss in more detail in part 2, lies a series of five parks. These are the Central Parks - Hoglands, Houndwell, Palmerston, East and Watts. They were established across twelve years in the mid-19th century, with the parks having historically been open fields before the council purchased and developed the land. I didn't visit all the parks, only making a visit to East Park to see the Engineers' Memorial, as well as to Watts Park, just to get some fresh air. The other three look fantastic, though, and it's nice there's so much green space in the middle of Southampton.

Isaac Watts statue in Watts Park

Watts Park is also known as West Park, and is named in honour of hymn writer Isaac Watts. He wrote nearly 750 hymns across his lifetime, also dallying in theology and even chemistry (though this isn't as notable; he considered the elements to be spirit, sulphur, salt, water and earth.) Watts grew up in Southampton and has a statue dedicated to him in Watts Park, as well as, well, the park itself. Which I think is suiting, especially as I reckon loads of Christians have sung one of his hymns without realising it.

And that's the end of part 1. I could have mentioned Southampton Solent University, how the University of Southampton is nowhere near the city centre, or the BBC offices. If I had more time, I'd have gone to Southampton Common as well. But that's for next time.