Southampton Castle

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Southampton Castle in a city map by John Speed from 1612

Southampton Castle is a ruined castle in the city of Southampton in the English county of Hampshire . The castle, which was built after the Norman conquest of England , was in the northwest corner of what was then the settlement over the River Test . The first building there was a wooden moth . At the end of the 12th century, this royal castle had been largely rebuilt in stone and played an important role in the wine trade that was conducted through the docks in Southampton. At the end of the 13th century the castle fell into disrepair, but the danger of a French attack prompted the kingRichard II to have extensive new buildings carried out. The result was a strong defensive castle, one of the first in England to be armed with cannons . In the 16th century the castle fell into disrepair and was sold to property speculators in 1618. After the castle grounds had served various purposes for centuries, e.g. B. the construction of a neo-Gothic country house at the beginning of the 19th century, it was leveled and largely completely rebuilt. Few parts of the original castle can still be seen in Southampton today.

history

11-13 century

The first version of Southampton Castle was built in the late 11th century, sometime after the Norman conquest of England. Southampton was a relatively large settlement then, but not as important as it was in the late Middle Ages. The royal castle was built in the existing settlement on the site of a presumably large English hall structure, causing severe damage to the surrounding private buildings because space had to be made for the new fortifications. The city of Southampton was protected by water on most of its sides as it had moats and ramparts, and the castle was built on sloping ground in the northwest corner of the city, over the mouth of the River Test, an important waterway in the Middle Ages. The first castle was a wooden moth. The mound was 14 meters in diameter and at least part of the walls of the courtyard were rebuilt in stone in the first half of the 12th century. The richest neighborhoods of Southampton were to the west of the city, just south of the castle, and some of the poorest neighborhoods were just across the castle, to the northeast. The castle was directly adjacent to the city's quays.

During the years of anarchy when Empress Matilda and King Stephen fought for supremacy in England, the castle held William le Gros , the Bishop of Winchester , a supporter of Stephen. When Henry II came to the English throne in 1153, he took back the castle and took steps to improve the condition of Southampton Castle as part of his efforts to improve general security in the south of England. At that time, Southampton Castle was considered a key fortress along with other important castles such as the Tower of London , Windsor Castle , Oxford Castle , Lincoln Castle and Winchester Castle .

In the second half of the 12th century, Southampton Castle was prized more for its role in coastal defense and as a coastal base for military operations in mainland Europe than for its value in domestic security. After the threat of an invasion by the French in the 1170s, Henry II invested limited funds in the castle, and in 1187 the wooden donjon was demolished and a stone donjon was built in its place. King Johann Ohneland increased investments in the castle during his reign. Royal visits were very common in Southampton and so another royal residence, the King's House , was built outside the castle.

In the 12th century, Southampton was an important trading center with trade routes to Normandy , the Levant and Gascony . The castle played an important role in this trade, partly as a warehouse for the king's imports, which was organized through a bailiff of the crown. Royal procurements of wine were particularly important to the castle as it was stored there and distributed among royal estates throughout southern England. The castle's former knight's hall was converted into an underground vault in the 13th century, presumably to store wine.

14.-15. century

The defenses of Southampton in the late Middle Ages: A - Castle keep; B - moat; C - Southgate; D - Water Gate; E - vault of the castle; F - Catchcold Tower; G - Arundel Tower; H - bar gate; I - docks; J - York Gate; K - Polnymond Tower; L - east gate; M - bridge gate; N - spur; O - south gate; P - west gate; Q - Blue Anchor Gate; R - Biddles Gate; S - King John's Palace; T - Norman House; U - east gate of the castle.

In 1300 Southampton was an important port and a large provincial town with about 5000 inhabitants. In 1338 there was a successful French attack on the city, burning down various buildings and damaging the castle. King Edward III responded by reinforcing the city's defenses; he had walls built along the old moats and ramparts, particularly the west side of the city being better fortified, but the castle itself seems to have been little improved. In the middle of the 14th century, Southampton Castle was embedded in a two kilometer long city wall, although the city wall and castle were administered separately.

In 1370 the French successfully attacked Portsmouth , starting a series of new attacks on England's south coast. King Edward III answered immediately. and then King Richard II with a new castle building program on it, including work on Southampton Castle, which was in disrepair. The poor condition was caused in part by the theft of building materials, including stones and roofing, by the city's citizens. Master builder Henry Yevele and architect William Wynford renovated the donjon from 1378 to 1382, while additional defenses were added between 1383 and 1388, e.g. B. a barbican and a weir. Thomas Tredynton was appointed chaplain to the castle and received an unusually high annual salary of £ 10 owing to his continued skill as a military engineer. Southampton Castle was one of the first castles in the country to receive its first cannon in 1382. At that time the cannons were still very unreliable, had only very short firing ranges and required special gun ports . This time, too, the decision to equip the castle with such a device was based on fears of a French attack. An "expert on cannons and the use of artillery" was appointed to operate the new armament in the 15th century.

After the shock of 1457 when French troops successfully attacked the town of Sandwich on the south coast, Southampton Castle was again put on alert and became one of King Henry VI's more "reliable captains" . , Nicholas Carew , was employed at the castle for life. Although investment in the castle declined, historian John Leland was able to describe the new donjon in the early 16th century as "the glory of the castle, both large and very strong, both in design and appearance".

16. – 19. century

In the 16th century a new period of decline began for the castle. After 1518 no more money was invested in the repair of the castle. The inner courtyard was first used as a garbage dump and then for extensive agriculture. In 1585 the castle was "very ruinous and in great disrepair". Unlike many other royal castles, Southampton Castle was never converted into a prison, as Southampton's two prisons were built on Bargate and Fish Street . In 1618 King James I sold the Burgh to real estate speculators; it was then resold to George Gallop , a local merchant, and a windmill was later built on the mound. The castle played no role in the ensuing English Civil War , even though part of its masonry was used to reinforce the city walls in 1650. Two of the castle gates, the south gate and the east gate, were demolished at the end of the 18th century. The rest of the buildings fell into disrepair.

Various short-lived structures were later erected on the mound. The first of these was a pavilion built by Lord Stafford at the turn of the 19th century . In 1808, the Marquess of Landsdowne had a neo-Gothic country house built on the mound, for which part of the remains of the stone donjon was used. It was called Landsdowne Castle and it had a beautiful view of the city. Landsdowne Castle was demolished in either 1815 or 1818 and most of the mound was subsequently leveled.

From the end of the 19th century, the castle grounds were built over several times. A new street, Upper Bugle Street , was laid through the old courtyard and various buildings of the city administration were built. After the Second World War , construction work continued; During the war, large parts of the city around the old castle were severely damaged by bombs.

today

Excavations under the Castle's Watergate

Only fragments of the medieval castle have survived to this day; most of the original castle grounds are covered with modern buildings. A block of flats from 1962 over the remains of the old mound dominates the ensemble. The knight's hall and the vault of the castle can still be seen today, as well as surviving parts of the southern castle wall, the Watergate and fragments of the northern castle wall. In a series of archaeological investigations between 1973 and 1983, about 10% of the entire castle grounds were excavated and since then, more modest work has been carried out, e.g. B. 2001 a temporary excavation under Forest View Street .

Individual references and comments

  1. ↑ Christopher Dyer: Making a Living in the Middle Ages: The People of Britain, 850-1520 . Yale University Press, London 2009. ISBN 978-0-300-10191-1 . P. 62. online , accessed on October 11, 2016.
  2. ^ C. Drage: Urban Castles in J. Schofield, R. Leach (editor): Urban Archeology in Britain: CBA Research Report 61 . CBA, London 1987. p. 119.
  3. ^ A b c Patrick Ottaway: Archeology in British towns: from the Emperor Claudius to the Black Death . Routledge, London 1992. ISBN 978-0-415-00068-0. P. 171. Retrieved October 11, 2016.
  4. ^ Robert Liddiard: Castles in Context: Power, Symbolism and Landscape, 1066 to 1500 . Macclesfield, UK: Windgather Press, Macclesfield 2005. ISBN 0-9545575-2-2. S. 19. Retrieved October 11, 2016.
  5. ↑ a b c d e f James D. Mackenzie: The Castles of England: Their Story and Structure . Volume II. Macmillan, New York 1896. p. 212. Retrieved October 11, 2016.
  6. ^ A b c Norman John Greville Pounds: The Medieval Castle in England and Wales: a social and political history . Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 1990. ISBN 978-0-521-45828-3. P. 152. Retrieved October 11, 2016.
  7. ^ Southampton Castle . Gatehouse Gazetteer. Retrieved October 11, 2016.
  8. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s Southampton HER MSH23 . Heritage Gateway. Retrieved October 11, 2016.
  9. ^ A b c d Duncan Brown: Class and rubbish in Pedro Paulo A. Funari, Martin Hall, Sian Jones (editor): Historical Archeology: Back From The Edge . Routledge, London 1999. ISBN 978-0-415-11787-6. P. 156. Retrieved October 11, 2016.
  10. ^ A b Graeme J. White: Restoration and Reform, 1153-1165: Recovery from Civil War in England . Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 2000. ISBN 978-0-521-55459-6. P. 7. Retrieved October 11, 2016.
  11. ↑ Jim Bradbury: (2009) Stephen and Matilda: the Civil War of 1139-53 . The History Press, Stroud 2009. ISBN 978-0-7509-3793-1. P. 190. Retrieved October 11, 2016.
  12. ^ R. Allen Brown: English Castles . Batsford, London 1962. p. 42.
  13. ^ Norman John Greville Pounds: The Medieval Castle in England and Wales: a social and political history . Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 1990. ISBN 978-0-521-45828-3. P. 78. Retrieved October 11, 2016.
  14. ↑ a b c James D. Mackenzie: The Castles of England: Their Story and Structure . Volume II. Macmillan, New York 1896. p. 213. Retrieved October 11, 2016.
  15. ↑ Back then, the royal wine was transported in large, wooden barrels that held 252 gallons. Large quantities of it had to be imported: in 1201, for example, King Johann Ohneland had 180,000 gallons of wine stored in his cellars.
  16. ^ Danny Danziger, John Gillingham: 1215: The Year of the Magna Carta . Coronet Books, London 2003. ISBN 978-0-7432-5778-7. P. 26. Retrieved October 11, 2016.
  17. ↑ Christopher Dyer: Making a Living in the Middle Ages: The People of Britain, 850-1520 . Yale University Press, London 2009. ISBN 978-0-300-10191-1. P. 190. Retrieved October 11, 2016.
  18. ^ Anthony Emery: Greater Medieval Houses of England and Wales, 1300–1500: Southern England . Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 2006. ISBN 978-0-521-58132-5. P. 284. Retrieved October 11, 2016.
  19. ^ Anthony Emery: Greater Medieval Houses of England and Wales, 1300–1500: Southern England . Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 2006. ISBN 978-0-521-58132-5. Pp. 284, 298. Retrieved October 11, 2016.
  20. ^ Anthony Emery: Greater Medieval Houses of England and Wales, 1300–1500: Southern England . Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 2006. ISBN 978-0-521-58132-5. Pp. 284, 292. Retrieved October 11, 2016.
  21. ^ Norman John Greville Pounds: The Medieval Castle in England and Wales: a social and political history . Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 1990. ISBN 978-0-521-45828-3. P. 245. Retrieved October 11, 2016.
  22. ^ A b Norman John Greville Pounds: The Medieval Castle in England and Wales: a social and political history . Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 1990. ISBN 978-0-521-45828-3. P. 253. Retrieved October 11, 2016.
  23. ^ Norman John Greville Pounds: The Medieval Castle in England and Wales: a social and political history . Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 1990. ISBN 978-0-521-45828-3. P. 254. Retrieved October 11, 2016.
  24. ↑ Ralph Alan Griffiths: The Reign of King Henry VI: the Exercise of Royal Authority, 1422-1461 . University of California Press, Berkeley 1981. ISBN 978-0-520-04372-5. P. 815. Retrieved October 11, 2016.
  25. ^ Ralph B. Pugh: Imprisonment in Medieval England . Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 1968. ISBN 978-0-521-06005-9. P. 103. Retrieved October 11, 2016.
  26. ↑ a b c Anthony Emery: Greater Medieval Houses of England and Wales, 1300-1500: Southern England . Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 2006. ISBN 978-0-521-58132-5. P. 292. Retrieved October 11, 2016.
  27. ↑ James Dugdale: The New British Traveler, or Modern Panorama of England and Wales . Volume 2. Robins, London 1810. p. 530. Retrieved October 11, 2016.
  28. ↑ Southampton was officially raised from a small town to a medium-sized town in 1964.
  29. ↑ Christopher M. Gerrard: Medieval Archeology: Understanding Traditions and Contemporary Approaches . Routledge, Oxon 2005. ISBN 978-0-415-23463-4. P. 146. Retrieved October 11, 2016.
  30. ^ Southampton City Council: Excavations inside Southampton Castle Archaeological Finds at 7 Forest View . Archived from the original on October 5, 2013. Retrieved October 11, 2016.

Coordinates: 50 ° 54'2.5 "  N , 1 ° 24'19.4"  W.