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. © Southampton City Council
| HER Number: | MSH33 |
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| Type of Record: | Monument |
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| Name: | Town Defences - town wall (demolished) between God's House Tower and Notebeem Tower/Notebeme Tower |
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| Grid Reference: | SU 4204 1093 |
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| Map: | Show location on Streetmap |
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Summary
The section of the southern town wall between Gods House Gate and Notebeme Tower was probably built between 1321 and 1341, most likely after 1339. The town wall had a wall walk, reached by a stone stair called Gods House Stair, situated towards the east end of the wall, and by a door in the first floor room at Gods House Gate. In 1801 Englefield described the wall as “having the sea washing its foot”, and late 18th century illustrations show this. The wall seems to have been demolished in about 1803/4 when Watergate was removed. The wall foundations were exposed during archaeological work in the Platform Tavern in 1987 (SOU 295), Tower House/Solent House in 1994 (SOU 570) and at the Notebeme House site in 1994-6 (SOUs 607 and 715).
Protected Status: None recorded
Other References/Statuses
- HER backup file (new series): SOU 295 (paper & digital) etc - not yet Library Linked
- Old Southampton SMR No/Backup file: SU 4210 NW 21 Also SU 4110 NE 17, SU 4210 NW 15; SU 4210 NW 17
Monument Type(s):
Full description
Records for the town defences are currently being enhanced and it is intended that further details will be added to this description at a later date. (SCC HER 4/12/09)
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SOU 295 Results:
[1][2][3][4]: During renovation work in the Platform Tavern, a hole dug through the floor revealed a feature interpreted as a robber trench, east-west aligned, perhaps associated with the town wall. It was cut by the construction trench of a modern brick cellar wall.
[1]: Elsewhere, the truncated remains of an east-west limestone wall were also interpreted as part of the town wall. (Only mentioned in this source.)
[2]: Part of town wall found.
SOU 570 Results:
[8]: During a watching brief in Solent House and Tower House, a stone wall (wall 40) was seen at the southern end of a large stone culvert beneath Tower House. The wall ran east-northeast to west-southwest, being the same alignment as the front wall of Solent House, but one metre to the north of it. Detailed observations could not be make as most of the wall was obscured by a layer. The wall was also seen beneath the floor of the passageway in Solent House. It is not clear whether wall 40 blocked the culvert or was carried over the culvert. The wall is interpreted as being part of the town wall. If the south wall of Tower House/Solent House is built upon this wall, then its total thickness would be about 1.60m. (See separate record for the stone culvert. IP)
SOU 607 T2 and SOU 715 T5:
[5][6]: The lower part of the western end of the town wall between ?Notebeem Tower and God's House Tower was revealed.
(GIS: polygon very roughly plotted using [6] and [8]. IP 11/4/02)
Sources / Further Reading
| --- | SSH3103 - Unpublished document: Ancient Monument File AM50 - Views: Distances and Shores, etc. |
| --- | SSH3121 - Unpublished document: Ancient Monument File AM67 - Platform Tavern. |
| [1] | SSH521 - Serial: Morton, AD (ed), SCC. 1991. Annual Report of the Southampton Archaeological & Heritage Management Section for 1990-1991. p34 |
| [2] | SSH680 - Serial: The Society for Medieval Archaeology. 1988. Medieval Archaeology, Vol 32, 1988 (for 1987). p255 |
| [3] | SSH626 - Serial: M Hughes (ed), Hampshire County Council. 1988. Archaeology in Hampshire Annual Report for 1987. p41 |
| [4] | SSH836 - Excavation archive: Watching Brief Archive for SOU 295. SOU 295. SMART 7 |
| [5] | SSH219 - Archaeological Report: MF Garner. 1995. Report on the Surveys and Evaluation Excavation at the Sun Public House, Southampton.. SOU 607. All |
| [6] | SSH274 - Archaeological Report: MF Garner. 1996. Excavation and Watching Brief at 84 High Street, Southampton. SOU 715. All |
| [7] | SSH591 - Serial: Morton, AD (ed), SCC. 1995. Archaeological Investigations in Southampton for 1994. ? |
| [8] | SSH193 - Archaeological Report: B Shuttleworth. 1994. Report on the Watching Brief carried out at Tower House/Solent House, Southampton.. SOU 570. All |
| [9] | SSH3051 - Article in serial: P Allen. 1985. Historic wall find delights the experts.. Daily Echo, 21 November 1985. all |
Associated Finds: None recorded
Associated Events
- ESH1207 - Evaluation excavation at the Sun Public House in 1994 (Ref: SOU 607)
- ESH295 - Watching Brief at the Platform Tavern in 1987 (Ref: SOU 295)
- ESH570 - Watching Brief at Tower House/Solent House in 1994 (Ref: SOU 570)
- ESH715 - Excavation and watching brief prior to building of Notebeme House in 1995-6 (Ref: SOU 715)
Related records
| MSH14 | Child of: Town Defences - town wall, towers and gates |
| MSH1086 | Peer (All Groups): Tower House/Solent House - Stone Culvert |
| MSH626 | Peer (Chronological): 84 High Street - 19th Century Phase (Sun Inn, Sun Public House) |
| MSH625 | Peer (Chronological): 84 High Street - Other Medieval Evidence |
| MSH1090 | Peer (Chronological): 84 High Street - Phase Pre-dating the Town Defences |
| MSH47 | Peer (Chronological): Platform Tavern, Town Quay |
| MSH65 | Peer (Chronological): Site of the Free Grammar School in Winkle Street |
| MSH72 | Peer (Chronological): Solent House |
| MSH2025 | Peer (Chronological): Tower House, Town Quay |
Associated Links: None recorded
Images
 God's House Gate and St Julien's Chapel, Winkle Street, 30.8.09 (camera date not set), © I Peckham |  God's House Gate, Winkle Street, 30.8.09 (camera date not set), © I Peckham |
 God's House Gate, Tower House and Solent House, Town Quay, 30.8.09 (camera date not set), © I Peckham |  Tower House, Solent House and other buildings, Town Quay, 30.8.09 (camera date not set), © I Peckham |
 Eastgate House and other buildings, Town Quay, 30.8.09 (camera date not set), © I Peckham |  God's House Gate, Tower House and Solent House, Town Quay, 30.8.09 (camera date not set), © I Peckham |
If you have any feedback or new information about this record, please email the Southampton HER (her@southampton.gov.uk).
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