BOROUGH OF SOUTHAMPTON 



between the two, when a final concord was arranged 

 in the king's court, John de Lillebane quitclaiming 

 all his right or possible right to Nicholas. Upon 

 this, Nicholas, at the instance of John, granted the 

 burgesses one piece of land without the town of 

 Southampton to remain to the burgesses ; neither 

 party was to have rights on the other's common, but 

 each to have free way to and from his own." Although 

 it is impossible to identify the thirteenth-century 

 boundaries with those of the present day, there is 

 little doubt that the extent of the common remains as 

 in the sixteenth century. 



Of the remaining ancient common lands and their 

 modern transformations, ' The West and East Mar- 

 lands ' (corrupted from Magdalens) represent pro- 

 perty formerly belonging to the Hospital of St. 

 Mary Magdalene,* 6 and Houndswell and Hoglands 

 are transformed into a zone of park and recreation 

 grounds on the north and east of the town, or rather, 

 as it will soon be, in the centre of the extending 

 population. To the south of the town a tract of 

 land, partly lammas but chiefly common, known as 

 the saltmarsh, stretched from the old bowling green 

 outside God's House gate to Cross house and chapel ; the 

 western or lammas portion of this, which belonged till 

 recently to Queen's College, Oxford, is now represent- 

 ed by Queen's Park, opened in 1885. 



Having dealt with the territory we pass to the 

 town itself and its fortifications. A wall of varying 

 thickness some 2 5 ft. to 30 ft. in height inclosed the 

 mediaeval town in its irregular parallelogram, measur- 

 ing on the north side about 2 1 7 yards, on the east 

 786 yards, on the south from east to west as far as 

 the site of Bugle Tower about 435 yards, and from 

 that point to the north-west angle of the town some 

 543 yards. The wall was strengthened at unequal 

 intervals by twenty-nine towers. 



These fortifications belong in part to the Norman 

 period. Of this range of date are the core of the 

 Bargate, with a portion of the present walls, some 

 existing works below the castle, and domestic build- 

 ings in the line of the western wall, forming part of 

 its original circuit and subsequently adapted for 

 defence. 



There were eight gates, four of which remain. 

 These are the north or Bargate, God's House or 

 South Castle Gate, West Gate, and the postern called 

 Blue Anchor Gate. Those which have disappeared 

 were East Gate, Biddies' Gate on the west, and the 

 South or Water Gate. In addition to these was a 

 Castle Water Gate, now to be seen in the face of the 

 wall on the western shore, having been discovered in 



1887 ; there was also a postern near the friary, the 

 site of which is lost. The insertion called York Gate 

 in the north wall east of the Bargate is of the 

 eighteenth century. 



The chief periods of construction will be indicated 

 by the aids granted for the purpose. In 1202-3 and 

 the following year John allowed 100 each year out 

 of the farm towards the walling of the town. 17 During 

 the latter part of the reign of Henry III two murages 

 were granted, the former on 30 November, 1260, for 

 ten years, the latter on 12 November, 1270, for five 

 years. A considerable number of tolls is scheduled 

 on these grants.* 8 In April, 1282, a murage had 

 been recently granted, and in March, 1286, another 

 was allowed for five years from Easter of that year." 

 In 1321 a murage was granted for three years, 30 after 

 which a renewal was petitioned for." By this time 

 the flanking towers, to be mentioned presently, had 

 been added to the Bargate. The Quayages and 

 Barbican duty, granted from 1323 to 1346 (see 

 below) should also be mentioned as having an imme- 

 diate connexion with the fortifications. To this 

 period may be assigned the arcade work described 

 below. The next efforts of construction were called 

 forth by the invasion of the town in 1338 (see below). 

 It appears that in spite of murages the town was not 

 entirely walled. The enemy are supposed to have 

 landed at ' the gravel ' (see below) or in that imme- 

 diate neighbourhood, and the weak quarter was now 

 ordered to be strengthened. By the advice of his 

 council the king issued a mandate for the building of 

 a stone wall as quickly as possible towards the sea," 

 Stephen de Bitterle being commissioned on 30 March, 

 1339, to find all necessary timber, and governors 

 were appointed with a special view to the fortification 

 of the town and the reassurance of the inhabitants. 

 A writ in aid of the inclosure was issued in 1 340." 

 On 20 May, 1345, a murage of considerable length 

 was granted for six years," and ten years later the 

 burgesses received a further grant for ten years, in 

 the usual form of a penny in the pound, a halfpenny 

 in ten shillings, and a farthing in five shillings on all 

 goods brought into or carried out of the town, 

 whether by land or water, by their own burgesses or 

 not, in aid of the walls. This was dated 28 June, 



I3SS-" 



Further repairs were ordered in April, 1369, and 

 contributions were exacted from all persons according 

 to their means, workmen being employed at the wage 

 of the community." Accordingly, in 1376, the poor 

 commons and tenants prayed the king to take the 

 town into his hands and forgive them the farm for the 



Feet of F. Hants, 12 Hen. Ill, No. 

 1 37. The land was thus described, viz. 

 ' from the corner and fence of William 

 Wolgar at the land stretches in length 

 [northward] as far as Kottesthorne below 

 (iul>) the highway from Acard's bridge to 

 the aforesaid thorn of Kottesthorne ; and 

 all the land in breadth within the highway 

 which leads from the aforesaid thorn to 

 Barlestone cross, which is upon the great 

 Southampton and Winton road ; and all 

 the land in length [southward] from 

 Berlestone cross as far as the corner and 

 fence of land formerly belonging to John 

 Chopin, as the great road leads from Win- 

 ton to Suhampton ; and all the land in 

 breadth from the same corner and fence 

 [its southern boundary] to the corner 

 and fence of Wolgar's land aforesaid.' A 



similar fine, of the same date and place, 

 but not identical, except as to the boun- 

 daries, describes the litigation as concern- 

 ing the common pasture of the town of 

 Southampton lying on the north part of 

 the lands of William Wolgar, John 

 Blancbully, Amise Fortin, and of land 

 which belonged to John Chopin. Nicholas 

 quitclaims to the burgesses all his rights 

 or possible rights to the land, which is 

 denned as in the last deed. Liber Niger, 

 Corp. MSS. fol. 107. 



36 For account of this and the other 

 religious houses in the borough, namely 

 the priory of St. Denys, of which the 

 merest fragment remains, the convent of 

 Friars Minor, latterly Observants, of 

 which no distinguishable remains exist, 



495 



and the Hospital of St. Julian or God't 

 House, see V.C.H. Hants, ii, 160-3, I 93> 

 202-6. 



87 Pipe R. 4 & 5 John, m. 6. 



88 Pat. 45 Hen. Ill, m. 22 ; 55 Hen. 

 Ill, m. 28. 



M Ibid. 10 Edw. I, m. 17 ; 14 Edw. I, 

 m. 1 8. 



oo Ibid. 14 Edw. II, pt. 2, m. 8. 

 81 Rot. Part. (Rec. Com.), ii, 439. 

 88 Rot. Orig. (Rec. Com.), ii, 130. 

 88 Ibid. 



84 Pat. 19 Edw. Ill, pt. I, m. 12. 



85 The corporation possesses an exem- 

 plification of this grant dated 10 Feb. (39 

 Edw. Ill), 1365, made at the request of 

 the burgesses. 



86 Pat. 43 Edw. Ill, pt I, m. 21. 



