Football – The Saints
Football – The Saints Southampton F.C. can trace their roots back to 1885. The nickname ‘Saints’ comes from its formation as a church football team. They were founded as St Mary’s Church of England Young Men’s Association (St Mary’s Y.M.A). The team has since played in red and white shirts. Away colours are blue or yellow. In 1898 they moved to the Dell in Milton Road in and to the present 32,500 capacity St. Mary’s stadium in 2001. The Saints anthem is ‘When the Saints Go Marching In’ a traditional tune popularised by Louis Armstrong. Unlike other sports teams that use the tune the original lyric is not changed for the Saints. The club has a long-standing rivalry with Portsmouth due to its close proximity and both cities’ respective maritime history. The Saints were defeated in the FA Cup Finals of 1898 and 1902 finally winning 1-0 against Manchester United in 1976. Their highest-ever league finish was second in the First Division in 1983–84. Southampton were relegated from the Premier League on 15 May 2005 ending 27 successive seasons of top-division football for the club. Southampton returned to the Premier League after a 7-year absence and have been playing there since the 2012–13 season. The club has a noted Youth Academy producing talented players over many years such as Martin Chivers, Terry Paine, Mick Channon, Alan Shearer, Mat Le Tissier, Wayne Bridge, Gareth Bale, Theo Walcott, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Adam Lallana, Luke Shaw.
French Raid
French Raid In 1337 the Hundred Years War with France began. On 4th October 1338, 50 ships of French, Genoese and Sicilians arrived. As the South and West of the town was not walled they landed around the bottom of Bugle Street. The town and its silver were looted and those citizens who took refuge in St. Michael’s Church were murdered there. There is a story of a Sicilian Prince who when he encountered a Hampshire Yeoman, who came to take the town back, wielding a club cried “Rancon” meaning Ransom. The yeoman took this as being “Francon” or Frenchman and killed him with the club. As a result of the raid Edward III ordered the town to complete its walled defences.
Friary
Friary In about 1224 a group of Friars Minor who followed the teachings of St. Francis of Assisi came to the town.The Franciscan Friars were also called Greyfriars because of the colour of their robes. They lived a humble life. They settled in the poorer part of the town near God’s house hospice. When completed (around 1233), the friary included a quire, church, vestry, chapter house and a cloister, frater (dining room), infirmary, tailor’s house, parlour, kitchen, washhouse, toilet block and a library. They created a water supply for townspeople from Hill Lane via Conduit House (opposite the Mayflower Theatre) to their Friary. In 1410 the town took on the system making it the earliest urban water supply in England. Their Friary was dissolved by Henry VIII in 1538. It was opened again for a short while during the reign of Queen Mary but was closed again by Elizabeth I in 1558. Today the site is occupied by the Friary House, an office building and the Gloucester Square car park. The only remains are: “The Round Tower” – Built in the late 1200s and was used used as a dovecote. The honeycombs that you can still see in the base of the tower, used to be the nesting holes for doves. When the town wall was built the back was demolished to integrate it into the wall and the front was made higher. Thus it became a half-round tower. “The Friary Gate” – When the Walls were built in the late 1300s the friars were cut off from their orchards and the poor people in the Newtown suburb. In 1373 they were allowed to build a gateway through the walls, as long as they provided defences for the gate. “The Reredorter” – Built in the late 1200s. The dorter is another name for dormitory. So you could say that the reredorter was a medieval ensuite. The toilet block could be reached from the dormitory. According to archaeologists there used to be no doorway at ground level. The waste fell down into a stone lined drain that was washed clean by water from the town ditch and the tide. The smell must have been – not very pleasant!!!