Bet you didn't expect to see this today! A few days ago, I went to see Millwall play away at Southampton, more on that later. That does give me a chance to write some more about Southampton, though, or at least some loose ends I didn't get to tie up in the previous two posts. You can rest assured, there's not much more to add, but feel free to read the first two to get a better picture of what Southampton's like.
The Bargate
Okay, I didn't go on a tourism spur around Southampton, there frankly wasn't enough time to do that. However, I did end up seeing probably the most prominent landmark in Southampton that I hadn't bothered seeing last time.
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| The Bargate's front |
This is the Bargate, which I believe is a bit of a local symbol in Southampton. Back when the Southampton Wall guarded the whole city and wasn't just crumbled ruins, this was the main gateway into the city. Constructed in Norman times, it's dated between 1180 and 1200, though it was likely rebuilt and extended on numerous occasions in the following centuries. The sign attached to the Bargate mentions two round towers being added in the 13th century, before an additional expansion in the 15th century to the north front, the latter following a French raid of Southampton.
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| The Bargate's back |
Obviously the Bargate's not really necessary anymore, Southampton has long since expanded. In fact, parts of the Bargate were removed in the early 20th century due to a new police station and trams. Nowadays, it merely stands as a curious relic of a past time.
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| The Bargate lion |
That said, it is worth admiring the twin lions guarding the entrance, as well as the various heraldic shields on the Bargate's front. It looks absolutely terrific, and is worth visiting whenever you're in Southampton. I'm personally surprised I never got round to it before.
St Mary's Church
Here's another local symbol, and the last landmark I visited. There have actually been multiple churches over here, with the first church built in 634 and the current incarnation dating back to 1878. That said, the church was severely damaged in the Southampton Blitz, so was rebuilt between 1954 and 1956.
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| St Mary's Church |
It's a pretty lovely church, one my photo doesn't really do any justice. It's got a lovely 200-feet tall spire, making this the tallest church in Hampshire. It also dates back to 1914, having managed to survive the Blitz. I couldn't really tell you anymore, though, because I passed by the church en route to the match, which is as far as my tour of the church went.
That said, there are two other notable facts about the church worth sharing. Its bells inspired the popular tune "The Bells of St Mary's", written in 1917, though made famous by a 1945 film of the same name starring Bing Crosby. Worth noting the film doesn't seem to be set in Southampton.
More curiously, though, the church had a football team. The first team was set up in 1880, but later folded, being replaced by 1885 by a new side. They were initially called the unwieldy "St. Mary's Young Men's Association F.C.", later becoming "Southampton St Mary's", before simply naming themselves Southampton in 1897. This is also why Southampton FC is known as the Saints.
And on that note:
Southampton - Millwall
I don't know if I really want to get into details with this match. Before the game, I was optimistic - Millwall had started out the season remarkably well. Two league wins with two clean sheets meant we were the early league leaders, and we'd also managed to advance through the League Cup third round as well. Southampton, on the other hand, had just one win from two games. They were bottom of the league on -1 points, though, due to a points deduction the previous season. Basically, they were caught spying, which you can read more about over here.
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| St Mary's Stadium |
We were jubilant going into the game, with heavy chanting and excitement in the air. Even as the match started, we were on the front foot, managing to take an early lead in the 15th minute through new signing Mark Sykes. It was a terrific strike, we were playing perfectly...and Southampton scored in the 25th minute. No worries, it was a decent goal, we just needed to continue playing as we had been.
They then scored again in the 38th minute, we went into the half-time break 2-1 down. However, there was a chance we could maybe turn it around, right?
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| Before kick-off |
Nah...we ended up losing 5-1. Millwall were abysmal in the second half, no doubt about that, they never gave us anything to cheer about. Giving away a penalty was a good sign of that. We lost our heads in what was a pretty bleak game, one I certainly want to forget about quickly. Still, it's early days in the league, so it's probably best to not worry too much, and to move on instead. Today, we're playing Wrexham at home, so that's a good place to fix things up.
That's it for the blogpost, I already gave my views of the city in the last two posts. It's a historic city for sure, worth walking around for a day, and I'm glad I ticked off two new parts of the city. I wouldn't hold my breath for a part 4, though.
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