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England Hampshire  Southampton

Guide to Southampton history, family history, and genealogy: parish registers, census records, birth records, marriage records, and death records.



History
The area presently identified as Southampton has been settled since pre-history. Following the Roman invasion of Britain in AD 43 and the conquering of the local Britons in 70 AD the fortress settlement of Clausentum was established.

During the first Millennium AD, the area saw major conflicts as waves of Celts, Angles, Saxons, and Vikings, struggled for dominance in the area. This continued through the reign of King Harold, who was the last Anglo-Saxon king of England

Following the Norman Conquest in 1066, Southampton became the major port of transit between the then capital of England, Winchester, and Normandy.

During the Middle Ages, shipbuilding became an important industry for the town. Henry V's famous warship HMS Grace Dieu was built in Southampton.

Southampton has been used for military embarkation from the Middle Ages, including during 18th-century wars with the French, the Crimean war, and the Boer War. Southampton was designated No. 1 Military Embarkation port during the Great War (World War I) and became a major center for treating the returning wounded and POWs. It was also central to the preparations for the Invasion of Europe in 1944 during WWII.

Southampton became a spa town in 1740. It had also become a popular site for sea bathing by the 1760s, despite the lack of a good quality beach. Innovative buildings specifically for this purpose were built at West Quay, with baths that were filled and emptied by the flow of the tide.

The town experienced major expansion during the Victorian era. The Southampton Docks company had been formed in 1835. In October 1838 the foundation stone of the docks was laid, and the first dock opened in 1842. The structural and economic development of docks continued for the next few decades, with the railway link to London fully opened and in operation in May 1840. Southampton subsequently became known as The Gateway to the Empire.

The port was the point of departure for the Pilgrim Fathers aboard Mayflower in 1620. In 1912, the RMS Titanic sailed from Southampton. Four in five of the crew on board the vessel were citizens of the town, with about a third of those who perished in the tragedy hailing from the city. Southampton was subsequently the home port for the transatlantic passenger services operated by Cunard with their Blue Ribon liner RMS Queen Mary and her running mate RMS Queen Elizabeth. In 1938, Southampton docks also became home to the flying boats of Imperial Airways (subsequently merged with British Airways). Southampton Container Terminals first opened in 1968 and have continued to expand.

The Supermarine Spitfire or WWII fame was designed and developed in Southampton, evolving from the Schneider trophy-winning seaplanes of the 1920s and 1930s. Its designer, R J Mitchell, lived in the Portswood area of Southampton, and his house is today marked with a blue plaque. Heavy bombing of the factory in September 1940 destroyed it as well as homes in the vicinity, killing civilians and workers. World War II hit Southampton particularly hard because of its strategic importance as a major commercial port and industrial area. Prior to the Invasion of Europe, components for a Mulberry harbor were built here. After D-Day, Southampton docks handled military cargo to help keep the Allied forces supplied, making it a key target of Luftwaffe bombing raids until late 1944.

630 people lost their lives as a result of the air raids on Southampton and nearly 2,000 more were injured, not to mention the thousands of buildings damaged or destroyed.

England Southampton

Guide to Southampton history, family history, and genealogy: parish registers, census records, birth records, marriage records, and death records.

HISTORY
The area presently identified as Southampton has been settled since pre-history. Following the Roman invasion of Britain in AD 43 and the conquering of the local Britons in 70 AD the fortress settlement of Clausentum was established.

During the first Millennium AD, the area saw major conflicts as waves of Celts, Angles, Saxons, and Vikings, struggled for dominance in the area. This continued through the reign of King Harold, who was the last Anglo-Saxon king of England

Following the Norman Conquest in 1066, Southampton became the major port of transit between the then capital of England, Winchester, and Normandy.

During the Middle Ages, shipbuilding became an important industry for the town. Henry V's famous warship HMS Grace Dieu was built in Southampton.

CIVIL ALLOCATION
After the establishment of Hampshire County Council, following the act in 1888, Southampton became a county borough within the county of Hampshire, which meant that it had many features of a county, but governance was now shared between the Corporation in Southampton and the new county council.

The city has undergone many changes to its governance over the centuries and once again became administratively independent from Hampshire County as it was made into a unitary authority in a local government reorganization on 1 April 1997, a result of the 1992 Local Government Act.

MARITIME CONNECTIONS
Southampton is ideally located as a site for maritime activities. The city lies at the northern tip of the Southampton Water, a deep water estuary, which is a ria formed at the end of the last Ice Age. It is protected to a great degree from the effects of major weather disturbances by the shielding effect of the Isle of Wight.

The port was the point of departure for the Pilgrim Fathers aboard Mayflower in 1620. In 1912, the RMS Titanic sailed from Southampton on its fateful journey to the New World. Four in five of the crew on board the vessel were from the city, with about a third of those who perished in the tragedy hailing from Southampton.

Southampton later became the home port for the transatlantic passenger services operated by Cunard with their Blue Ribband liner RMS Queen Mary and her running mate RMS Queen Elizabeth. In 1938, Southampton docks also became home to the flying boats of Imperial Airways. Finally, Southampton Container Terminals first opened in 1968 and has continued to expand, due to its excellent connections with both the Continental Europe ports, as well as its excellent road and rail links within the UK.

RELIGION
Southampton has no particular history relative to religion. It was christian from the late 800's, and stayed Roman catholic until the time of Henry VIII. With his dissolution decrees, Southampton shifted to the Anglican persuasion with no major levels of unrest, as occurred in other English cities.

DURING AND AFTER WORLD WAR TWO
The city was the home of the designer of one of the 2 iconic fighter planes that saved Britain at the start of WWII. The Supermarine Spitfire was designed and developed in Southampton, evolving from the Schneider trophy-winning seaplanes of the 1920s and 1930s. Without this plane, Britain would have surely fell to the onslaught of the Luftwaffe.

Rebuilding after the war was rapid, and the city was able to resume its maritime activities. Southampton has always been a port, and the docks have long been a major employer in the city.

The other major contributor to the economy has been in the area of health services.

Due to both these core activities, employment has remained high, and is one of the better locations of Britain for growing families.

CEMETERIES
The following links provide information on the major cemeteries in Southampton:

Southampton cemetery

Essex Vale crematorium

Saint Mary Extra cemetery

Hampshire cemeteries

GENEALOGY RECORDS
Genealogy links, Hampshire

GENUKI, Hampshire

Family Search Bristol Parish Registers

Hampshire family history

Hampshire Forebears

NEWSPAPERS
The Southampton Echo

newspaper archives