SOUTHAMPTON, a sea-port and borough and market-town and county (of itself),
under the designation of " The Town and County of the Town of Southampton,"
locally in the county of Hants, 75 miles (S. W. by W.) from London,
containing, according to the last census, 12,913 inhabitants,
which number has since much increased. This place
probably derives its name from the ancient British Ani,
the original name of one of the rivers which empty
themselves into its fine actuary. To the north-east
of the present town, on the opposite bank of the Itchen,
the Romans had a military station, called Clausentum,
which was succeeded by the Saxon town of Hantune,
on the site of the present Southampton. In 838, the
Danes, with a fleet of thirty-three ships, effected a
landing on the coast, but were repulsed with considerable
loss by Wulphere, governor of the southern part of
the county, under Ethelwolf; and in 860 they again
penetrated into the county, and burned the city of
Winchester. In the reign of Athelstan, two mints were
established here. In 981, a party of Danish pirates
having made a descent from seven large vessels, plundered
the town, and laid waste the neighbouring coast.
In the reign of Ethelred II., Sweyn, King of Denmark,
and Olave, King of Norway, landed here with a considerable
force, plundered and burned the town, massacred
the inhabitants, and committed the most dreadful
depredations in the surrounding country, till Ethelred
purchased peace by the payment of £16,000, on the
receipt of which, the invaders retired to Hantune,
where they embarked for their own kingdom. Canute,
after his establishment on the throne, made
this town his occasional residence; and it was whilst
seated on the beach here, at the influx of the tide,
that he took occasion to make that memorable reproof
of his courtiers, for their gross flatteryj which has
been recorded by historians. At the time of the Conquest,
the town was so much reduced by the repeated
incursions of the Danes, that, at the Norman survey,
the king had only seventy-nine demesne tenants.
Henry II. and his queen landed at this port, on their
return from France, in 1174. In the reign of John;
Adam de Port was governor of the castle; and in that
of Edward III., the town was completely destroyed by
the French and their allies, the Spaniards and Genoese,
but they were repulsed, with the loss of the Prince of
Sicily and other commanders. Richard II. enlarged the
castle, and strengthened the fortifications that had
been erected for the defence of the town and harbour.
Henry V., previously to the battle of Agincourt, marshalled
his army here for his expedition against France,
and, during his stay in the town, detected a conspiracy
formed against him by the Lords Cambridge and Scroop,
and Sir Thomas Grey, who were here executed for treason,
and buried in the chapel of an ancient hospital,
still remaining, called God's House. In the reign of
Edward IV., Southampton was the scene of a sanguinary
contest between the partisans of the houses of
York and Lancaster, in which the former having gained
the victory, many of the Lancastrian chiefs were, by the
king's order, executed with extreme barbarity. The
town had increased materially in extent and importance,
and its trade had become so flourishing that, in the
reign of Edward V., the Lord Mayor of London was
appointed collector of the king's duties at this port.
In 1512, Grey, Marquis of Dorset, embarked here
with a force for the assistance of Ferdinand, King
of Spain; and ten years after, the Emperor Charles V.
sailed from it, on his return to his own dominions, after
having visited Henry VIII. Edward VI., in his tour
through the western and southern parts of the kingdom,
for the benefit of his health, visited the town, and
was sumptuously entertained by the mayor and corporation.
Philip, King of Spain, on his arrival in
England to espouse Queen Mary, landed at this
port, and was entertained at the sheriff's house by
the mayor and his brethren, who sent him a present
of wine, which he received on board his ship, the Grace
de Dieu, then lying in the harbour.
The town is beautifully situated on a peninsular tract
of ground, rising with a gradual ascent from the northeastern
shore of Southampton water, and bounded on
the east by the river Itchen, over which is a bridge
leading to Gosport; and on the south and west by the
fine open bay formed by the confluence of the Itchen
with the river Test." The shores of the bay, or aestuary,
are richly clothed with wood, and afford a succession of
beautifully diversified scenery, the vicinity being studded
with villages, mansions, and villas. Southampton water,
about two miles broad at its entrance near Calshot castle,
stretches north-westward nearly seven miles; on the
eastern shore are the ruins of Netley abbey, forming
an object romantically picturesque. The town, rising
gradually from the margin of the water, is distinguished
for the beauty of its situation; and the approach from
the London road, through an avenue of stately elms
and a well-built suburb, is striking. The principal entrance
is through Bar gate, one of the ancient gates,
on the north front of which are two gigantic figures
representing Sir Bevois of Southampton and the giant
Ascupart, whom, according to legendary tale, Bevois
is said to have slain in combat. From this gate,
which is embattled and machicolated, a spacious
street, more than half a mile in length, and equal to
many of the finer streets of the metropolis, leads directly
to the quay, for the improvement of which the
old Water gate was taken down about twenty-five years
since. The ancient part of the town was formerly enclosed
with walls nearly a mile and a quarter in circuit,
of which, with their ruined circular towers, considerable
portions are still entire, the principal being that
reaching from the south-east of West gate, along the
shore northward. Of the ancient gates, the principal
now remaining are West gate and South gate, in addition
to Bar gate, in relation to which last the more modern
part of the town is distinguished, by the appellation of
Above Bar, from the other part, which is called Below
Bar. In that part Above Bar are many fine ranges of
building. A new street of handsome houses has been
recently erected, leading from the street Above Bar to
the western shore, with a terrace, commanding a fine
view of the surrounding scenery. The town is well
paved, lighted with gas, and supplied with excellent
water, chiefly from springs collected on an adjoining
common, and conveyed from a reservoir into public
conduits, as well as into many of the houses. The
handsome iron pillars for the gas-lights were presented
by William Chamberlayne, Esq., late member for the borough,
in commemoration of whose munificence, the
inhabitants have erected on the quay a lofty cast-iron
column, supporting a splendid gas-light. A Literary
and Philosophical Society, recently established by a proprietary
of thirty members, is further supported by an
unlimited number of annual subscribers of £, 1. l.:
lectures are given periodically, and the business of the
institution is conducted by a president and committee.
In the lecture-room of this institution, during the six
months of the year in which it is unoccupied by the
society, there is an exhibition of paintings for sale,
which is well attended, and considerably resorted to
by the numerous visitors frequenting this place. The
library and reading-rooms in the High-street, at which
a book of arrivals is regularly kept, are amply supplied
with volumes in every department of literature, and with
periodical works, and the establishment is liberally supported
by subscription: there are also two circulating
libraries and several reading-rooms in other parts of the
town, together with billiard-rooms elegantly fitted up.
Near the platform is a subscription bowling-green. There
are two sets of assembly-rooms, one called the Long
Rooms, erected on the west side of the town, in 176];
and the other, recently erected, called the Archery
Rooms; these rooms command an extensive view of
the bay and the scenery of the opposite shore. The
theatre, in French-street, is well arranged and tastefully
decorated: performances take place three evenings in
the week during the season, which commences in August.
Races are held annually in the autumn, and continue
two days; the course, which is well adapted to the purpose,
is pleasantly situated on Southampton common,
and was given to the town by the corporation. The Botanic
gardens, on the west bank of the Southampton
water, form an agreeable promenade, and contain a very
extensive collection of indigenous and exotic plants,
constantly keeping pace with the improved state of botanical
science and discovery. There are three lodges
of Freemasons. An annual regatta takes place during
the summer, in which prizes, given by subscription, are
contested for by yachts and small vessels belonging to
the fishermen of Itchen, on the Southampton river; than
which none can be more favourably adapted to aquatic
excursions, from the bay being so beautiful and finely sheltered.
The salubrity of the air, and the beauty of its situation,
have made Southampton a resort for sea-bathing;
and hot, cold, medicated, and vapour baths have been
constructed. In addition to those previously established)
a handsome and commodious building has been erected,
in the Grecian style of architecture, at an expense of
£7000, near the platform on the beach, and provided
with baths of every kind, with an elegant and spacious
promenade-room attached, commanding a good view of
the water, which, during the summer season, is covered
with pleasure boats, and with fine yachts. Numerous
respectable lodging-houses are let for the accommodation
of visitors. On the beach is a causeway planted
with trees, extending above half a mile. On the platform,
which has been much enlarged, is an ancient
piece of ordnance, presented by Henry VIII., and
recently mounted on a handsome cast-iron carriage, the
gift of John Fleming, Esq., member for the county.
The barracks, erected here during the late war, and
occupying about two acres of land, were, in 1816, considerably
enlarged, and converted into a military asylum,
as a branch of the institution at Chelsea, under the patronage
of the late Duke of York, for the orphan children
of soldiers, and of those whose mothers are dead,
and their fathers absent on service: the buildings are
of brick, handsome and commodious, and are appropriated
to the reception of female children only. At
Itchen Ferry, and on the western side of the town, are
bathing-machines, with experienced guides. The environs
are equally remarkable for the varied beauty of
their scenery, and for the number of elegant mansions
and villas.  In addition to the numerous attractions
which the town itself possesses, and the facilities afforded
for aquatic excursions, there are, in various directions,
extensive rides through a country abounding with objects
of extreme interest, and enriched with a great
variety of scenery.
The port, of which the jurisdiction extends from
Langstone harbour, on the east, to Hurst castle on the
west, and midway from Calshot castle to the Isle of
Wight, carries on a considerable foreign trade: the imports
are wine and fruit from Portugal'; hemp, iron,
and tallow, from Russia; pitch and tar from Sweden;
and timber from other ports of the Baltic; it has also
a considerable trade with Jersey and Guernsey. By act
of parliament of Edward III., making Southampton one
of the staple ports for the exportation of wool, all cargoes
of that- material, not originally shipped to those
islands from this port, must either be re-landed here,
or pay a duty at the custom-house. A coasting trade
is also carried on with Wales, from which it imports
iron and slates 5 with Newcastle, from which it imports
coal, lead, and glass; and with various other places. The
quay, on which stands a convenient custom-house, is
accessible to vessels of two hundred and fifty tons' burden,
and is commodiously adapted to the dispatch of
business. Belonging to the port are one hundred and
seventy-nine vessels, averaging a burden of forty-five
tons. The harbour is spacious, and affords good anchorage
for ships, which may ride at all times in security,
being sheltered from all winds. Steam vessels
proceed regularly, all the summer and autumn, from
this port to Havre, and to Jersey and Guernsey; and
there are sailing-packets on the same destination at all
other seasons daily: steam-packets afford a constant
communication with the Isle of Wight and Portsmouth
in summer and autumn, and sailing vessels at other
times. The trade of the town principally arises from
the wants of the inhabitants and visitors. The trade
is facilitated by the Itchen canal navigation to Winchester,
the river itself being navigable as far as Northam
and a seventy-four gun ship and several frigates
were built in the docks here during the late war. A
canal to Salisbury, with' a view to open a communication
between this town and Bristol, was projected about
thirty-five years since; but the design, after having been
partly carried into effect, was abandoned, the capital
having been expended before half of the work was completed.
The market days are Tuesday, Thursday, Friday,
and Saturday; the market on Friday is for corn: the
markets are well supplied with fish, eggs, poultry, and
provisions of every kind. The fairs are on May 6th and
7th, for cows and pigs, and on Trinity Monday and
Tuesday; the latter, a very ancient fair, is proclaimed
by the mayor with particular ceremony on the preceding
Saturday, and continues till the Wednesday noon following
during which time the senior bailiff presides
and entertains the corporation in a booth erected on
the occasion: this fair, which is principally for horses,
cattle, and pigs, is held on the eastern side of the town,
near the site of an ancient hermitage, formerly occupied
by William Geoffrey, to whom its revenue, arising
from standings, &c., was originally granted; a court of
pie-powder is attached to it, and during its continuance
all persons are free from arrest for debt within the precincts
of the borough.
The inhabitants were first incorporated in the reign
of Henry I., whose charter was confirmed by Richard I.,
and by John, who assigned the customs of the port, together
with those of Portsmouth, to the burgesses, for
an annual payment of £200; their privileges were extended
and confirmed by Henry VI., who erected the
town, with a surrounding district, into a county of itself,
and were modified by Charles I., by whose charter the
government is vested in a mayor, sheriff, two bailiffs,
an indefinite number of aldermen, and twenty-four
common council-men, assisted by a recorder, town clerk,
two coroners, four Serjeants at mace, and subordinate
officers. The mayor, who is also admiral of the port, the
late mayor, the recorder, five senior aldermen, and two
senior common council-men, together with the Bishop of
Winchester, are justices of the peace within the borough
and liberties. The freedom is obtained only by election
of the corporation, who have the right of nominating an
indefinite number of burgesses; among many illustrious
personages to whom the freedom of the borough has
been given were, Frederick, Prince of Wales, the then
Dukes of York and Cumberland, George III., the late
Duke of Cumberland, and his late Majesty George IV.
The corporation hold quarterly courts of session for
all offences not capital; and they have the privilege of
holding assizes, when the judges are travelling the western
circuit, to try for capital crimes committed within
the limits of the town and county of the town. The.
mayor and bailiffs hold a court of record every Tuesday,
for the recovery of debts to any amount. The inhabitants
paying scot and lot have right of common on the Town
Lands, adjoining the town, the most extensive of which
is Southampton common, containing about three hundred
and fifty acres. The audit-house is a handsome
building, erected about fifty years since, comprising in
the upper story a spacious hall, in which the business
of the corporation is transacted, and the records and
regalia  are deposited; among the latter, which are
splendid, is a silver oar borne before the mayor on public
occasions, as the ensign of his admiralty jurisdiction.
The guildhall is a spacious room above the arches
of the ancient. Bar gate, which is a beautiful and venerable
structure in the Norman style of architecture;
the principal archway is deeply moulded and enriched,
and is flanked by circular embattled turrets, and the
approach is ornamented with two lions sejant, cast
in lead, presented to the corporation in 1744, in lieu
of two which were decayed, by William Lee, Esq., on
his being elected a burgess; the south side of the gateway
is neatly faced with stone, with a niche in the
centre, in which is a statue of George III., presented
to the corporation by the late Marquis of Lansdowne,
to replace a decayed figure of Queen Anne; the hall,
in which the borough sessions and other courts are
held, is fifty-two feet in length, and twenty-one feet
wide, and is lighted with four handsome windows; ad-
joining it are a room for the grand jury, and other
apartments. The common gaol for the borough comprises
four rooms for twelve prisoners, but does not
admit of classification. The bridewell, to which female
prisoners alone are committed, contains three rooms,
capable of receiving ten prisoners, and a small chapel,
in which divine service is performed once in the week.
The sheriffs prison for debtors contains two wards, and
is adapted to the reception of ten prisoners. The borough
exercised the elective franchise in the 23rd of
Edward I., since which time it has regularly returned
two members to parliament: the right of election is
vested in the burgesses, resident and non-resident,
and in the inhabitants generally paying scot and lot,
of whom the number exceeds nine hundred; the mayor
and bailiffs are the returning officers.
Southampton comprises the parishes of All Saints,
Holy Rood, St. John and St. Lawrence united, St. Mary,
and St. Michael, all, with the exception of St. Mary's, in
the archdeaconry and diocese of Winchester. The living
of All Saints' is a discharged rectory, rated in the king's
books at £8.1. 10., endowed with £300 private benefaction,
and £ 200 royal bounty, and in the patronage
of the Crown; the church, rebuilt on the enlarged site
of an ancient structure, is in the Grecian style of ar
chitecture, with a turret at the east end rising from
a square pedestal, and surrounded by six Corinthian columns,
supporting a circular entablature surmounted
by a dome. The west entrance is ornamented with
four three-quarter columns of the. Ionic order, supsporting
a triangular pediment; an entablature, resting
upon Ionic pilasters, surrounds the building, which
is of brick stuccoed; the interior, of which the roof is
arched and handsomely panelled, is neatly arranged;
the altar is within a deep recess, formed by the arch
supporting the tower, and is lighted by a handsome
window on each side; the area underneath the church
js divided into arched catacombs, in one of which are
deposited the remains of Captain Carteret, the clebrated
circumnavigator, and of Bryan Edwards, author of the
"History of the West Indies " and on the north side of
the altar is a mural tablet to the memory of the Rev.
Dr. Mant, many years rector of the parish. The living
of Holy Rood parish is a discharged vicarage, rated in
the king's books at £12. 1. 10, and in the patronage
of the Provost and Fellows of Queen's College, Oxford;
the church is an ancient structure in the High-street,
with a tower and spire at the south-west angle, and has
a portico in front, within which the hustings are erected
at elections of members for the borough; among the
monuments is one by Rysbrachto Miss E.Stanley, sister
of the Rt. Hon. Hans Stanley, with an epitaph written by,
the poet Thomson, who has immortalized her memory in
his poem of the Seasons. The living of St. John's is a
discharged rectory, rated in the king's books at £6. 13.4.,
and united to that of St. Lawrence; the church is do-,
molished. The living of the parish of St. Lawrence is a
discharged rectory, with that of St. John's annexed, rated
in the king's books at £7.10., endowed with £,800 royal
bounty, and £800 parliamentary grant, and in the patronage
of the Crown: the church is a small ancient
building. The living of St. Mary's is a rectory, in the precinct
of the town, rated in the king's books at £37. 5. 5.,
in the peculiar jurisdiction of the Rector, and in the patronageof
theBishopofWinchester: thechurch is modern,
with a very extensive churchyard, which is the principal
cemetery of the town. The living of St. Michael's
is a discharged vicarage, rated in the king's books at
£12. 11. 10., endowed with £400 private benefaction,
£400 royal bounty, and £400 parliamentary grant,
and in the patronage of the Crown: the church is an
ancient and spacious structure, principally in the Norman
style of architecture, with a tower between the nave
and the chancel, surmounted by a lofty and well-proportioned
octagonal spire: the interior has been recently repaired,
and has undergone considerable alterations, with
the addition of nine hundred seats, seven hundred of
them free, by grant of "£350 from the Incorporated
Society for the enlargement of churches and chapels;
the massive circular columns that supported
the roof have been replaced with lighter octangular
pillars, and sharply pointed arches; the windows are pf
a later style, and the tracery of the large west window
has been carefully restored, and the upper compartments
embellished with stained glass; a new window of
elegant design has been placed by the corporation in
the chapel of this church, in which, from time immemorial,
the mayors have been sworn into office: the ancient
font, of Norman character and highly enriched, has
been removed from an obscure situation at the east
end of the church, and placed in the central area underneath
the tower; there are some ancient monuments,
and in the chapel is an old cenotaph of Lord Chancellor
Wriothesley, who in the reign of Henry VIII. passed
sentence of death on Queen Anne Boleyn. St. Paul's,
a proprietary chapel in the parish of All Saints, a handsome
edifice in the later style of English architecture,
has been recently erected, under the superintendence of
a committee. There is a handsome and commodious
place of worship for Independents; a neat one for
Baptists; others for the Society of Friends and Wesleyan
Methodists; one in which the liturgy of the
Church of England is read, but the service is conducted
by a dissenting minister; and a neat Roman Catholic
chapel of recent erection.
The free grammar school was founded in the reign
of Edward VI.: the master is appointed by the corporation,
who have recently erected a convenient schoolhouse,
capable of accommodating forty boarders, on the
site of an ancient edifice, called Westhall: the endowment
produces not more than about £30 per annum:
among other eminent men who have been educated in
this school was the celebrated Dr. Watts, a native of
Southampton, whose father kept a boarding-school in
the town. A charity school was founded, in 1760, for
qualifying twenty boys for the sea service, by Alderman
Taunton, of this town, who left considerable funds for
charitable uses; the original number of scholars has, by
a decree of the court of Chancery, been reduced to ten,
who are permitted to choose any mechanical trade, if they
prefer it, and receive an apprentice fee of £ 5, and, on the
expiration of their indentures, a present of £5.5., on
producing a certificate of good conduct: pensions of
£10 per annum were also paid from these funds to six
decayed persons of the town, of whom the number has
been increased to sixteen by a bequest of the late
Charles D'Aussy, Esq.; and £40 per annum is appropriated
from the same funds, as a reward for female servants,
and a portion on their marriage. A National
school, in which are one hundred and fifty boys, and the
same number of girls, and a Lancasterian school, in which
nearly the same number of both sexes are educated, are
supported by subscription. There are also several infant
schools, and various Sunday schools in connexion with
the established church and the dissenting congregations.
The ancient hospital of Domus Dei, or God's House,
was originally founded in the reign of Henry III., partly
as a convent for nuns, and as a chapel to a neighbouring
friary, which was burned by the French in the
reign of Edward III., by whom it was given to Queen's
College, Oxford; after various changes it was established
as an hospital for a warden, four brothers, and
four sisters, who, in addition to their residence, have
an allowance of two shillings a week from the college,
atid an annual supply of coal from other bequests; the
buildings, are ancient, and retain much of their original
character; the ancient chapel was long used as a place of
worship by the French Protestants. The hospital of St.
John, on the site of which the present theatre has been
built, consisted of a master and six boys; the latter are
now taught the woollen manufacture in the workhouse, a
spacious building well adapted to that and other purposes.
Thorner's almshouses, a neat and commodious
range of building, receiving their name from the funds
for erecting them having arisen from a bequest by Robert
Thorner, Esq., in 1690, for gradual accumulation,
were originally built in 1789, and have lately been enlarged;
they now accommodate twenty-six widows, who
are allowed four shillings a week each. The same benefactor
also bequeathed funds for apprenticing a certain
number of poor children, with a premium of £ 5 each,
and a present of £ 5 on expiration of the term of apprenticeship.
Almshouses in St. Mary's parish were founded,
in 1565, by Richard Butler, mayor, and built on ground
given by Thomas Lynton, mayor, in 1545. Six small
unendowed tenements, near the workhouse, of which
the origin is unknown, are appropriated by the corporation
as residences for the poor. The penitentiary, or
refuge for destitute females, supported by donations
and subscription, is a spacious and commodious building,
with a handsome chapel attached to it, recently
erected in front of Kingsland-place, and conducted on a
plan well calculated to reclaim and restore to society
unfortunate females, who are here accustomed to regular
and industrious habits, and qualified for employment as
servants. The public dispensary was established in
1823, for the relief of poor invalids not receiving parochial
aid, and is gratuitously attended by the physicians
and surgeons of the town, who visit patients
at their own houses; it is under the direction of a president
and committee, and is liberally supported by subscription.
The ladies' lying-in charity was established
in 1812, and, under the direction of a committee of ladies,
administers extensive relief and assistance to the poor
at their own houses. Miss Elizabeth Bird bequeathed
£1400 three per cents, to the mayor and corporation,
in trust, for the annual payment of £5 each to six unmarried
women, members of the church of England, and
upwards of sixty years of age, who must appear every Sunday
at church, wearing a silver medal with the device of
the testator, and dine together, at a table prepared for
them by the rector of All Saints' parish, to whom she bequeathed
a sum for that purpose. There are a Royal
Humane Society, and several benefit and friendly societies.
A repository for the sale of works, drawings, and
other productions of the necessitous, was established in
1828, under the patronage of Her present Majesty, when
Duchess of Clarence; by this institution, fifty children
are taught and employed in netting, till of an age to
go to service; they pursue their employment in the
cottages of their parents, and generally earn about five
shillings a week. There are various charitable bequests
for distribution among the poor. The ancient
castle, which was repaired and strengthened by Richard
II., was situated on the west side of the town: the
walls included a semicircular area, the town wall towards
the sea forming the chord; the keep was situated
in the south part of the area. Of this fortress there are
no vestiges: the ruins and the site became the property
of the late Marquis of Lansdowne, who erected a
handsome castellated mansion on the spot, at an expense
of £70,000, which, after his death, was sold as
building materials, and taken down, and a chapel and
several tenements were erected on its site. At Bittern,
about a mile and a quarter from the town, supposed to
have been the old station Clausentum, numerous Roman
antiquities have been discovered, among which were considerable
vestiges of a fortification, and a portion of a
Roman wall, coins from the reign of Claudius to those of
Valentinian and Valens, tesselated pavements, bricks,
fragments of pottery, urns, vases, and sculptured stones,
on several of which were Roman inscriptions. Southampton
gives the title of baron to the family of Fitzroy.