The Port of Southampton is a major passenger and cargo port located in the central part of the south coast of England. It has been an important port since the Roman occupation of Britain nearly two thousand years ago, and has a multifaceted history. From the Middle Ages to the end of the 20th century, it was a centre for naval shipbuilding and a departure point for soldiers going to war. The port also played a role in the development of hovercraft, flying boat services, seaplanes and the Spitfire fighter plane. Before the advent of jet travel, Southampton was Britain's gateway to the world. The port also played a minor role in the history of Britain's canals.
History There is evidence of settlement in the area now known as Southampton as far back as the Stone Age, but no evidence of boating or port activity. The Romans settled the site (known as Clausentum, now the Bitterne Manor area of Southampton) around 70 AD. They operated a busy port, serving the large towns of Winchester and Salisbury. The settlement was abandoned when the Romans left Britain in 407 AD. The (Saxons ) founded a new town (known as Hamwick, later Hamtun) across the river Itchen from the Roman site around 700 AD. The population reached about 5,000, making it a large town. The port traded with France, Greece and the Middle East, exporting wool and importing wines and fine pottery.
Legend has it that while in Southampton (although Bosham, West Sussex makes a similar claim), Viking king Cnut the Great (also known as King Canute) sat on the shore on his throne and commanded the incoming tide to stop and not wet his robes. The tide ignored him. He was not trying to prove he was all-powerful, but was demonstrating to his courtiers that even he was not all-powerful; they should worship God instead. In 1016, Canute was crowned King of England in Southampton; although he had come as an invader, his twenty-year reign was peaceful and uneventful. The port's 200-ton (tonne) floating crane, HLV Canute, was named after him.
The Saxon town began to decline during the 10th century (due to Viking raids and the silting of the river Itchen), but a mediaeval town also known as Hamtun grew up nearby. A large number of Norman immigrants arrived after the conquest, and English and French quarters developed in the town. The most important import and export were wine and wool, respectively. The port was also an important departure point for English armies on their way to France. A shipbuilding industry began, constructing naval ships for the Hundred Years' War. The most notable ship built during this era was HMS Grace Dieu, the flagship of King Henry V. She was built in 1418 by William Soper, a burgess of Southampton and clerk of the king's ships, in a dock built for the purpose near Watergate Quay. This quay, dating from 1411 on the site now occupied by Town Quay, was the centre of the town's port activities. She was more than long, with a displacement of around 2,750 tons (tonnes) (making her similar in size but different in appearance from HMS Victory). She was destroyed by fire on the river Hamble in 1439. Trade with Genoa and Venice began and flourished, traders bringing luxuries (such as perfumes, spices and silk) and cargoes of alum and woad (used to dye wool) and returning with English wool and cloth.
Southampton became one of England's most important ports, after London and Bristol. The name 'Southampton' came into use partly to eliminate confusion between this Hampton (in the kingdom of Wessex) and another Hamtun/Hampton (in the kingdom of Mercia); the latter became Northampton.
In 1620, the Pilgrim Fathers (also known as Pilgrims or English Separatists) departed from Southampton for North America on the Mayflower and Speedwell. The Speedwell had come from Holland to meet the Mayflower before crossing together. However, she was leaky and put into Dartmouth and Plymouth for repairs. There are reports that crew members who did not want to make the voyage sabotaged her.Usher R G 1984 The Pilgrims and their History Corner House Publishers p 67 She was deemed too unreliable to attempt the crossing; personnel and stores were transferred to the Mayflower, who completed the passage alone.
The 16th and 17th centuries were another period of decline for Southampton, as other ports (such as London) competed for business. The Italian trade dwindled, and the port was generally quiet until the second half of the 18th century. There was a period during which Southampton was better known as a fashionable spa town and sea-bathing resort than as a port.
Modern era
Trade gradually increased, and soon the port was handling wine and fruit from Spain and Portugal; grain from Ireland and eastern England; woollen stockings from the Channel Islands; slate and building stone from Scotland; coal from Newcastle and Scotland, and timber from the Baltics. Paddle steamers began passenger service to the Channel Islands and Le Havre in 1823. They berthed at Watergate Quay, but could only do so at high tide. The original wooden Royal Victoria Pier was opened in 1833, and provided berthing facilities at all tidal depths.
The opening of the railway to London in 1840 gave a boost to the port. Ships began arriving in numbers that overwhelmed the town's quays and wharves, and the first dock was inaugurated in 1843. This became known as the "outer dock" when a second, "inner" dock began use in 1851. Berths along the Itchen Quays, South Quay and Test Quays became available for use between 1875 and 1902. In 1890 Queen Victoria opened the Empress Dock, larger and deeper than earlier ones. Four dry docks for ship maintenance were constructed, opening in 1846, 1847, 1854 and 1879. The Southampton Harbour Board Police was founded in 1847, and policed the port and its environs until it was finally disbanded in 1980, its functions being taken over by the British Transport Police.
P&O was the first deep-sea shipping line to use the port, beginning service in 1840. Others moved in: the Royal Mail Steam Packet Company arrived in 1842, with service to South America; the Union Line began service to South Africa in 1857. Of the trans-Atlantic companies, the American Line was first in 1893; White Star moved in from Liverpool in 1907, followed by Cunard in 1919. Another large dock was constructed, opening in 1911 and completing the Eastern Docks system. First known as the White Star Dock, its name was changed to Ocean Dock in 1922 when Cunard and Canadian Pacific also used it. In 1892 the Royal Pier reopened (now built of iron instead of wood). That year, the London and South Western Railway (which had greater financial resources than the Southampton Dock Company) became owner and operator of the docks.
Many new ships were too big for the four dry docks, so a fifth, the Prince of Wales Graving Dock then the largest in the world, was opened in 1895. In 1905, Trafalgar Graving Dock, also known as dock No. 6, was opened. In 1910, work began to make it suitable for RMS Olympic and Titanic. During a later upgrade, a notch was cut in the end (shaped like a ship's bow). When ships grew larger still, a floating dry dock was ordered from Armstrong Whitworth in Newcastle. Announced in 1922, it arrived in 1924, and was based at Berth 50. It measured and was extendable, although it was the largest such structure in the world. To use the facility, seawater would be allowed into its internal tanks to partially submerge it; a ship sailed in and the water would be pumped out. This raised the dock, taking the ship out of the water for repairs and maintenance. It could accommodate large ships such as the RMS Aquitania, but not very large ships such as the future RMS Queen Mary. The dock was moved to Portsmouth during the Second World War, and in 1959 it was sold to Rotterdam. In 1983 it was sold to Brazil, but it sank on the way there.
The "New Docks" opened in 1934; this was actually a single quay along with 400 acres of associated reclaimed land. At the western end of this was the seventh dry dock, the King George V Graving Dock, which opened in July 1933. The New Docks could accommodate the Queen Mary or the RMS Queen Elizabeth, the largest passenger ship to be built for 56 years. The New Docks are currently known as the Western Docks. West of the dry dock, a container port was developed from 1965 with the first quays opening a couple of years later. Further expansion took place in the 1970s, 1990s and 2010s.
At the Ocean Dock, the Art Deco Ocean Terminal opened in 1950 to provide shore facilities for the Queens and other Atlantic liners. These included an interior finished in blond burr woods, waiting rooms, baggage areas, spectator galleries, press rooms for journalists and three power-operated, telescoping gangways. Other amenities included buffets, a currency exchange, railway booking offices, telephone kiosks, newspaper stands and shops selling flowers, books and last-minute items. It was a luxurious facility by the standards of the day, and media interest in travelling celebrities added to its glamour. Downstairs were trains to London and facilities for luggage and ships' stores.
The Ocean Terminal was demolished in 1983. The Queen Elizabeth II passenger terminal was opened in 1966 to augment (and replace) it, which remains in regular use. That terminal in turn is augmented by the 2009 Ocean Terminal, across the dock from the old.
The inter-war period was a busy time for the port, which was called the "Gateway to the Empire". In 1936, the Southampton docks handled 46 percent of the UK's ocean-going passenger traffic.
The following facts and figures are from the 1938 Handbook to Southampton Docks:
Passengers : 560,000 Visitors: 500,000 Cruise passengers: 70,000 Passenger trains: 2,500 Shipping: 18.5 million tons Shipping lines: 32 World ports served: 160
Southampton also handled a large amount of cargo; nearly 90 percent of South Africa's fruit exports to the UK was handled at the port. Express freight trains enabled produce landing at Southampton in the morning to be on sale in London fruit markets in the afternoon:
Fruit: over seven million packages (including 1.5 million bunches of bananas) Wagons: 160,000 Freight trains handled: 4,200
Dock facilities: Total length of quays: Dry docks: 7
The King George (No. 7) dry dock was the largest in the world, and could accommodate liners of up to 100,000 tons: Cranes: 140 Electric platform trucks (for moving cargo): 61
Museums
Southampton's maritime museum was originally housed in The Wool House on the edge of Town Quay which included a small exhibition about the Titanic. To mark the centenary of the Titanics voyage a larger exhibition, "Southampton’s Titanic Story", has been developed for a new £15 million museum in the city centre. Opened in April 2012, SeaCity Museum also houses a permanent exhibition entitled "Gateway to the World".
Southampton's archaeology museum was built into the city wall on the south shore in 1417 as a military fortification. The firing platform was on the roof, with guns and ammunition stored below. Later, it would be used as the town's gaol and was named God's House Tower after the neighbouring God's House hospital which was founded in 1196. The Roman, Saxon and mediaeval periods each have a gallery in the museum. Next to it is the Southampton Old Bowling Green (the world's oldest), dating from 1299.
To the west of the city wall, where the originals would have been moored, there is a replica of a wide-beamed cargo boat that was used for shipping wine and wool during the 14th century, set into the pavement and may be viewed at any time. There is also a replica of a similar boat in the early stages of construction, illustrating the construction techniques used.