SOUTHAMPTON IN 1554.
Girded round by high embattled walls, flanked with numerous towers, all
in good repair, and well ordnanced, old Southampton had a proud and
defiant look, especially when viewed from the water. Within the walls,
situated on an elevated point on the north-west, stood the castle, now
totally destroyed, the donjon of which, erected at the time of the
Conquest, if not before, commanded with its guns all the approaches to
the harbour, as well as the country to the north. This strongly
fortified town possessed no less than eight gates, besides posterns. It
was defended on the north and east by a moat of extraordinary width and
depth, crossed by drawbridges connected with the gates, and on the south
and west by the sea, which washed the foot of its walls; and it
contained many large and important mansions, amongst which may be noted
the antique palace of Canute, besides several fine churches, hospitals,
religious establishments, conduits, and great storehouses, together with
a long and goodly street, described by old Leland, in his Itinerary, “as
one of the fairest streets that is in any town of all England.”
From the summit of the castle magnificent views were obtained of the
lovely Isle of Wight in the distance; of the vast woody region known as
the New Forest; of the broad estuary spread out like a lake before it,
almost always thronged with craft, and sometimes, as now, filled with
larger vessels; of the ruthlessly-despoiled but still beauteous abbey of
Netley, embosomed in its groves; of the course of the Itchen, on the one
side, and of the Test on the other; or, looking inland towards the north
of a marshy tract, caused by the overflowing waters of the Itchen; of
more marshes on the low ground further on, then more forest scenery,
with here and then a village and an ancient castellated mansion, until
the prospect was terminated by Saint Catherine’s and Saint Giles’s hills
near Winchester.
Situated at the point of a piece of high land lying between the
confluence of the two rivers just mentioned, namely, the Itchen and the
Test, old Southampton was completely insulated by the deep ditch
connecting these streams on the north, and continued along the east side
of the walls. Without the walls, on the east, lay an extensive suburb,
occupying the site of a still older town, which had been sacked and in a
great part burnt by French and Genoese pirates in the time of Edward
III.—a disaster that caused the second town to be as strongly fortified
as we have described it.
And now let us examine the gates, the noblest of which, the Bar-gate,
happily still exists. Built at different epochs, the two semicircular
towers composing the north frontage being added to the central arch,
which dates back at least as far as the Conquest, this stately
structure, which formed the sole entrance to the town from the north,
surpassed all the other gates in size and grandeur. Even now, crowded as
it is with habitations, and standing in the midst of a busy throughfare,
it is very imposing. Its massive towers, reverent with age, and carrying
back the mind of the beholder to a remote period, are strongly
machiolated, and retain much of their pristine character, but the once
beautiful pointed archway between them has been disfigured by
enlargement. Anciently, there was a double moat on the north of this
gate, crossed by a stone bridge and a drawbridge. On the parapets of the
first of these bridges the lordly sitting lions now guarding the archway
were set.
We may complete our description of the Bar-gate by mentioning that it
contains the Guildhall of the town, or Domus Civica, as old Leland terms
it. Underneath, below the level of the moat, there was formerly a
dungeon.
It may be questioned whether the good folk of Southampton are half so
proud of their noble gate as of two extraordinary paintings hanging on
the right and left of the central arch, which represent the renowned Sir
Bevis, the legendary hero of the town, and the giant Ascapart, who,
according to tradition, being conquered by the doughty Danish knight,
became his squire. We do not quarrel with these paintings, or with their
position, but why should not pictorial representations be likewise given
of the peerless Princess Josyan, of whom Sir Bevis was enamoured, and of
his marvellous charger, Arundel? The pictures, we venture to suggest,
might serve to screen the grievous disfigurements on the south side of
the Bar-gate.
The Water-gate and the South-gate, both of which faced the harbour,
though inferior in size and grandeur of appearance to the Bar-gate, were
very strongly built, machiolated, provided with double portcullises, and
flanked by towers. The other five gates were nearly similar in
character; the most important being the East and West-gates.
High, and of great solidity, the walls were further strengthened on the
south and west sides by huge buttresses, as may still be seen in the
picturesque remains left in these parts of the modern town. The parapets
were embrasured, and had bastions at the angle of the walls. Towers were
also built for the protection of the flood-gates required to admit the
sea to the trenches.
All the fortifications, as we have said, were in good condition, having
been repaired and strengthened by Henry VIII., who was a frequent
visitor to the town, and, still more recently, in the reign of Edward
VI. The batteries were furnished with fresh artillery by the former
monarch, and a large piece of ordnance, graven with his name and title
of “Fidei Defensor,” is still preserved.
Separated from the town by the broad deep moat which was traversed in
this quarter by a couple of large drawbridges, the quay extended along
the shore to some distance on the east, and was laid out in wharves, and
provided with cranes and other machines for landing or embarking
cargoes. The harbour was marked out by huge piles driven into the banks,
like those which may be seen in the shallow lagunes of Venice.
Ordinarily the quay was a very busy scene, but its busiest and blithest
time was on the arrival of the Flanders galleys, which came twice or
thrice a year, laden with rich freights. Then all the wealthy merchants
of Southampton, with their clerks and serving-men, and even with their
wives and daughters, repaired to the platform eager to inspect the goods
and rare articles brought by the fleet.
Inhabited by a body of merchants who traded largely with Venice and the
East, and almost rivalled the merchants of London in wealth, Southampton
gave abundant evidence in its buildings of power and prosperity. In
English-street, now known as the High-street, dwelt the chief merchants
of the place, and though their habitations were not marble palaces, like
those of the Venetians with whom they traded, nor stately structures,
like those of the Flemings, who brought rich cargoes to their port, they
were substantial timber houses, with high roofs, picturesque gables, and
bay-windows. Not only did these houses possess large entrance-halls, and
spacious chambers panelled with black oak, hung with costly arras, and
otherwise luxuriously furnished, according to the taste of their wealthy
owners, but they boasted, in many cases, large, dry, well-arched vaults,
stored with casks of good Bordeaux, Xerez, Malaga, Alicant, Malvoisie,
and Gascoigne wines. Some of these famous old cellars yet exist. Let us
hope they are as well stocked as of yore.
Most of the houses in English-street were remarkable for the elaborate
carvings adorning their woodwork, while the handsome porches were
embellished with shields and escutcheons charged with armorial bearings.
In all cases the upper stories projected beyond the lower, so as to
overhang the footways. It is satisfactory to add that the Southampton
merchants of that day were noted for the liberality of their dealings,
as well as for their princely hospitality to strangers.
About midway in English-street stood Holyrood Church, an antique pile,
of which we shall have occasion to speak anon; and contiguous to the
South-gate, which then formed one of the outlets to the harbour, was the
Domus Dei, or God’s House, an ancient hospital, in the chapel of which,
now used as a place of worship by French Protestants, were buried the
three lords, Cambridge, Scrope, and Grey, beheaded for conspiring
against Henry V., as that warlike prince was about to embark for France
to win the glorious battle of Agincourt. And while on this theme, let us
not forget that it was likewise from Southampton that the victors of
Cressy sailed.
Such was Southampton in the middle of the sixteenth century. It was
during the reign of Henry VIII. that its power and importance as a
seaport culminated. At the period of which we treat it had begun to
decline, though the vast wealth previously acquired by its merchants
helped for a while to sustain it. But its trade continued sensibly to
diminish in Elizabeth’s time, while its rival, Portsmouth, grew in
consequence. However, a great future was in store for Southampton. The
present century has witnessed its revival and restoration to far more
than its mediæval prosperity. With its secure harbour and noble docks,
wherein ride the superb steamers that connect it with the East and West
Indies, and indeed with the whole world, few ports in the kingdom can
now vie with that of fair Southampton.
[Illustration]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
[Illustration]