South Western Hotel
South Western Hotel The railway arrived in 1840 and the South Western Hotel (now flats) soon followed. Designed with a strong French influence it was originally named the Imperial when opened in 1867. Many of the rich passengers of the Titanic stayed there. In fact that ship’s staircase is said to be a copy of […]
Hamwih / Hamwic / Hamtun / Hamwith / Hamtune
Hamwih / Hamwic / Hamtun / Hamwith / Hamtune All these are variants of names given to pre Norman Conquest Southampton. Unusually, the Roman, Saxon and Norman towns were on different sites. Hamwih was founded circa 690 by Ina, King of the West Saxons, whose capital was Winchester. The Vikings raided Hamwih in 840 and […]
Holyrood Church
Holyrood Church The Holyrood church was badly bombed in 1940 and its shell now remains as a memorial to the dead of the Merchant Navy. The original 12th century church stood further out into the High Street. It was dismantled and moved back in 1320 to its present site. The Crusaders and men leaving for […]
Henry Yevele
Henry Yevele Henry Yevele was a master stone mason and architect born around 1320 probably in Derbyshire. He had a brother Robert who was also a stone mason. Edward III appointed Yevele as the Master Mason in charge of work done to the Bloody Tower at the Tower of London and also for work done […]
Henri De Portal
Henri De Portal After reading this entry, every time you handle a banknote you will remember Southampton and Henri de Portal. Henri de Portal was born in 1690 at Poitiers in France into a Huguenot family. The Huguenots were French protestants who were inspired by the writings of John Calvin. The term Huguenot was originally […]