All About Southampton
Southampton has a long and fascinating history with its medieval defence in the 11th century to the fishermen in the 18 hundreds. There are many tourist attractions throughout the town celebrating the history.
Places of Interest
Southampton’s port
Southampton’s port sits between the mouths of the Rivers Test and Itchen and has one of the largest natural harbours in the world. Before the 1930s, the port was England’s busiest for oversea travel, with giant cruise ships like the Queen Mary built in local dockyards. Many famous ships, such as the Titanic, had their travellers departing from Southampton’s port. The port is still rather busy with cruise and cargo ships arriving and leaving and many tourists visiting daily.
Medieval City Walls
The 11th century medieval walls can be found on the north and west parts of Southampton. It is the third longest unbroken medieval wall in Britain, stretching for 1.25 miles. They were built as a series of defensive constructions to protect the town’s people from the French. As decades passed by, Southampton was entirely closed by the walls of stone, with 29 towers guarding the eight gates. When the invention of gunpowder came along in the 1360s, Southampton became one of the first English towns to use the weapons in their defence.
Tudor house and Garden
In St. Michael’s Square, the spectacular Tudor House can be found. Built for a wealthy family in the late 15th century, the house is now a museum. With many exhibits displaying artefacts from the Victorian and Edwardian eras. There are reconstructed kitchens for visitors to enjoy and many jewellery and archaeology finds from the Victorian, Georgian and Tudor periods.
The Beaulieu
The Beaulieu is one of the world’s largest automobile museums. Its exhibits obtain many famous movie cars such as the official collection of all the original James Bond vehicles and the flying Ford Anglia from Harry Potter.
Sea City Museum
This museum’s exhibits show the story of Southampton’s past and the part the town’s people played in the role of British History. It also tells of the connections between the town and the infamous Titanic. Sea City also displays a collection of 3,500 works of art including paintings and ceramics in its City Art Gallery.
The Titanic Trail
Unknown to most people, Titanic and Southampton has many connections. The Titanic Trail explains these ties and many other facts about the sunken ship. Along the trail, you will find the Titanic Engineers’ Memorial, a bronze and granite monument dedicated to all of the 35 deceased engineers of the ship. Not so far from that is the Titanic Musicians’ Memorial, dedicated to the musicians of the ship.
SS Shieldhall
Built in 1954, the SS Shieldhall is the largest steamship of her type to still be working in Europe. This magnificent ship was one the Clyde sludge boats and has been fully restored. She now supplies an example of the typical machinery used between the 1870s and 1960s.
Old Town and Bargate
Southampton’s old town has many historic locations with ties to famous residents and visitors, such as Henry V, William Shakespeare, William the Conqueror, Isaac Watts, the Pilgrim Fathers, and Jane Austen. The 800 year old Bargate stands as the entrance to the Old Town.
Solent sky
Solent sky is a large museum of war planes, models and photographs. Southampton’s region is well-known for the experimental work between 1908 and the late 1960s. Pieces of the museum are infamous machinery such as the Spitfire, the Sandringham flying boat and the Supermarine Racing Seaplane.
Ocean village
East to the Old Town, Princess Alexandra Dock has reconstructed into a shopping centre and place of leisure. Smart yachts are secured in the waterfront before the Canute’s Pavilion with its cinemas, boat trips, designer boutiques, gourmet restaurants, sailing facilities and amazing views of cruise ships moored on the East side of the docks.
Netley Abbey
Founded in 1239, the ruins of Netley Abbey have inspired many English authors and artists throughout the years. Netley Village is also worth seeing with its foundation stone of the Royal Victoria Military Hospital designed by Florence Nightingale and laid down by Queen Victoria. Nearby, covering 200 acres of wood and park, is the Royal Victoria country park, as well as a small shingle beach.
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