   #copyright

Southampton

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: Geography of Great
Britain

                                City of Southampton
                           Image:EnglandSouthampton.png
                                                               Geography
                        Status:                      Unitary, City (1964)
                        Region:                        South East England
             Ceremonial County:                                 Hampshire
                          Area:
                        - Total                              Ranked 301st
                                                                49.84 km²
                     Admin. HQ:                               Southampton
                     Grid Ref.:                                  SU 42 11
                      ONS code:                                      00MS
                                               Post Office and Telephone
                 Postcode span:                                 SO14-SO19
                     Post Town:                               SOUTHAMPTON
                 Dialling Code:                                       023
                                                            Demographics
                    Population:
            - Total (2005 est.)
                      - Density                     Ranked 54th
                                                                  222,000
                                                              4,454 / km²
                     Ethnicity:                    92.4% White
                                                             3.8% S.Asian
                                                         1.0% Afro-Carib.
                                                                Politics
                              Southampton City Council
                    Leadership:                          Leader & Cabinet
                     Executive:           Liberal Democrats (council NOC)
                           MPs: John Denham, Sandra Gidley, Alan Whitehead

   Southampton is a city and major port situated on the south coast of
   England. It is the closest city to the New Forest, situated
   approximately halfway between Portsmouth and Bournemouth. Southampton
   lies at the northern-most point of Southampton Water where it is joined
   by the River Test and River Itchen, with the River Hamble joining to
   the south of the urban area. The city represents the core of the
   Greater Southampton region. A resident of Southampton is called a
   Sotonian.

History

   Civic Centre, Southampton
   Enlarge
   Civic Centre, Southampton
   The Cenotaph
   Enlarge
   The Cenotaph
   The medieval city wall
   Enlarge
   The medieval city wall
   Southampton High Street in 1839.
   Enlarge
   Southampton High Street in 1839.
   The memorial to the engineers of the RMS Titanic.
   Enlarge
   The memorial to the engineers of the RMS Titanic.

   Although Stone Age settlements are known to have existed in the area,
   the first permanent settlement was established by the Romans. Known as
   Clausentum, it was an important trading port for the large Roman towns
   of Winchester and Salisbury.

   The Anglo-Saxons moved the centre of the town across the River Itchen
   to its present location, and it remained an important port. At the
   time, it was centered around what is now the St Mary's area, and the
   settlement was known as Hamwic. This name was later to evolve into
   Hamtun, and later still to Hampton.

   The Viking King Canute the Great is supposed to have defeated the
   Anglo-Saxon King Ethelred the Unready here in 1014 and been crowned
   here, and his fabled attempt to "command" the tide to halt may have
   taken place in Southampton. However, its prosperity was assured
   following the Norman Conquest in 1066, when it became the major port of
   transit between Winchester (then the capital of England) and Normandy.

   By the 13th Century, Southampton had become a leading port, and was
   particularly involved in the wool trade. The Wool House was built in
   1417 as a warehouse for the medieval wool trade with Flanders and
   Italy. This building is today used as the Maritime Museum, and can be
   found near Town Quay. It includes an exhibition concerning the RMS
   Titanic.

   Bowls was first played regularly on the Southampton Old Bowling Green
   adjacent to God's House Hospital in 1299. It is the world's oldest
   surviving bowling green.

   The town was sacked in 1338 by the French, including the pirate
   Grimaldi, who used the plunder to help found the principality of
   Monaco. After this attack, the city walls were built, some of which
   remain as ruins today. The city walls include God's House Tower, built
   in 1417, the first purpose-built artillery fortification in England.
   Today, it is open as the Museum of Archaeology.

   The 12th century Red Lion pub on the High Street below the Bargate
   within the old walls is where in 1415, immediately prior to King Henry
   V of England's departure from Southampton to the Battle of Agincourt,
   the ringleaders of the " Southampton Plot", Richard, Earl of Cambridge,
   Henry Scrope, 3rd Baron Scrope of Masham and Sir Thomas Grey of Heton,
   were tried and found guilty of high treason, before being summarily
   executed outside the Bargate.

   During the Middle Ages, shipbuilding became an increasingly important
   industry, which was to remain for centuries to come. The city became a
   county corporate in 1447.

   King Edward VI Grammar School was founded in the city near God's House
   Tower as a school for poor clergyman in 1553 by William Capon. Isaac
   Watts, one of its locally born alumni, wrote the words of the hymn O
   God Our Help In Ages Past, the melody of which forms the four-hourly
   peal of the Civic Centre clock chimes. King Edward's survives as a
   selective independent co-educational secondary school. The Watts
   memorial in the city's West Park - also known as the Watts Park - was
   unveiled in 1861.

   The port was the original point of departure for the Pilgrim Fathers
   aboard the Mayflower in 1623. A memorial can be found on Town Quay.
   Since that time it has been the last port of call for literally
   millions of emigrants who left the Old World to start a new life in the
   USA, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, South Africa and other parts of
   the world.

   The painter John Everett Millais was born in the city. Southampton
   Solent University's art gallery is named Millais Gallery in his honour.

   In common with most of the luxury liners of the time, the RMS Titanic
   sailed from here, and it is still an important ocean liner port
   frequented by luxury ships such as the RMS QE2, the MV Oriana, and most
   recently the Queen Mary 2. A memorial to the engineers of the Titanic
   may be found in Andrews Park, on Above Bar Street. There is a memorial
   to the musicians who played on the Titanic just opposite the main
   memorial. Also, the Maritime museum in Wool Hall includes an exhibition
   related to the vessel. Most of Titanic's crew lived in Southampton; 549
   Sotonians died in the sinking.

   The city is home to Sir Edwin Lutyens' first permanent cenotaph, a
   memorial to the city's dead of World War I. When it was unveiled on 6
   November 1920, it was 1800 names, later raised to 2008. It can be found
   in West (Watts) Park, opposite the Titanic memorial.

   The Second World War hit Southampton particularly hard, partly because
   of its strategic importance as the major industrial area on the South
   Coast and partly because of the city's links to the Supermarine
   Spitfire fighter aircraft, which was invented and manufactured in
   Southampton. Pockets of Georgian architecture remain, but much of the
   city was levelled. The accuracy of the locally-based Ordnance Survey's
   maps did not go unrecognised by the Luftwaffe: the German bomber pilots
   used them to bomb Southampton. One notable building to survive the
   bombings was Southampton's oldest, St. Michaels Church. Thought to have
   been commenced in 1070 , the building has been added to many times over
   the centuries but its central tower dates from Norman times. The spire
   was an important navigation aid for the German pilots and consequently
   they were ordered to avoid it .

   The Spitfire was developed and initially manufactured in the suburb of
   Woolston. Its designer, Reginald Mitchell, grew up in Stoke-on-Trent,
   then had a house in Russell Place in the suburb of Highfield near the
   university (now identified by a memorial plaque). The plane was a
   direct descendant of experimental aircraft built by Supermarine that
   competed in the Schneider Trophy in the 1930s. Supermarine was taken
   over by Vickers in 1928. Mitchell's short life is documented in the
   film The First of the Few. On Sept 24th 1940, the Woolston factory was
   bombed, killing 100 workers, though not damaging the factory. Two days
   later, the factory was heavily damaged by bombing, and thirty more
   workers died, which interrupted production of the Spitfire for many
   weeks at a critical time of the UK's survival.

   There were many aircraft companies based around Hamble, to the east of
   the city, from the 1930s to 1950s, including Folland Aviation, started
   by Henry P Folland, the former chief designer of Gloster Aircraft.
   Folland was taken over by Hawker Siddeley in 1960, and later as British
   Aerospace, the factory built the Hawk and Harrier. The history of the
   area's contribution to aviation is celebrated at the Southampton Hall
   of Aviation, near Itchen Bridge, and opposite the erstwhile site of the
   Woolston Supermarine factory. BOAC had a flying boat base in the docks
   serving British colonial possessions in Africa and Asia in the 1930s
   and 1940s. It closed in 1950 when land based aircraft became dominant.
   Nearby, Calshot Spit was a base for the military flying boat services.

   Southampton was one of the boroughs reformed by the Municipal
   Corporations Act 1835, and contained the parishes of All Saints, Holy
   Rood, St John, St Lawrence, St Mary, St Michael, and part of South
   Stoneham. The town became a county borough under the Local Government
   Act 1888. In 1894, under the Local Government Act 1894, the part of
   South Stoneham within the borough became the parish of Portswood, and
   in 1895 the parish of Shirley was added. In 1920, Bitterne, and part of
   the parishes of North Stoneham and South Stoneham were added. The area
   of the Itchen Urban District was added in 1925. In 1967 it took in part
   of the Nursling and Rownham parishes added. The boundaries have been
   largely unchanged since then, despite the loss of county borough status
   under the Local Government Act 1972, and subsequent regaining of
   unitary authority status with the Banham Review.

   Southampton was awarded city status in 1964 by Letters Patent.

Economy

   This is a chart of trend of regional gross value added of Southampton
   with Darwen at current basic prices published (pp.240-253) by Office
   for National Statistics with figures in millions of British Pounds
   Sterling.
   Year Regional Gross Value Added^ Agriculture^ Industry^ Services^
   1995 2,656                       -            674       1,982
   2000 3,190                       -            672       2,518
   2003 3,944                       -            781       3,163

   ↑  includes hunting and forestry

   ↑  includes energy and construction

   ↑  includes financial intermediation services indirectly measured

   ↑  Components may not sum to totals due to rounding

Southampton today

   Bargate, Southampton
   Enlarge
   Bargate, Southampton
   The dockyards on the River Test
   Enlarge
   The dockyards on the River Test
   Containers being loaded at the docks
   Enlarge
   Containers being loaded at the docks
   The Ocean Village marina
   Enlarge
   The Ocean Village marina
   Council tower blocks in Weston
   Enlarge
   Council tower blocks in Weston

   In common with many British towns and cities, Southampton was heavily
   bombed during the Second World War. Many historic buildings were lost
   as a result, but the old city walls remain, as does the Bargate,
   formerly the main gateway to the city at the northern end of the walls
   (Southampton has England's second-longest stretch of surviving Medieval
   wall, the longest being in York). The Bargate is often used as a symbol
   of the city, and is a prominent part of the city council's corporate
   identity. There are numerous large parks in the city centre. Most of
   Southampton's municipal services, including the library and the
   well-endowed art gallery are to be found in the Civic Centre.

   The city is home to the University of Southampton, Southampton Solent
   University and West Quay shopping centre, which was the biggest
   city-centre shopping mall in Europe when it was opened. It is also the
   headquarters of Ordnance Survey, the UK's national mapping agency, and
   the location of the National Oceanography Centre, Southampton, the
   focus of Natural Environment Research Council-funded marine research.
   The Lloyd's Register Group has announced plans to move its London
   marine operations to a specially developed site at the University of
   Southampton. The local newspaper for the city is the Southern Daily
   Echo, a Newsquest publication.

   Southampton has always been strongly connected with maritime history
   and developments. In particular, it is a primary port for cruise ships,
   its heyday being the first half of the 20th century, and in particular
   the inter-war years, when it handled almost half the passenger traffic
   of the UK. Today it remains home to many luxury liners, as well as
   being a very important container port.

   The outstanding harbour means it is the principal port on the south
   coast, and one of the largest in the UK. Sailing is a popular sport
   here. Much of this is centred around the Ocean Village development, a
   local marina which includes one of the South Coast's major independent
   cinema complexes, Harbour Lights. From 1977 to 2001 the famous
   Whitbread Around the World Yacht Race (now known as the Volvo Ocean
   Race) started in Southampton

   The area of Swaythling is home to Ford's Southampton Assembly Plant,
   where the majority of their Transit models are manufactured.

   Southampton is named the 'Green City' as it is graced with many green
   spaces and parks. Standing in any area of Southampton, if you turn 360
   degrees you will see at least one form of greenery. The largest green
   space is Southampton Common, parts of which are used to host the annual
   summer festivals, circuses and funfairs. The Common covers a larger
   area than Hyde Park in London and includes a Wildlife Centre on the
   former site of Southampton Zoo, a swimming pool and several lakes and
   ponds. The city also boasts the Southampton Sports Centre which is the
   focal point for the public's sporting and outdoor activities and
   includes an Alpine Centre, Theme Park and Athletics Centre used by
   professional athletes. As with most cities there are several council
   estates such as those in the Weston district.

   Southampton Football Club (nicknamed the "Saints") is also based here,
   at St Mary's Stadium which was built in the early 2000's on the site of
   the old gasworks. It has a capacity of 32,000 and cost £32 Million to
   build. In 1976, "The Saints" won the FA Cup Final beating Manchester
   United 1-0. It was a Southampton team member, Charles William Miller,
   who founded Brazil's first football club.

   Hampshire's county Cricket ground is the Rose Bowl, Southampton, in
   nearby West End. Both the SFC stadium and the Rose Bowl have recently
   played host to concerts from Bon Jovi to Billy Joel.

   Southampton has a vibrant nightlife and thriving cafe culture. Music is
   an important aspect of the city and there are several stadiums and
   outlets for this. The city is home to R'n'B soulstar Craig David,
   Coldplay drummer Will Champion, and was the birthplace of comedian
   Benny Hill.

   There is a large Polish population in Southampton, with estimates as
   high as 20,000, or 1 in every 10.

Government and politics

   Formerly a County Borough within the county of Hampshire (to which it
   gave its name, the County of Southampton or Southamptonshire - this was
   officially changed to Hampshire in 1959 though the county had been
   commonly known as Hampshire or Hantshire for centuries), it became a
   non-metropolitan district in 1974. However, the city became independent
   administratively from that county as it was made into a unitary
   authority in a local government re-organisation on 1 April 1997. The
   district remains part of the Hampshire ceremonial county.

   Southampton City Council consists of 48 councillors elected by thirds.
   After the 2006 local council elections on May 4, 2006 the Council is
   split evenly 16 seats each to the Liberal Democrats, Labour and the
   Conservative Party. Currently the council is run by the Liberal
   Democrats with Labour support.

   There are three members of parliament for the city: Rt Hon John Denham
   ( Labour) for Southampton Itchen (constituency for the east of the
   city), Dr Alan Whitehead (Labour) for Southampton Test (the west of the
   city), and Sandra Gidley (Liberal Democrat) for Romsey (which includes
   a portion of the north of the city).

Transport

   As befits Southampton's role as a major port, the city has good
   transport links with the rest of the country. The M27 motorway, linking
   places along the south coast of England, runs just to the north of the
   city. The M3 motorway links the city to London and also, by linking to
   the A34 road at Winchester with the Midlands and North. The M271
   motorway links the M27 with the Western Docks and city centre.

   Southampton is also well served by the rail network, used by both
   freight services to and from the docks, and passenger services as part
   of the national rail system. The main station in the city is
   Southampton Central. Routes run eastwards to Portsmouth and Brighton,
   north-east to Winchester and London, north to Reading, Birmingham and
   beyond, north-west to Salisbury, Bristol and Cardiff and west to
   Bournemouth, Poole and Weymouth. Southampton Coach Station was
   refurbished recently, and the range and frequency of services offered
   by the National Express Group increased to make use of the new
   facilities.

   Southampton Airport is a regional airport located in the town of
   Eastleigh, just north of Southampton. It is connected to the city by a
   frequent rail service, and hosts flights to UK and near European
   destinations.

   Whilst Southampton is no longer the base for any cross-channel ferries,
   it is the terminus for three internal ferry services, all of which
   operate from terminals at Town Quay. Two of these, a car ferry service
   and a fast catamaran passenger ferry service, provide links to Cowes on
   the Isle of Wight and are operated by Red Funnel. The third ferry is
   the Hythe Ferry, providing a passenger service to the town of Hythe on
   the other side of Southampton Water. Town Quay is linked to Southampton
   Central station by a free bus service.

   Local transport is largely road based, with significant peak hour
   congestion in the city. The main bus operators are First, Solent Blue
   Line (who also operate the BlueStar service) and Uni-link, although
   other operators also run services into the city, including Stagecoach
   and Wilts and Dorset.There is also a door to door minibus service
   (Southampton Dial a Ride) for residents who cannot access public
   transport, this is funded by the City Council and operated by SCA
   Support Services. However, local train services do operate in the
   central, Southern and Eastern sections of the city, serving Swaythling,
   St. Denys, Millbrook, Redbridge, Bitterne, Sholing and Woolston.

   The Uni-link bus service was commissioned by the University of
   Southampton to provide access to students who are studying at the
   university to all parts of the city. The buses run from early in the
   morning to midnight meeting demands of students who wish to get to the
   city during the day and leisure places in the evening.

Districts and suburbs

   Map showing the districts and suburbs of Southampton. The city centre
   area is highlighted in red.
   Enlarge
   Map showing the districts and suburbs of Southampton. The city centre
   area is highlighted in red.

   Within Southampton there are several districts and suburbs, including:
     * Bassett, Bassett Green, Bevois Valley, Bitterne, Bitterne Park,
       Bitterne Manor
     * Chartwell Green, Chilworth Coxford
     * Freemantle
     * Harefield, Highfield
     * Lordshill Lordswood
     * Mansbridge, Maybush, Midanbury, Millbrook
     * Northam, Nursling, New Town
     * Old Town
     * Polygon, Portswood
     * Redbridge, Rownhams
     * Shirley, Sholing, St. Denys, St. Mary's, Swaythling
     * Thornhill, Townhill Park
     * Weston, Woolston

Notable people

   Notable current and former residents of Southampton include:
     * Will Champion ( Coldplay drummer)
     * Craig David (R&B singer)
     * Benny Hill ( comedian)
     * John Jellicoe ( admiral; commander of the British fleet at the
       Battle of Jutland)
     * Scott Mills (Radio 1 DJ)
     * Wally Masur (former tennis player)
     * Chris Packham ( naturalist)
     * Juan Manuel de Rosas (dictator of Argentina; spent his last years
       in exile in Southampton)
     * Matthew Le Tissier (footballer)
     * Isaac Watts (writer of hymns, notably the King Edward's VI school
       hymn)

Twinning

   Southampton is twinned with:
     * France Le Havre, France (since 1973)
     * Germany Rems-Murr-Kreis, Germany (since 1991)

   Southampton is also a sister city of:
     * United States Hampton, Virginia
     * People's Republic of China Qingdao, China (since 1998)

Trivia

     * Southampton was named "fittest city in the UK" in 2006 by Mens
       Fitness magazine. The results were based on the incidence of heart
       disease, the amount of junk food and alcohol consumed, and the
       level of gym membership.

   Retrieved from " http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southampton"
   This reference article is mainly selected from the English Wikipedia
   with only minor checks and changes (see www.wikipedia.org for details
   of authors and sources) and is available under the GNU Free
   Documentation License. See also our Disclaimer.
