On this day in 1837, a violent fire ripped through a warehouse on Southampton High Street. Twenty-two men and boys were killed as they tried to extinguish the flames. Of those who lost their lives, the youngest was just sixteen. You can read about the fire here: historicsouthampton.co.uk/1837-fire/

The Southampton Cenotaph was unveiled on this day in 1920. Designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens, his Whitehall Cenotaph was unveiled in London five days later, on 11 November 1920. An iconic symbol of remembrance, the names of 3,298 Southampton men and women are now remembered here.

On this day in 1940, thirty-five people were killed in a daylight air raid on Southampton. The Civic Centre’s art gallery received a direct hit. A class of fifteen children had taken shelter in the basement; only one child survived. There is a memorial inside the building.

Charlie Kimber ran the Pembroke Hotel in Pembroke Square, a small square on the eastern side of the Bargate, nestled up against the town’s medieval wall. The hotel became known as Kim’s Kosy Korner during Kimber’s management in the early 1900s. 1/3

This grand building was formerly the main post and telegraph office for Southampton Docks. Construction started in 1902 and it was completed in 1905. This is where mail would have been sorted before being loaded onto ships in the docks. The building is now apartments.

Bill Rawlings was born in Andover in 1896. In 1914 he was playing football for Andover but when the First World War broke out he joined the Wessex Field Ambulance. He would be serving king and country in France by the end of 1914. 1/4

Southampton’s West Bay, early 1900s. Southampton West (now Central) railway station can be seen on the left. The bay disappeared when the land was reclaimed here in the 1920s and 1930s in order to create the vast Western Docks. 1/2

Memorial in Southampton Old Cemetery to those who perished in the sinkings of RMS Rhone and RMS Wye, which were among eighty vessels wrecked during a hurricane in the Caribbean at the end of October 1867. 1/4

Y’day I posted about Sir Oswald Mosley’s pro-Nazi British Union of Fascists in the 1930s. Some comments on Facebook expressed support for Mosley and his ideology. I know you can’t really reason with people who will publicly support fascism but this is what Mosley’s ideology did to Southampton: 1/4

In 1937, the British Union of Fascists leader Sir Oswald Mosley tried to hold a rally on Southampton Common. It did not go well. “We don’t want Mosley!” was the cry from the anti-fascist protestors in the crowd. 📸: Daily Echo This post is way too long for Bluesky so I’ve posted screenshots below:

Southampton Civil Volunteer Corps marching to St Peter’s Church for a service on Sunday, 9 November 1914. Southampton Central railway station can be seen in the background. 1/3

This card was sent to William George Stribling after the funeral of his wife Annie (née Margham), who tragically died in Southampton at the age of thirty-seven on 5 December 1906, two weeks after giving birth to a daughter. The baby survived and was named Ruby Annie. 1/3

Robert Lavers was tea dealer, grocer, and fish sauce manufacturer, with premises at 5 Prospect Place on Above Bar Street, opposite Commercial Road. In this 1835 advert, he boasts of his Lavers’ Celebrated Southampton Sauce. 📸: Hampshire Advertiser, 16 May 1835 1/5

St Julien’s Church on Winkle Street before and after restoration. The church began life in the late twelfth century as a chapel for the nearby God’s House Hospital, which had been founded circa 1185 as a refuge for poor travellers and pilgrims. 1/11

I think we can all sympathise with Douglas Walker, a 44-year-old fruit salesman of no fixed abode, who was charged with being drunk on Havelock Road on 26 August 1939. Two days later he pleaded guilty and said: “I think Mr Hitler had got on my nerves a bit during the day. I had certainly had a few.”

The International Cold Storage & Ice Company operated this huge cold store in Southampton Docks from 1904. It was the largest of its kind in Europe at the time. It was completely destroyed as a result of a German air raid on the afternoon of 13 August 1940. 1/3

On this day in 1872, a man called John Edward Evans was charged with drunkenly fighting on Above Bar Street. He was carrying a handbill that declared him 'The wonder of the 19th century' and 'pronounced by the Royal College of Surgeons of London and Edinburgh as the strongest man living.' 1/6

‘Hartley University College Locals 1907-1909’ The Hartley Univeristy College eventually became the University of Southampton. The sender of this postcard signed her name as ‘Saucy Alice’. She marked her teacher, Alfine Cederberg, a Swedish teacher of physical education, gymnastics, and massage.

Bedford Place in 1980 and 2025. Ted’s Fish & Chips is still going strong, as is the Lion pub in the distance. There was also still a Coral there until a few years ago. 📸 1980 photo: Daily Echo

The Battle of Trafalgar happened on this day in 1805. One hundred years later, on this day in 1905, as part of Southampton’s celebration of Trafalgar Day, the Trafalgar Dry Dock was opened by the Marquess of Winchester. It was the largest dry dock in the world at the time. 1/4

Above Bar Street, early 1900s.

Church service during army manoeuvres on Southampton Common in 1904, when the First Army Corps camped on the Common. It was part of a huge exercise which saw thousands of men and horses board troopships at Southampton Docks before invading Clacton-on-Sea. Some 12,000 men landed on the Essex coast.

Ward 29 of the British Red Cross hutted hospital, which was built behind the huge Royal Victoria Hospital at Netley during the First World War. Tens of thousands of patients were treated inside the huge military hospital and the hutted hospital behind it during the conflict.

When the Mayflower Theatre opened as the Empire Theatre on 22 December 1928 it was described as ‘the finest in the South’. It’s still the largest on the South Coast today and remains a wonderful theatre. 1/4

Above Bar Street and the Bargate in the late nineteenth century, photographed by Thomas Hibberd James.

This photograph of the Titanic Engineers’ Memorial was taken soon after it was unveiled in April 1914, two years after the sinking. If you look closely you can see a White Star Line flag at the centre of the huge wreath that has been placed on the memorial.

The building we know as Tudor House was originally built between 1491 and 1518, incorporating an older banqueting hall from around a century earlier. Pictured here before its restoration when it was occupied by George Cawte, a bookbinder, and George Pope, a dyer. 1/4

Looking south down Southampton High Street, early 1900s and 2025.

The wonderful Platform Tavern dates back to at least 1871 but unfortunately its future is uncertain. The building incorporates some of the southern stretch of Southampton’s medieval walls. The inquest into the death of my great x4 grandfather was held here in 1888. 1/7

The Bargate, early 1900s.

This pub on the corner of Bernard Street and Terminus Terrace was known as Day’s Hotel in the 1850s. By the 1880s it had become Parker’s Hotel. In 1912, Oscar Scott Woody from North Carolina was staying at the hotel when he joined Titanic’s crew as a postal clerk. 1/5

Southampton High Street with the Bargate in the distance and the Star Hotel on the right.

The Globe Hotel on Bernard Street dated back to at least 1846. The area around the hotel changed a lot over the years through slum clearances and wartime bombing, but the hotel survived it all. It finally closed down in 1988 and the Grade II listed building is now apartments.

RMS Olympic at Southampton.

You may have heard of the bull in the china shop, well, here are five real-life tales of cows wandering into Southampton shops: 1/10

This photograph was taken at Swaythling Remount Depot in March 1916. The remount depot at Swaythling was the largest in the country during the First World War. Hundreds of thousands of horses and mules were gathered here before being transported to France from Southampton Docks.

Thomas Hibberd James’ late nineteenth century photograph of one of the two lions that have stood guard outside the Bargate since 1743. They replaced an earlier pair of lions that dated back to around 1522. 1/2

RMS Queen Mary arrived in her home port of Southampton for the first time in 1936. The excitement was simply too much for nine-year-old Denis Pike from Bournemouth... 📸: Daily Mirror, 28 March 1936.

This memorial remembers the crew members who lost their lives in the Titanic disaster in April 1912. It was paid for by the widows, mothers, and friends of the crew. Of the 908 crew members on board, 720 had signed on with a Southampton address. 542 out of 720 perished in the sinking. 1/3

Round Tower, part of the eastern stretch of Southampton’s medieval walls, just north of God’s House Tower, was originally built as a freestanding dovecote in the thirteenth century. 1/2

This postcard was sent from Southampton during the First World War on Sunday, 6 February 1916: ‘We came down here Fri + are leaving for France tonight, dunno when we are coming back again!’ Unfortunately I don’t know who the sender was or what happened to them after they reached France.

Nice view of Town Quay and Southampton Docks with the huge floating dry dock taking centre stage.

Saints fans at the Dell for the South Coast Derby between Southampton and Portsmouth.

Pompey goalkeeper George Harris making a good save during a 1906 FA Cup derby clash between Saints and Pompey at the Dell. Unfortunately for George, he did have to pick the ball out of the net five times as Saints demolished their South Coast rivals 5-1. 1/7

In November 1901, Minnie Dora Tubbs, a middle-aged married woman who lived on Victoria Road in Woolston was charged with being drunk and incapable after Police Constable Compton found her lying on the pavement on East Street at around midnight on a Saturday night. He tried to rouse her but… 1/3

On this day in 1940, the Cunliffe-Owen aircraft factory at Swaythling was targeted and bombed by the Luftwaffe in a devastating daytime raid. It was an important part of the war effort since various types of aircraft were repaired here. Spitfire parts were produced too. (📸: Plane Hunters) 1/4

The interior of the grand church of All Saints on the corner of Southampton High Street and East Street. It was built between 1792 and 1795, replacing a dilapidated medieval church on the same site that was also referred to as All Hallows. 1/2

Forest View, a street on top of the western stretch of Southampton’s fourteenth century defensive wall. Once upon a time, before the land beyond the wall here was reclaimed in the twentieth century, this spot would have provided a fine view looking out towards the New Forest… 1/2

The Bargate, early 1900s.

The troopship Czar leaving Southampton on 6 July 1920. During WW1 she carried American troops to France and after the war she transported British and Empire troops. She returned to civilian service in late 1920 but again served as a troopship throughout WW2. She was scrapped in 1950.