As I predicted, now that the school holidays have begun the weather has become very autumnal, and our thoughts turn to what indoor activities can keep us occupied. Well the Central Library and Archives are very nice cosy places to spend a few hours while I catch up on my history research. Fresh from the excitement of the cemetery walk, I have been delving into the amazing things to be discovered about the people and places of Southampton. We live in what was once the great estate of Bevois Mount owned by the Earl of Peterborough amongst others. Part of the land was sold off for building in the 1860s, but there are reminders of our glorious past in some of the road names - Peterborough Road, Earls Road and Mordaunt Road in particular. Usually as I walk through Southampton I am thinking about what to buy in West Quay or some such thing, and I don't tend to notice the historical artefacts that are all around the area. For example we have lived in our house for five years, and it was only the other day that I noticed this right outside our front door.
This is a rainwater culvert cover manufactured by Lankester and Sons in 1887. There are many of these on our estate, but most of them are covered in tarmac. They really are very attractive pieces of ironmongery. The Lankester family were very notable in the nineteenth century; in fact they owned the Tudor House museum when it was a slum and not a museum. In the 1871 Kelly's directory they are just listed as Lankester and Son, Ironmongers 136 High Street. By 1907 they were Lankester and Son Limited, furnishing ironmongers, iron founders and manufacturers, iron and steel merchants, yacht and ship chandlers with premises in the High Street, Back of the Walls, Holy Rood place and French Street. They actually had two telephones! By this time they were far too posh to live in Southampton and had decamped to Bassett Lodge, Bassett, North Stoneham. However they didn't want Southampton residents to be godless.
This is the foundation stone of St Andrew's Church on the Avenue.
Where are the Lankesters now I hear you ask. Well, they are in a place where we will all end up eventually, although our resting places might not be as pleasant as Southampton Old Cemetery
Where are the Lankesters now I hear you ask. Well, they are in a place where we will all end up eventually, although our resting places might not be as pleasant as Southampton Old Cemetery
The way Southampton looks today has largely been shaped by the events of the Second World War. There has been one nice day since the schools broke up, and we were fortunate enough to spend it finding out how the people of the town sheltered during the blitz. Even though I have lived in Southampton since 1977 I had no idea of the wealth of medieval remains just lying beneath our feet. The medieval vaults were originally used for storing wine, then used as cellars by shopkeepers and then as air raid shelters. The vaults are still there even though most of the shops have gone.
This is Dr Andy Russel, Archaeology Unit Manager, unlocking the entrance to an astonishing network of vaults that were used as shelters in the last war. There is nothing on display to indicate what it is. When we were inside we had to have torches as there is no electricity supply - there used to be, but the local authority were actually stealing it via a link to the nearest lamp post. When the lamp post was replaced the electricity was cut off.
Now, what do you think this is?
Now, what do you think this is?
It is actually the ventilation shaft for one of the air raid shelters. Isn't that amazing? - modern archaeology in action. The vaults were built in the fourteenth century, and some of the decoration is quite incredible
This is one of the medieval heads in The Undercroft. The vaults are all in the St Michael's Square area, and there are very few buildings remaining from before the war - the Tudor House is one, obviously, and here are a few others
The Red Lion is the oldest pub in Southampton and rich in history. However it is disappointingly tatty inside; the moped stored in the corridor does nothing to add to the ambience. I don't know how long the Indian restaurant building will last - it is really pretty, but there is buddleia growing out of the roof. Southampton has still just about got an Archaeological Field Unit, although it was threatened with closure in 2012. So if you are at a loose end and it stops raining, get down to the bottom end of town and immerse yourself in our heritage. Then go for a drink in The Dancing Man.