Jack’s Corner
Jack’s Corner This children’s play area at the corner of the Sports Centre is in memory of Jack Mantle (1917-1940). He was educated at Taunton’s School before joining the Royal Navy. In 1940 he was in charge of the gun ship Foylebank in Portland Harbour when German aircraft attacked on 4th July. He was badly wounded but kept firing till he died and was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross. One of the earliest awarded Victoria Crosses was to another Sotonian, George Day in 1857. In 1918 Lieutenant Commander Marcus Beak, another Old Tauntonian, was awarded one. Only approximately 1,400 have ever been awarded.
Jesus Chapel – Pear Tree
Jesus Chapel – Pear Tree St. Mary’s Church once served the population on the east side of the River Itchen, known as St. Mary’s Extra. Jesus Chapel is a picturesque Church on Pear Tree Green. The Chapel, dedicated to Jesus, became the first new church in England following the Reformation. Pear Tree Chapel is believed to be the oldest Anglican Church anywhere in the world. It was built in 1618 and consecrated in 1620. Peartree Green is an open space on high ground on the East bank of the River Itchen which adjoins the districts of Woolston, Bitterne, Sholing and Merryoak within the city of Southampton. It was named Pear Tree Green after the pear tree that once stood there. It offers good views across the River Itchen and one can see the spire of St Mary’s Church, the St. Mary’s Stadium and the Itchen Bridge.
John Jellicoe
John Jellicoe John Jellicoe was born in Southampton in 1859 in Cranbury Terrace. He was educated at Bannister Court and joined the Navy at 12. He became a Captain in 1897 and was wounded near Peking during the Boxer Rebellion of 1900. He became Commander of the Grand Fleet in 1914 and engaged with the German Fleet at the Battle of Jutland on 31st May 1916. He became First Sea Lord in 1917 but a quarrel with Prime Minister Lloyd George led to his dismissal in 1918. From 1920-24 he was Governor of New Zealand and was created Earl Jellicoe in 1925. On 8th September 1925 he opened the Dock Board offices at Town Quay and was also present at the opening of the first phase of the Civic Centre in 1932. He died in 1935 and is buried in St. Paul’s Cathedral, London.
Jane Austen
Jane Austen Back to A-Z index Jane Austen was an English novelist whose books, set among the English middle and upper classes, are notable for their wit, social observation and acute insights into the lives of early 19th century women. She was born on 16 December 1775 in the village of Steventon in Hampshire. Jane was one of eight children of a clergyman and grew up in a close-knit family. She began to write as a teenager. In 1801 the family moved to Bath. After the death of Jane’s father in 1805 Jane, her sister Cassandra and their mother moved several times eventually settling in Chawton. Jane’s family moved to Southampton in 1806 and lived here until 1809 with her brother Frank. The garden of her house backed onto the well preserved medieval town walls and, although the original house no longer stands, the Juniper Berry pub now occupies the site. Jane attended Winter Balls at the Dolphin Hotel in the High Street, where she had also celebrated her 18th birthday. We know she saw plays at the former Theatre Royal in French Street and also visited Hythe using a hired boat. Jane and her family worshipped at All Saints Church (once on the corner of High Street and East Street, destroyed during the Second World War). Jane herself wrote many letters whilst living here, some of which have survived as have some letters of her sister Cassandra. A later memoir by a descendant gives us some idea of her time in Southampton, the people she lived among and the places she visited. Henry Austen who was 4 years older than Jane, helped her negotiate with a publisher and her first novel, ‘Sense and Sensibility’, appeared in 1811. Her next novel ‘Pride and Prejudice’, which she described as her “own darling child” received highly favourable reviews. ‘Mansfield Park’ was published in 1814, then ‘Emma’ in 1816. ‘Emma’ was dedicated to the prince regent, an admirer of her work. All of Jane Austen’s novels were published anonymously. In 1816, Jane began to suffer from ill-health, probably due to Addison’s disease. She travelled from Chawton to Winchester to receive treatment, and died there on 18 July 1817. Two more novels, ‘Persuasion’ and ‘Northanger Abbey’ were published posthumously and a final novel was left incomplete.