The Port of Southampton is located near the Isle of Wight on a peninsula between the Itchen and Test River estuaries in south central England. It’s just northwest of the Port of Le Havre in France.
Port History
Archeologists have found evidence of prehistoric settlement all over the Port of Southampton, the earliest finds being those of Old Stone Age tools over 70 thousand years old. A Middle Stone Age site was found there in the 1990s, and New Stone Age pottery is also plentiful. In the 19th Century, Bronze Age objects found in a cemetery were so abundant that gravediggers sold artifacts to local historians. Iron Age earthworks, a possible salt production site, and pottery have been found in the area as well. Traces of buildings and artifacts from the Iron Age have been found near the city center.
A Roman settlement, Clausentum, was there in 43 AD. Viking King Canute may have defeated the Anglo-Saxon King Ethelred the Unready here in 1014. Archeologists have found a rich collection of Saxon artifacts here. Before 1086, the Saxon settlement, Hamtun, was a royal borough. King Henry II granted a town charter in the middle 12th Century. The town was incorporated in 1445, and King Henry VI made it a county in 1447. In 1640, Charles I granted a charter that was effective until 1835.
By the 10th Century, the Port of Southampton was a major English port, and exported wool and hides and imported wine from Bordeaux. It was the Plantagenet kings’ chief link to their lands in France. In the 1415, just before Henry V left from the Port of Southampton to fight the Battle of Agincourt, leaders of the “Southampton Plot” were executed for treason outside the city’s Bargate. Today, several medieval buildings still stand: St. Michael’s Church (11th Century), King John’s Palace (12th Century), and parts of the old city walls.
The Port of Southampton declined in the 17th and 18th Centuries, but the arrival of railways brought a revival. Most luxury liners of the early 20th Century departed from the Port of Southampton. The doomed RMS Titanic sailed from the port in 1912. The docks were rebuilt in 1838, and the Port of Southampton gained the epithet “The Gateway to the Empire.” In 1840, the London-Southampton railway linked the Port of Southampton’s docks to London. The Port of Southampton’s large harbor and lasting high-water tides (caused by the Isle of Wight) made it a convenient and important trade center.
The city center suffered much damage during World War II. Local maps were used by the German Luftwaffe to bomb the city. Southampton’s oldest building, St. Michaels Church, survived. Construction began in 1070, and many additions had been made. But its central tower, dating from Norman times, was used by German pilots to navigate.
Port Commerce
By 1980, the Port of Southampton was England’s second biggest port. The port’s older industries of shipbuilding and repair, tobacco processing, and grain milling were joined by new manufacturing (automobiles, aircraft, petrochemicals, cables, and electrical engineering products).
Today, the Port of Southampton is the main car-handling port, and it contains England’s second biggest container terminal. The container facility accounts for almost half of United Kingdom-Far East trade. Cargoes moving through the port include minerals, animal feeds, agribulk, sand aggregates, and marble chips. The Port of Southampton is the only British port importing Canary Islands produce, and the Canary Islands Fruit Terminal handles fresh tomatoes, avocadoes, peppers, and cucumbers.
The Port of Southampton is the capital of England’s cruise industry, with over cruise 280 ship movements in a year. It’s both P&O Cruises’ and Carnival Line’s base in England. Many other cruise companies call regularly at the port, including Royal Caribbean, Saga Holidays, Fred Olsen Cruise Line, and Thomson Cruises. The port has three passenger terminals and is constructing a fourth. You can find a cruise ship schedule on the port’s website.
Cruising and Travel
The Port of Southampton is a favorite destination for tourists. Attractions include historic sites, waterfront restaurants, boats for hire, parks, concerts, and the well-known Mayflower Theatre. The Port of Southampton’s City Council has created an excellent and comprehensive website with information for visitors.
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