by Martin Brisland. There is an old belief that the punishment should fit the crime. Yet, in the past, you could be hanged for 160 different crimes including chopping down a tree or poaching rabbits. William Shawyer was the last person to be publicly hung at the gallows on...
Heritage
Heritage: Eleanor Coade, the remarkable Georgian businesswoman
by Martin Brisland. The statue on the south face of Southampton’s Bargate is of King George III (1738-1820). pictured top. His head is on the body of the Roman Emperor Hadrian, a common practice for statues at the time. It was based on Hadrian’s statue in the British Museum....
Knit the Walls community art project draws to a close with a month-long finale
After more than three million knitted stitches, thousands of hours of warm conversation and countless shared stories, as well as many hundreds of cups of tea and a lot of cake, the six-year ‘Knit the Walls’ community-focused art project will come to an end this November. Across the month,...
Heritage: Slavery and Southampton: an exhibition at SeaCity Museum, Southampton – reflections of a volunteer
by Liz Batten. Sometime just before the pandemic I’d offered to help do some research for an exhibition on slavery and Southampton, Sugar, Politics and Money for SeaCity Museum. I’d already been excited by David Olusoga’s documentaries on BBC TV, and the publicity surrounding the University College London database...
Heritage: Response to Sugar, Slavery and Southampton: Women’s Stories
by Jackie Landman. Claire Ballinger, Rose Wiles and Pauline Bisson were amongst the voluntary curators of new exhibition at SeaCity Museum, Southampton, Sugar, Politics and Money. They wrote about the exhibition for In Common and invited colleague Dr Jackie Landman, a visiting professor at the University of Southampton,...
Heritage: sugar, slavery and Southampton – women’s stories
by Claire Ballinger, Rose Wiles and Pauline Bisson. The Black Lives Matter movement, triggered by the death of George Floyd in the US, created an impetus to better understand black experiences, both currently and historically. In late 2021, we joined a group of volunteers to explore links between artifacts...
Heritage: a look at Freemantle, Southampton
by Martin Brisland. The suburb of Freemantle lies between Shirley Road, Foundry Lane and the River Test. The Freemantle name may derive from Fromental which is found in several places in France. In Old French ‘froid’ means cold and mantel is cloak. It was mentioned in the Pipe Rolls...
Heritage: Maundy Gregory, a cash for honours scandal and a link to The Beatles
by Martin Brisland. Arthur John Maundy Gregory (1877-1941), from Southampton, was a British theatre producer and political fixer. Gregory (pictured top) gained power and wealth through handling the sale of titles and the alleged blackmail of prominent politicians. Described as “a monocled dandy”, he wore jewellery including a green...
Reader’s letter: we can enjoy nostalgia but accept and embrace change
I follow a few Southampton history pages on Facebook and love the variety of posts about people, places and events. I particularly love the stories of local folks who didn’t become nationally or internationally renowned but were important in their own little communities and contributed to the rich fabric...
All-Aboard the River Itchen
by Charlie Hislop. For a city on the coast, split by rivers, not much celebration happens on the water in Southampton. Then last weekend (September 3) along came the All-Aboard Festival, making the most of the River Itchen on a summer’s day with entertainment on the water and along...