Distant Day Out - Southampton (Part 2)

You can find part 1 here.

Southampton Wall

You won't be surprised to learn how important Southampton has been in warfare. The Romans and Anglo-Saxons had fortified Southampton ever since settlements had sprung up here, but it was the Normans who made it into an art. They built a castle, which has long since been destroyed, not long after coming to power in 1066, and added a series of walls in the early 13th century once Southampton's status as a key trading port was solidified. These walls couldn't stop French forces from raiding Southampton in 1338, though, so by the 1360s, the walls were reinforced.

Southampton Wall

This resulted in Southampton being surrounded by a 2km long stone wall, equipped with gates and towers built specifically to house cannons. These walls kept on being important up until the 17th century, housing the guildhall and gaol in that time, before the walls were slowly destroyed and the city expanded. 

Castle Gate

Thankfully, they didn't go that far, and now we're left with a series of cool historical artifacts. Local signs even encourage you to walk along the walls, and admittedly it's not a thrilling experience but it's still cool. You can even walk up the towers and through the old gates, or at least the ones that are still standing. This is the view from Catchcold Tower, which was the final tower built, around the 15th century. The tower was used during World War 2 to house an anti-aircraft machine gun, marking the final time the wall was used for its purpose of defending Southampton.

View from Catchcold Tower

Tudor House

On one side of the wall lies a glassy shopping centre and market; on the other lies the old town, which lies in Southampton's former borders. There, you'll find Southampton's oldest museum - Tudor House. When I turned up, it was closed, it being New Year's and all, so if you want to see how it looks inside, better look online for now.

Tudor House

Tudor House was built over the course of 30 years, with construction ending in 1518. It was owned by Sir Richard Lyster, who at the time was one of the richest men in Southampton. By the 1700s, though, the house was at its most prosperous time, whilst Southampton became a spa town and people flocked there for the spa waters with supposed healing properties. The house even had an extension built at the time. But good fortunes never last that long, and the house fell into decline in the 1800s, before being saved twice and converted into a museum in 1912. Luckily, that does mean you can admire a slice of Tudor history in Southampton. 

Around the back lies a building I had no clue about, so didn't visit, and I regret because it looks quite cool. It's King John's Palace, which was originally built in the 1180s and was converted into part of the Southampton Walls following the fortifications in the 1360s. The palace has nothing to do with King John, but the name's stuck because historians erroneously thought he lived here for a while. 

Civic Centre

Nearer the city centre lies the Civic Centre, a large building consisting of various different offices. The building itself is probably very dull inside, but its exterior is quite lovely, especially the distin was designed back in 1929 and took ten years to complete. However, during World War 2 and the Souhampton Blitz in 1940, the building was destroyed by German bombs, killing 35 people in the process.

    

The Civic Centre is divided into four wings, and upon opening, these were mainly occupied by the local council in the south; the magistrate's court and police station in the west; Southampton Guildhall in the east; and the city library and art gallery in the north. This is largely how it remains to this day, nearly ninety years later, with two notable exceptions: the first is that the Guildhall was transformed into a music venue in 1955, and has since gone on to be host to artists like the Rolling Stones and David Bowie.

Southampton City Library and Art Gallery

The other, more notable change, came in 2012, when the SeaCity Museum opened in the west wing - the courts and police station had long since moved out. It was unsurprisingly closed when I was in the area, but it appears it's home to a permanent exhibition to the Titanic, as well as generally remembering Southampton's position as a coastal trade centre.

SeaCity Museum

St Mary's - Southampton vs Millwall 

After a day of visiting, there was only one thing left to do - go to the match. 

St Mary's has been Southampton's home ground for 25 years now, having replaced the old Dell ground which had been their stadium for over a century back in 2001. The stadium is in the St Mary's area of Southampton, named for the local St Mary's Church which has stood here since 624 (albeit it's been rebuilt numerous times, most recently after it was destroyed in the Blitz). 

 

I didn't have much of a chance to walk around the stadium and take photos, such was the commotion at the stadium. Instead, I had to make my way to the away end near the Kingsland Stand. So I hope you'll understand why my exterior shots are angled weirdly.

Going into the match, neither side was doing particularly well in the league. Sure, Millwall were fifth in the league, but barely, and with only one win in their past five. Southampton were doing even worse; also with one win in five, but thirteenth instead. It was arguably a must win for both sides, and I wasn't confident enough in Millwall to take the three points.

 

On the whole, the match was alright. Millwall had the majority of great chances, but weren't clinical enough, and we were strong in defence, too. But all Southampton needed to do was sit back and attempt some chances on the counter, and if they were lucky enough, they'd have won. The final score, 0-0, was probably the right result, even if no one went home delighted afterwards.

In retrospect, with two further league games played since, I'm even more annoyed with the draw. We've since won those two games, whilst Southampton have lost twice. They're now fifteenth, in what's been a poor season for them.

Police on horseback en route to the match

Epilogue 

After the game, I made my way back home on the train, and only got home in the night. But on the whole, I think the whole trip was worth it. Southampton might not be the prettiest city, but it is illustrious, and certainly worth a visit if you're on the South Coast. Just don't expect any beaches.