After a hiatus of nearly 30 years, on Bank Holiday Monday, 26th May St Denys, Southampton, will be buzzing with the sounds, sights, and excitement of a carnival. A group of local residents, known as St Denys Crew, have come together to organise the event, which is free to...
Heritage
Heritage: History of The Ordnance Survey
By Martin Brisland. The Ordnance Survey (OS), established in 1791, has a long association with Southampton. Britain’s mapping agency has its roots in military defence. This was started following the defeat of the Jacobite rebellion in 1745. It took eight years to map he Scottish Highlands. Then during the Napoleonic...
Heritage: Southampton street furniture
By Martin Brisland. When I was a child, I loved the I-Spy series of books. About forty titles were published from the 1950s until 2002. Typical titles were I-Spy Cars, I-Spy Churches, and I-Spy Birds. You collected points with more gained for unusual finds. It was a wonderful way to...
Heritage: A proud day for SS Shieldhall
By Martin Brisland. On 2nd April 2025 there was a Presentation Ceremony of the Kings Award for Voluntary Service (KAVS) onboard Steamship Shieldhall in the Western Docks. The impressive glass trophy was handed to Captain Martin Phipps by Mr. Nigel Atkinson, the Lord Lieutenant of Hampshire. Distinguished guests included Cllr...
Heritage: Plaques of Southampton 4
By Martin Brisland. A story behind every plaque. In three previous articles I have mainly covered some of the stories behind the English Heritage blue plaques found in our city. In this final article I will cover some of the Black History Month ones, the Bevois Mount History Group ones...
Heritage: Plaques of Southampton 3
By Martin Brisland. Behind every plaque lies a story. In two previous articles I mentioned the various types of plaque found in our city. There are English Heritage blue ones, Southampton Council black ones to remember local people who had a connection to the Titanic, Black History Month have put...
Heritage: The Plaques of Southampton 2
By Martin Brisland. In a previous article in February, I described the blue and other types of plaque that can be found in Southampton. We have just celebrated International Women’s Day. The origins of the day can be traced back to Therea Malkiel, a 35-year-old labour organiser in New York...
Heritage: the highest point in Southampton
By Martin Brisland. How High the Moon is a jazz standard song dating from 1940. The enduring popularity, since it started in 1955, of the Guinness World Records books shows that people are always fascinated to learn what is the fastest, longest, heaviest, oldest, tallest in any given field....
Heritage LGBT History Month: The shift to a radical movement
By Mabel Wellman. As LGBT History Month continues, we will be talking about the transition of the LGBT liberation movement from the “”Homophile” Movement to the far more radical and political movement after The Stonewall Riots. The word “homophile” was coined to be used in lieu of homosexual. By...
Heritage: The Plaques of Southampton
By Martin Brisland. Blue plaques started in London in 1866 and the first one there was to poet Lord Byron. There some blue and are several other types of plaque found in our city. Southampton Council facilitated some black ones to remember local people who had a connection to...