Southampton's local history

Southampton and the slave trade "Sugar and Spice" - video

Sotonians include Jane Austen, who lived in what is now Old Town, and it is rumoured that Southampton Water is the site where King Canute tried to hold back the tides.

Our city has an important aviation and maritime heritage. Henry V marched his troops through the Westgate (still standing) to sail for France and the battle of Agincourt. The Mayflower sailed from Southampton taking settlers to the New World of America. The Titanic embarked from Southampton on its fateful maiden voyage, taking over five hundred Southampton residents who would never return. Southampton was home of some of the first flying boats, and it is thought that the term ‘air port’ was first used in reference to Southampton in this role. Local resident RJ Mitchell designed the Spitfire and it had its maiden flight from what is now Southampton airport. Local people kept production of this vital plane going throughout the war. The port also served as a critical base for American soldiers amassing in secret for the D Day landings.

Old Town today still contains a wealth of historical attractions – the Bargate, the medieval walls and Tudor House are some of the many sites worth visiting. You can find out more from links in the left hand panel.

The library collection like other areas can provide information on many aspects of the history of Southampton and Hampshire. It has a range of published material including books, periodicals, newspapers, directories, maps and illustrations. Ample study space is available and trained staff are always on hand to help with your enquiries. Documents and books in the local history collection are for reference only. For anybody wishing to borrow local history, there is a collection of books, videos and pamphlets available for loan on the lower ground floor of the central library and smaller collections in local libraries.

Other heritage collections are also key to understanding Southampton’s past. The whole city of Southampton contains a wealth of archaeological remains, both on dry land and underwater. Below the modern streets can be found evidence of prehistoric hunter-gatherer and farming communities, the Roman settlement of Clausentum, the middle Saxon town of Hamwic, and the late Saxon and medieval town and villages that laid the basis for the modern city and suburbs. Some ancient walls and buildings survive above ground. The complex picture is constantly being amended and enhanced by archaeological fieldwork. See the archaeology database for more information.

The Maritime and local collections unit has fascinating series of objects demonstrating a keen interest in how people lived, how they worked and how they entertained themselves, as well as how they got about. One of the main strengths of the collections is costume, which includes accessories such as bags, fans, parasol, shoes, and uniform, Ships and shipping is a major theme and there are substantial collections of photographs, paintings, drawings, prints and ship models.

Portcities web site (also referred to as 'Plimsoll')
Southampton together with a number of other British cities created a Portcities website; the Southampton section contains for a wealth of information especially for the 19th and 20th centuries. You can use the searchable database to access thousands of photographs and images of Southampton, as well as information on the history of Southampton docks and a selection of historic street directories.

To look at original (as opposed to printed) material on Southampton, the city archive collection is a crucial resource dating from 1199. It contains a wide range of sources for information on Southampton people and places; as well as subjects as diverse as 14th century administration, 19th century policing, poor relief, workhouses, court records, church records, merchant shipping, and 20th century oral history recordings. All the material is for reference only and must be consulted in the reading room which is open Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays.