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| HER Number: | MSH309 |
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| Type of Record: | Monument |
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| Name: | Bitterne Manor House - Possible Roman Tower |
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| Grid Reference: | SU 4338 1338 |
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| Map: | Show location on Streetmap |
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Summary
In about 1770, John Speed described "a square Tower" adjoining to Bitterne Manor House, which he believed to be of Roman date. At that time it was apparently adjoined to the east by the remains of the circuit wall of the Roman fort of Clausentum. The square tower may be the same as a tower shown with the manor house on a 16th century map, although that tower is apparently of medieval date and incorporated into the present building at Bitterne Manor. Further research is needed. (See also Monument SH432.)
Protected Status: None recorded
Other References/Statuses
- HER backup file (new series): MSH309
- Old Southampton SMR No/Backup file: SU 4313 SW 51
Monument Type(s):
- TOWER (Roman - 43 AD? to 409 AD?)
Full description
[1] (1770): John Speed describes the "present Remains of Clausentum". There was "a square Tower, still of some height, to the top of which there is a stone Staircase out of one of the upper Rooms of the Mannor House which joins to it; at the bottom of this Tower is a Door Case open to the Shoar from a small room . . . .". The tower was adjoined to the east by the remains of the circuit wall of the fort.
[3] (1770): Speed's 1770 plan of Bitterne (originally included with the manuscript copy of [1]), shows/labels the "Square Tower" and manor house. (See also [2], a copy of [3].)
[4] (1770): This rough plan of the Bitterne Manor peninsular, also by Speed, does not show the tower mentioned in [1]. (IP 4/9/03).
[5] (1955): The square fortified tower at the north-east corner of the house, clearly shown in a drawing on a 16th century map of Southampton*, was probably "partly removed" by Henry Simpson in 1805. Two photographs (p475) show the north side to the house and the "site of the medieval tower"; one was taken "sixty years ago" (c1895) and one "today" (c1955). After damage suffered to the house during WWII, Michael Ayrton made a number of drawings which he published; a drawing of the tower is reproduced on page 476.
* [6] (c1560) and 1907 copy [7].
IP 17/9/03: Speed's plan and the 16th century map differ in the layout of the buildings. Speed's square tower may be the same as the tower shown on the 16th century map (and therefore the "medieval tower" described and illustrated in [5]), or it may be a different structure entirely. Further research is needed. (I've indexed this as a ?Roman tower on this record; a separate record will be made for the medieval tower/Manor House.)
GIS: point placed at approx location of the ?medieval tower incorporated into the present building. Accuracy uncertain. IP 17.9.03.
Sources / Further Reading
| [1] | SSH821 - Bibliographic reference: John Speed (Ed ER Aubrey). c1770 (1909). The History and Antiquity of Southampton with some conjectures concerning The Roman Clausentum. p 146 |
| [2] | SSH1620 - Map: John Speed/Miss Ellen Stevens. 1770/1907. Plan of Bitterne shewing remains of the Roman Station of Clausentum - Map probably AD 1770.. Paper. |
| [3] | SSH1621 - Map: John Speed. c1770. Plan of Bitterne (manuscript plan of the remains at Bitterne Manor/Clausentum).. Paper. |
| [4] | SSH1622 - Unpublished document: John Speed. c1770. Rough annotated plan of the Bitterne Manor peninsular, showing the Inner and Outer Ditch and some structures.. |
| [5] | SSH1366 - Article in serial: AI Macnaghten. 1955. Bitterne Manor House, Southampton: A New Lease of Life.. Offic Archit & Plan Vol 18, No 9, Sept 1955, 473-6. p 474 |
| [6] | SSH855 - Map: ?. c1560. Elizabethan Southampton. Paper. |
| [7] | SSH1313 - Map: ?. 1907 (c1560). "Oldest Extant Map of Southampton about AD 1560". Paper. |
Associated Finds: None recorded
Associated Events
- ESH1366 - Rough Field Survey of the Roman Remains at Bitterne Manor in 1770
Related records
| MSH297 | Child of: Bitterne Manor - site of the Roman settlement (possibly known as Clausentum) |
Associated Links: None recorded
If you have any feedback or new information about this record, please email the Southampton HER (her@southampton.gov.uk).
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