City of Southampton [image] Geography Status: Unitary, City (1964) Region: South East England Ceremonial County: Hampshire Area:
- TotalRanked 301st
49.84 kmēAdmin. HQ: Southampton Grid Ref.: SU 42 11 ONS code: 00MS Demographics Population:
- Total (2003 est.)
- DensityRanked 52nd
221,057
4,435 / kmēEthnicity: 92.4% White
3.8% S.Asian
1.0% Afro-Carib.Politics Southampton City Council Leadership: Leader & Cabinet Executive: Liberal Democrats MPs: John Denham, Sandra Gidley, Alan Whitehead
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Southampton is a City and major port situated on the south coast of England. It is the closest city to the New Forest and lies at the northern-most point of Southampton Water approximately halfway between Portsmouth and Bournemouth.
Formerly a County borough within the county of Hampshire (to which it gives its full name, the County of Southampton) , the city reverted to independent Unitary authority status in local government re-organisations on April 1, 1997. This makes Southampton an Administrative county in its own right. Within Southampton there are several districts including Woolston, Bitterne, Portswood, Bassett, Shirley, Freemantle, Millbrook and Swaythling.
In common with many British towns and cities, such as Coventry and Plymouth, it 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.
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The city is home to the University of Southampton, Southampton Solent University and West Quay shopping centre. It is also the headquarters of Ordnance Survey, the UK's national mapping agency. The local Newspaper for the city is the Southern Daily Echo, a Newsquest publication.
[image] 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.
Southampton is graced with many green spaces and parks. The largest of these is Southampton Common, parts of which are used to host the annual summer festival. The Common includes a Wildlife Centre on the former site of Southampton Zoo.
Southampton Football Club (a.k.a. the "Saints") is also based here at St Mary's Stadium. It was a Southampton team member, Charles William Miller, who founded Brazil's first football club.
The Liberal Democrats also control the City Council.
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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 centred 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 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 is Southampton's oldest surviving building, 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 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-build artillery fortification in England. Today, it is open as the Museum of Archaeology.
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.
The Second World War hit Southampton particularly hard, because of its strategic importance as the major industrial area on the South Coast. 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.
Southampton was awarded City status in 1964 following a Royal Charter.
Southampton has had a few significant impacts on global history... [image] [image]