BOROUGH OF SOUTHAMPTON 



still earlier, (mm the basement of the flanking towers, 

 defended the Norman gate. 



It is possible that the alterations to the Bargate on 

 the south side in the first half of the fourteenth century 

 may hare been carried out to provide a fixed Gild- 

 hall, or there may have been no such hall till after the 

 octagonal work was projected. In the earlier history 

 of the gate the space required for working the port- 

 cullises and drawbridge would hare left little room 

 for ciric purposes ; but after the addition on the north 

 side the regulation of the defences may hare been 

 confined within the projection, and thus sufficient 

 room left for the hall. 



The ordinances of the gild-merchant** (see below) 

 make no reference to a GildhalL The gild meetings 

 were held at different places (ord. 4) ; the community 

 assembled for business 'in a place provided,' as if 

 perhaps for each occasion (ord. 31) ; the common 

 chest, with the treasure and muniments, was kept in 

 the chief alderman's (i.e. really the mayor's) house, or 

 in that of the seneschal (ord. 35) ; in much later times 

 it was ordered to be kept in the Gildhall or audit house. 

 In the steward's book of 1441, under the heading 



* Bargate,' the first observed notice 

 occurs of a ' town hall ' in repairs 

 to the lead of the roof ; mention 

 is also made of a new key for the 



* tresory dore in the hall.' A few 

 yean after (1468) we find the hall 

 made a receptacle for guns in an 

 account of the distribution of 

 artillery among the various towers 

 of the fortifications, ' Fyrst, in 

 ye Guy Id halle over ye Bargate j 

 gonne of Bras chawmbred of hym- 

 self. Item in the same place ij 

 gonnes and v chawmbres wt tres- 

 sels to ye sam. Item in the same 

 plas ij gonnes wt owght chambres 

 The whiche ij gonnes lay in ij 

 towres the whiche beth next to 

 ye seyd Bargate eastward to Seynt 

 Denystowr.'" The Gildhall in its 

 present condition dates from 185* 

 and measures about 51 ft. by 40 ft. 



It is impossible, with the space at command, to go 

 into the history of what the court-leet boob call * the 

 monuments of Bargate ' c the lions, 4 * Sir Bevis and 

 Ascnpart*or of the heraldry," paintings, niches, statues, 

 and watch-bell." 



Following the westward course of the walls, at 

 about looft. from the gate a half-round tower existed 

 which, in 1468, seems to have been furnished with 



* ij gonnes wt ij chawmbres.' A few yards beyond 

 this the wall, destroyed to this point in 1 854, is 



traced behind the houses on its way to Arundel. or as 

 it is often called, ' Corner tower next Hill.' This is a 

 drum now in ruins, at the north-west angle of the 

 walls, lift, in diameter, and from 50 ft. to 60 ft. 

 high. The level within the walls here is some 30 ft. 

 or more above that of the beach or road below. 

 About 1 30 ft. from the north-west angle southward 

 is ' Catchcold,' which, with the adjacent curtain for 

 some feet, Mr. dark ** considered to be a fifteenth- 

 century addition to what seems to be a fourteenth- 

 century wall. 'Catchcold' is a half-round tower, 

 about ao ft. in diameter, and 30 ft. in height, with 

 machicolations at the level of the curtain. South of 

 this the wall, in substance Norman, runs obliquely 

 to a rectangular buttress, heading a salient, the angles 

 of which are crossed with low pointed arches pierced 

 as garderobes. Some ao ft. to the south of this, the 

 north wall of the castle bailey struck the town wall, a 

 plain rectangular buttress marking the junction. The 

 wall, probably of Norman date, and about 38 ft. high, 

 now continues southward some 380 ft., being common 

 to the town and to the castle, as far as the remains of 

 a tower at the south-west angle of the castle bailey. 



Tows WALLS, WISTIRN SHORE, SOVTRAMTTOS 



Somewhat more than half-way some broken bonding 

 occurs, to the south of which is a series of six rect- 

 angular buttresses, the first three being additions to 

 the Norman wall ; the fourth contains the late four- 

 teenth-century Castle Water Gate, disclosed in 1887. 

 Immediately to the north of this is a vaulted chamber, 

 lying north and south, 55 ft. long by 19 ft. wide, and 

 a 3 ft. in height, the only indication of which from 

 without since ancient times was a narrow loop hole, 

 now somewhat enlarged. The floor is on a higher 



These are printed in full in Rer, J. 

 beater DaTie*, JEa*yataa**K***>, i ja- 

 51 ; ia the J*M*. Jam. iri, aS;-o, 

 J4J-5, and in Groat, GiU Afcrcfe* ii, 

 aiA-ji. 



* It is not possible to identify all the 

 towers round dw wall*. Such a* BUT be 

 Mrifan* wcWtfaUttai *m marked on 

 thtalan giTen above, p. 493. The towers 

 wen generally kae* out b the corpora- 

 tiMI/was*,* a* it sometime* stated, in 

 time of war.' Thus we hare tower* 

 named after indmdoals or trades, and the 

 tame tower mar have (one wider different 

 name* from time to time. 



< Daries, op. eit. 65-71. 



* Formerly one on each tide of Free- 

 bridge, now act back against toe gate. 

 First obserred notice, 1619. 



Panels of Sir Beris of Hampton and 

 his giant eaanire, mentioned 1655 

 (Conn Lett Bk.), *e, a* in decay. Sub- 

 sequently repainted, supposed to perpetuate 

 work of the early fourteenth century. 



* Cross of St. George of England, erota 

 rf St. Andrew for Scotland, skidd* of Nod 

 Vise. Campden, Paulet Mara, of Winch. 

 Tylney, De Carioand, Fleming, Leigh of 

 Testwood, Mill, Wrndham, Newland 

 insertions of doic of seventeenth century, 



- - 



representing M.P.'s and bunfactois. (For 

 identification of coats, aee Mr. Greenfield** 

 paper, Pnc. Hjxa FitU ChA, IT, pt. 1, 



9~- 



u In 1579 the court-leet desired that 

 a bell should be set up in this position to 

 answer the castle watch-bdl in TiHlTi^ 

 alarms, watches, *t, 'for that yt is a 

 comfortable hearing.' The present bdl 

 bears date 1605. 



See a paper by the late G. T. dark 

 F.S..V, on 'Tlw Ancient Defence* of 

 Southampton,' BmUtr, at Dec. t?a ; 

 jirtt. y**rm. xxiz, 370, an 

 Mil. JrttitKtm, ii, 475. 



