Southampton

Archaeological finds suggest that the area has been inhabited since the Stone Age.[18] Following the Roman invasion of Britain in AD 43 and the conquering of the local Britons in AD 70 the fortress settlement of Clausentum was established. It was an important trading port and defensive outpost of Winchester, at the site of modern Bitterne Manor. Clausentum was defended by a wall and two ditches and is thought to have contained a bath house.[19] Clausentum was not abandoned until around 410.[18]

The Anglo-Saxons formed a new, larger, settlement across the Itchen centred on what is now the St Mary's area of the city. The settlement was known as Hamwic,[18] which evolved into Hamtun and then Hampton.[20] Archaeological excavations of this site have uncovered one of the best collections of Saxon artefacts in Europe.[18] It is from this town that the county of Hampshire gets its name.

Viking raids from 840 onwards contributed to the decline of Hamwic in the 9th century,[21] and by the 10th century a fortified settlement, which became medieval Southampton, had been established.[22]

Following the Norman Conquest in 1066, Southampton became the major port of transit between the then capital of England, Winchester, and Normandy. Southampton Castle was built in the 12th century[16] and surviving remains of 12th-century merchants' houses such as King John's House and Canute's Palace are evidence of the wealth that existed in the town at this time.[23] By the 13th century Southampton had become a leading port, particularly involved in the import of French wine[22] in exchange for English cloth and wool.[24]

The Franciscan friary in Southampton was founded circa 1233.[25] The friars constructed a water supply system in 1290, which carried water from Conduit Head (remnants of which survive near Hill Lane, Shirley) some 1.1 mi (1.7 km) to the site of the friary inside the town walls.[26] Further remains can be observed at Conduit House on Commercial Road. The friars granted use of the water to the town in 1310.[26]

Between 1327 and 1330, the King and Council received a petition from the people of Southampton. The community of Southampton claimed that Robert Batail of Winchelsea and other men of the Cinque Ports came to Southampton under the pretence that they were a part of Thomas of Lancaster's rebellion against Edward II. The community thought that they were in conspiracy with Hugh le Despenser the Younger. The petition states that, the supposed rebels in the Despenser War 'came to Southampton harbour, and burnt their ships, and their goods, chattels and merchandise which was in them, and carried off other goods, chattels and merchandise of theirs found there, and took some of the ships with them, to a loss to them of £8000 and more.'[27] For their petition to the King somewhere after 1321 and before 1327 earned some of the people of Southampton a prison sentence at Portchester Castle, possibly for insinuating the king's advisor Hugh le Despenser the Younger acted in conspiracy with the Cinque Port men to damage Southampton, a flourishing port in the fourteenth century. When King Edward III came to the throne, this petition was given to the king and his mother, Queen Isabella, who was in charge of the town, and the country at this stage likely organised the writ of trespass that took any guilt away from the community at Southampton.

Part of Southampton's Town Walls

The town was sacked in 1338 by French, Genoese and Monegasque ships (under Charles Grimaldi, who used the plunder to help found the principality of Monaco).[28] On visiting Southampton in 1339, Edward III ordered that walls be built to "close the town". The extensive rebuilding — part of the walls dates from 1175 — culminated in the completion of the western walls in 1380.[29][30] Roughly half of the walls, 13 of the original towers, and six gates survive.[29]

In 1348, the Black Death reached England via merchant vessels calling at Southampton.[31]

Prior to King Henry's departure for the Battle of Agincourt in 1415, the ringleaders of the "Southampton Plot"—Richard, Earl of Cambridge, Henry Scrope, 3rd Baron Scrope of Masham, and Sir Thomas Grey of Heton—were accused of high treason and tried at what is now the Red Lion public house in the High Street.[32] They were found guilty and summarily executed outside the Bargate.[33]

The city walls include God's House Tower, built in 1417, the first purpose-built artillery fortification in England.[34] Over the years it has been used as home to the city's gunner, the Town Gaol and even as storage for the Southampton Harbour Board.[30] Until September 2011, it housed the Museum of Archaeology.[35] The walls were completed in the 15th century,[22] but later development of several new fortifications along Southampton Water and the Solent by Henry VIII meant that Southampton was no longer dependent upon its own fortifications.[36]

During the Middle Ages, shipbuilding had become an important industry for the town. Henry V's famous warship Grace Dieu was built in Southampton and launched in 1418.[16]

The friars passed on ownership of the water supply system itself to the town in 1420.[26]

On the other hand, many of the medieval buildings once situated within the town walls are now in ruins or have disappeared altogether. From successive incarnations of the motte and bailey castle, only a section of the bailey wall remains today, lying just off Castle Way.[37]

In 1447 Henry VI granted Southampton a charter which made it a county of itself, separate for most purposes from the county of Hampshire. The town was granted its own sheriff, which it retains to this day.[38]

The friary was dissolved in 1538 but its ruins remained until they were swept away in the 1940s.[25]

The port was the point of departure for the Pilgrim Fathers aboard Mayflower in 1620.[29] In 1642, during the English Civil War, a Parliamentary garrison moved into Southampton.[39] The Royalists advanced as far as Redbridge in March 1644 but were prevented from taking the town.[39]

Southampton became a spa town in 1740.[40] It had also become a popular site for sea bathing by the 1760s, despite the lack of a good quality beach.[40] Innovative buildings specifically for this purpose were built at West Quay, with baths that were filled and emptied by the flow of the tide.[40] Southampton engineer Walter Taylor's 18th-century mechanisation of the block-making process was a significant step in the Industrial Revolution.[41] The port was used for military embarkation, including during 18th-century wars with the French.[42]

The town experienced major expansion during the Victorian era.[16] The Southampton Docks company had been formed in 1835.[16] In October 1838 the foundation stone of the docks was laid[16] and the first dock opened in 1842.[16] The structural and economic development of docks continued for the next few decades.[16] The railway link to London was fully opened in May 1840.[16] Southampton subsequently became known as The Gateway to the Empire.[43]

In his 1854 book The Cruise of the Steam Yacht North Star John Choules described Southampton thus: "I hardly know a town that can show a more beautiful Main Street than Southampton, except it be Oxford. The High Street opens from the quay, and under various names it winds in a gently sweeping line for one mile and a half, and is of very handsome width. The variety of style and color of material in the buildings affords an exhibition of outline, light and colour, that I think is seldom equalled. The shops are very elegant, and the streets are kept exceedingly clean."

The port was used for military embarkation, including the Crimean war[44] and the Boer War.[45]

A new pier, with ten landing stages, was opened by the Duke of Connaught on 2 June 1892.[38] The Grand Theatre opened in 1898. It was demolished in 1960.[46]

The memorial to the engineers of the RMS Titanic

From 1904 to 2004, the Thornycroft shipbuilding yard was a major employer in Southampton,[16] building and repairing ships used in the two World Wars.[16] In 1912, the RMS Titanic sailed from Southampton. 497 men (four in five of the crew on board the vessel) were Sotonians,[47] with about a third of those who perished in the tragedy hailing from the city.[29] Today, visitors can see the Titanic Engineers' Memorial in East Park, built in 1914, dedicated to the ship's engineers who died on board. Nearby is another Titanic memorial, commemorating the ship's musicians.

Southampton subsequently became the home port for the transatlantic passenger services operated by Cunard with their Blue Riband 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.[16] Southampton Container Terminals first opened in 1968[16] and has continued to expand.

Southampton was designated No. 1 Military Embarkation port during World War I[16] and became a major centre for treating the returning wounded and POWs.[16] It was also central to the preparations for the Invasion of Europe during World War II in 1944.[16]

The Supermarine Spitfire 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.[48] Heavy bombing of the Woolston 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 harbour were built here.[16] After D-Day, Southampton docks handled military cargo to help keep the Allied forces supplied,[16] making it a key target of Luftwaffe bombing raids until late 1944.[49] Southampton docks was featured in the television show 24: Live Another Day in Day 9: 9:00 p.m. – 10:00 p.m.[50]

Some 630 people died 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.[51] Pockets of Georgian architecture survived the war, but much of the city was levelled. There has been extensive redevelopment since World War II.[16] Increasing traffic congestion in the 1920s led to partial demolition of medieval walls around the Bargate in 1932 and 1938.[16] However, a large portion of those walls remain.

A Royal Charter in 1952 upgraded University College at Highfield to the University of Southampton.[16] In 1964 Southampton acquired city status, becoming the City of Southampton,[16] and because of the Local Government Act 1972 was turned into a non-metropolitan district within the Hampshire county in 1973.

Southampton City Council took over most of the functions of Hampshire County Council within the city in April 1997 (including education and social services, but not the fire service), and thus became a unitary authority.[52]

In the 2010s several developments to the inner-city of Southampton were completed. In 2016 the south section of West Quay, or West Quay South, originally known as West Quay Watermark, was opened to the public. Its public plaza has been used for several annual events, such as an ice skating rink during the winter season,[53] and a public broadcast of the Wimbledon tennis championship.[54] Two new buildings, the John Hansard Gallery with City Eye and a secondary site for the University of Southampton's Nuffield Theatre, in addition to several flats, were built in the "cultural quarter" adjacent to Guildhall Square in 2017.[55]

The first Mayor of Southampton served in 1222 meaning 2022 was the 800th Anniversary of the office. The first female mayor was Lucia Foster Welch, elected in 1927.[63] In 1959 the city elected its sixth female mayor, Rosina Marie Stonehouse, mother to John Stonehouse.[64]

The current Mayor of Southampton is Councillor Jaqui Rayment, who was formerly the 584th sheriff.[65] Her predecessor was Alex Houghton.[65]

Southampton is one of 16 cities and towns in England and Wales to have a ceremonial sheriff who acts as a deputy for the mayor. Traditionally the sheriff serves for one year after, which they will become the mayor of Southampton.

Southampton's submission of an application for Lord Mayor status, as part of Queen Elizabeth II's Platinum Jubilee Civic Honours Competition 2022, was successful.[66] Once the Letters Patent were published, the current Mayor (Councillor Jaqui Rayment) became the first Lord Mayor of Southampton. The Princess Royal presented the Lord Mayor with the Letters Patent in February 2023.[67]

The town crier from 2004 until his death in 2014 was John Melody, who acted as master of ceremonies in the city and who possessed a cry of 104 decibels.[68] Southampton's current Town Crier is Alan Spencer [69]

Southampton City Council has developed twinning links with Le Havre in France (since 1973),[70][71][72][73] Rems-Murr-Kreis in Germany (since 1991),[72] Trieste in Italy (since 2002), Hampton, Virginia, in the US,[74][75][76] Qingdao in China (since 1998),[72] Busan in South Korea (since 1978),[77] and Miami, Florida, also in the US (since 14 June 2019).[78]

City Centre

Bassett

Bassett Green

Bevois Valley

Bitterne

Bitterne Park

Bitterne Manor

Freemantle

Harefield

Highfield

Lordshill

Lordswood

Mansbridge

Maybush

Midanbury

Millbrook

Nicholstown

Northam

Ocean Village

Peartree Green

Polygon

Portswood

Redbridge

Regents Park

Shirley

St Denys

St Mary's

Sholing

Swaythling

Thornhill

Townhill Park

Woolston

Weston

Suburbs of Southampton within the city boundary

Southampton is divided into council wards, suburbs, constituencies, ecclesiastical parishes, and other less formal areas. It has a number of parks and green spaces, the largest being the 148-hectare Southampton Common,[88] parts of which are used to host the annual summer festivals, circuses and fun fairs. The Common includes Hawthorns Urban Wildlife Centre[89] on the former site of Southampton Zoo, a paddling pool and several lakes and ponds.

Council estates are in the Weston, Thornhill and Townhill Park districts. The city is ranked 96th most deprived out of all 354 Local Authorities in England.[90]

In 2006–2007, 1,267 residential dwellings were built in the city — the highest number for 15 years. Over 94 per cent of these were flats.[91]

There are 16 Electoral Wards in Southampton, each consisting of longer-established neighbourhoods (see below).

Settlements outside the city are sometimes considered suburbs of Southampton, including Chartwell Green, Chilworth, Nursling, Rownhams, Totton, Eastleigh and West End. The villages of Marchwood, Ashurst and Hedge End may be considered exurbs of Southampton.

As with the rest of the UK, Southampton experiences an oceanic climate (Köppen: Cfb). Its southerly, low-lying and sheltered location ensures it is among the warmer, sunnier cities in the UK. It has held the record for the highest temperature in the UK for June at 35.6 °C (96.1 °F) since 1976.[92][93]

Southampton's geothermal power station

The centre of Southampton is located above a large hot water aquifer that provides geothermal power to some of the city's buildings. This energy is processed at a plant in the West Quay region in Southampton city centre, the only geothermal power station in the UK. The plant provides electricity for the Port of Southampton and hot water to the Southampton District Energy Scheme used by many buildings including the Westquay shopping centre. In a 2006 survey of carbon emissions in major UK cities conducted by British Gas, Southampton was ranked as being one of the lowest carbon-emitting cities in the United Kingdom.[97]

Tudor House, City Centre

SeaCity Museum, Civic Centre

The city is home to the longest surviving stretch of medieval walls in England,[132] as well as a number of museums such as Tudor House Museum, reopened on 30 July 2011 after undergoing extensive restoration and improvement; Southampton Maritime Museum;[133] God's House Tower, an archaeology museum about the city's heritage and located in one of the tower walls; the Medieval Merchant's House; and Solent Sky, which focuses on aviation.[134] The SeaCity Museum is located in the west wing of the civic centre, formerly occupied by Hampshire Constabulary and the Magistrates' Court, and focuses on Southampton's trading history and on the Titanic. The museum received half a million pounds from the National Lottery in addition to interest from numerous private investors and is budgeted at £28 million.

The annual Southampton Boat Show is held in September each year, with over 600 exhibitors present.[135] It runs for just over a week at Mayflower Park on the city's waterfront, where it has been held since 1968.[136] The Boat Show itself is the climax of Sea City, which runs from April to September each year to celebrate Southampton's links with the sea.[137]

The largest theatre in the city is the 2,300-capacity Mayflower Theatre (formerly known as the Gaumont), which, as the largest theatre in Southern England outside London, has hosted West End shows such as Les Misérables, The Rocky Horror Show and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, as well as regular visits from Welsh National Opera and English National Ballet. There is also the Nuffield Theatre[138] based at the University of Southampton's Highfield campus, which is the city's primary producing theatre. It was awarded The Stage Award for Best Regional Theatre in 2015.[139] It also hosts touring companies and local performing societies (such as Southampton Operatic Society, the Maskers and the University Players).

There are many innovative art galleries in the city. The Southampton City Art Gallery at the Civic Centre is one of the best known and as well as a nationally important Designated Collection, houses several permanent and travelling exhibitions. The Solent Showcase at Southampton Solent University, the John Hansard Gallery at Southampton University as well as smaller galleries including the Art House[140] in Above Bar Street provide a different view.[141] The city's Bargate contains an art gallery run by the arts organisation "a space" who also run the Art Vaults project. This uses several of Southampton's medieval vaults, halls and cellars as venues for contemporary art installations.

John Hansard Gallery and City Eye

In the heart of Southampton's city centre, you will find the Cultural Quarter, which has developed over recent years to become a rich and bustling arts space complete with a fusion of galleries, museums, theatres restaurants, bars, and cafés. The Cultural Quarter is home to the Southampton O2 Guildhall, MAST (Mayflower Studies), the John Hansard Gallery (Studio 144) and City Eye, the much-anticipated new arts centre for Southampton. It is also home to Southampton Art Gallery which first opened its doors in 1939 and offers the opportunity to enjoy national and international quality exhibitions ranging from painting, sculpture, and drawing, to photography and film, as well as permanent collection and displays. The gallery has a unique partnership with the National Gallery in London which, in 2021, was celebrated with an exhibition entitled “Creating a National Collection: The Partnership Between Southampton City Art Gallery and the National Gallery.”[142]

The Cultural Quarter's Guildhall Square often plays host to events and promotions such as Southampton Pride, Chinese New Year festivities, Seaside in the Square, Oktoberfest, Music in the city, Re:claim Street festival, the Southampton Slamma Skateboarding festival and it is also a start and finish area for the ABP Southampton Marathon, as well as it being the Southampton Remembrance Parade start and finish point.

Events in Southampton are generally promoted via the Visit Southampton website.

In October 2021, Southampton was longlisted for the UK City of Culture 2025.[143] The final bid, submitted on 2 February 2022 was marked by lighting The Bargate red with #MakeItSO projected across it. The city's bid includes plans to celebrate Southampton's people and places, its rich heritage and diversity, the world-class sports and venues, the parks and green spaces and food and drink. On 19 March 2022 it was announced that Southampton had made the short-list of four, alongside Bradford, County Durham, and Wrexham County Borough. In May 2022, it lost its bid, with the winner announced to be Bradford.[143]

The Mayflower Theatre

Southampton has two large live music venues, the Mayflower Theatre (formerly the Gaumont Theatre) and the Guildhall. The Guildhall has seen concerts from a wide range of popular artists, including Pink Floyd,[144] David Bowie,[144] Delirious?,[145] Manic Street Preachers,[144] The Killers,[144] The Kaiser Chiefs,[144] Amy Winehouse, Bob Dylan, Suede, Arctic Monkeys, and Oasis.[144] It also hosts classical concerts presented by the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra,[146] City of Southampton Orchestra,[147] Southampton Concert Orchestra,[148] Southampton Philharmonic Choir,[149] Southampton Choral Society,[150] and the City of Southampton (Albion) Band.

The city also has several smaller music venues, including the Brook, Engine Rooms,[151] The 1865,[152] The Joiners,[153] and Turner Sims,[154] as well as smaller "club circuit" venues like Hampton's and Lennon's, and a number of public houses including the Platform tavern, the Dolphin, the Blue Keys and many others. The Joiners has played host to such acts as Oasis, Radiohead, Green Day, Suede, PJ Harvey, the Manic Street Preachers, Coldplay, the Verve, the Libertines, and Franz Ferdinand, while Hampton's and Lennon's have hosted early appearances by Kate Nash, Scouting for Girls, and Band of Skulls.

The city is home or birthplace to a number of contemporary musicians such as popstar Craig David, Coldplay drummer Will Champion, Alt-J singer Joe Newman, singer-songwriter Aqualung, former Holloways singer Rob Skipper, 1980s popstar Howard Jones, as well as Grammy Award-winning popstar Foxes. Several active rock and metal bands were formed in Southampton, including Band of Skulls, Bury Tomorrow, Creeper, and The Delays. Southampton had a prominent UK Garage scene, championed by the duo Artful Dodger, who formed in the city in the late 1990s,[155] as well as the UKG, grime and bassline producer, Royal-T, part of the TQD group formed with DJ Q and Flava D.[156] Notable bands who are now defunct include Thomas Tantrum (disbanded 2011), Kids Can't Fly (disbanded 2014), and Heart in Hand (disbanded 2015).

Local media include the Southern Daily Echo newspaper based in Redbridge and BBC South, which has its regional headquarters in the city centre opposite the civic centre. From there the BBC broadcasts South Today, the local television news bulletin and BBC Radio Solent. The local ITV franchise is Meridian, which has its headquarters in Whiteley, around 9 mi (14 km) from the city. Until December 2004, the station's studios were located in the Northam area of the city on land reclaimed from the River Itchen. That's Solent is a local television channel that began broadcasting in November 2014, which will be based in and serve Southampton and Portsmouth.

Southampton also has four community FM radio stations, the Queens Award-winning Unity 101 Community Radio,[157] broadcasting full-time on 101.1 MHz since 2006 to the Asian and ethnic communities, and Voice FM,[158] located in St Mary's, which has been broadcasting full-time on 103.9 MHz since September 2011. A third station, Awaaz FM,[159] broadcasts on DAB digital to South Hampshire and on FM to Southampton. It caters for the Asian and ethnic community. The fourth community station is Fiesta FM and broadcasts on 95 MHz.

As of March 2023, the most popular commercial radio station is the adult contemporary regional radio station Wave 105 (13.7%), followed by the hit music station Capital South (2.4%) a networked station from London with local breakfast and drive shows. Other stations include Heart South (6.8%), Nation Radio South Coast (2.0%) and Easy Radio South Coast (0.3%).[160] In addition, Southampton University has a radio station called SURGE, broadcasting on AM band as well as through the web.

St Mary's Stadium

Southampton is home to Southampton Football Club, nicknamed "The Saints" since 1885; the club currently plays in the EFL Championship at St Mary's Stadium, having relocated in 2001 from their 103-year-old former stadium, "The Dell". They reached the top flight of English football (First Division) for the first time in 1966, staying there for eight years. They lifted the FA Cup with a shock victory over Manchester United in 1976, returned to the top flight two years later, and stayed there for 27 years (becoming founder members of the Premier League in 1992) before they were relegated in 2005. The club was promoted back to the Premier League in 2012 following a brief spell in the third tier and severe financial difficulties. In 2015, "The Saints" finished 7th in the Premier League, their highest league finish in 30 years, after a remarkable season under new manager Ronald Koeman. Their highest league position came in 1984 when they were runners-up in the old First Division. They were also runners-up in the 1979 Football League Cup final and 2003 FA Cup final. Notable former managers include Ted Bates, Lawrie McMenemy, Chris Nicholl, Ian Branfoot and Gordon Strachan. There is a strong rivalry with Portsmouth F.C. ("South Coast derby") which is located only about 20 mi (30 km) away.

The two local Sunday Leagues in the Southampton area are the City of Southampton Sunday Football League and the Southampton and District Sunday Football League.

The Ageas Bowl hosting a Twenty20 International

Hampshire County Cricket Club play close to the city, at the Ageas Bowl in West End, after previously playing at the County Cricket Ground and the Antelope Ground, both near the city centre. The Southern Brave team of The Hundred also play at the Ageas Bowl, being the inaugural winners in the men's competition, and two time finalists in the women's.

The city also has a semi-professional basketball club, the Solent Kestrels. Founded in 1998 the team currently plays at the Solent Sports Complex, on the Solent University campus. They currently play in the NBL Division 1.

The city hockey club, Southampton Hockey Club, founded in 1938, is now one of the largest and highly regarded clubs in Hampshire, fielding 7 senior men's and 5 senior women's teams on a weekly basis along with boys' and girls' teams from 6 upwards.

The city is also well provided for in amateur men's and women's rugby with a number of teams in and around the city, the oldest of which is Trojans RFC,[161] which was promoted to London South West 2 division in 2008/9. A notable former player is Anthony Allen, who played with Leicester Tigers as a centre. Tottonians[162] are also in London South West division 2 and Southampton RFC[163] are in Hampshire division 1 in 2009/10, alongside Millbrook RFC[164] and Eastleigh RFC. Many of the sides run mini and midi teams from under sevens up to under sixteens for both boys and girls.

The city provides for yachting and water sports, with a number of marinas. From 1977 to 2001 the Whitbread Around the World Yacht Race, now the Volvo Ocean Race, was based in Southampton's Ocean Village marina.

Southampton Sports Centre is the focal point for the public's sporting and outdoor activities and includes an alpine centre with a dry ski slope, a theme park, and an athletics centre which is used by professional athletes Along with 11 other leisure venues which were formerly operated by the council leisure services, the operating rights have been sold to Park Wood Leisure.[165]

Southampton was named "fittest city in the UK" in 2006 by Men's Fitness magazine. The results were based on the incidence of heart disease, the amount of junk food and alcohol consumed, and the level of gym membership.[166] In 2007, it had slipped one place behind London, but was still ranked first when it came to the parks and green spaces available for exercise and the amount of television watched by Sotonians was the lowest in the country. Thousands enter and run the Southampton Marathon in April every year.[167] Speedway and racing took place at Banister Court Stadium in the pre-war era. It returned in the 1940s after WW2 and the Saints operated until the stadium closed down at the end of 1963. A training track operated in the 1950s in the Hamble area. Greyhound racing was also held at the stadium from 1928 to 1963.

Southampton is also home to two American football teams, the Solent Thrashers, who play at the Test Park Sports Ground, and the Southampton Stags, who play at the Wide Lane Sports Facility in Eastleigh.

The world's oldest surviving bowling green is the Southampton Old Bowling Green, which was first used in 1299.[168]

Southampton is a major UK port which has good transport links with the rest of the country. The M27 motorway, linking places along the south coast of England, runs just to the north of the city. The M3 motorway links the city to London and also with the Midlands and North, via a link to the A34 (part of the European route E05) at Winchester. The M271 motorway is a spur of the M27, linking it with the Western Docks and city centre.

Southampton Central railway station

Southampton is served by the rail network, both by freight services to and from the docks and passenger services as part of the national rail system. The main station in the city is Southampton Central. Rail routes run:

• East towards Portsmouth, Chichester, Worthing and Brighton;
• North to Winchester, the Midlands and London;
• West to Bournemouth, Poole, Dorchester and Weymouth;
• North-west towards Salisbury, Bristol and Cardiff.

The route to London was opened in 1840, by what was to become the London and South Western Railway Company. Both this and its successor, Southern Railway, played a significant role in the creation of the modern port following their purchase and development of the town's docks.

The town was the subject of an attempt by a separate company, the Didcot, Newbury and Southampton Railway, to open another rail route to the North in the 1880s and some building work, including a surviving embankment, was undertaken in the Hill Lane area. However an agreement was made to construct a junction with the existing LSWR main line south of Winchester.[182]

Plans were announced by Hampshire County Council in July 2009 for the introduction of a tram-train running from Hythe (on what is now a freight-only line to Fawley) via Totton to Southampton Central station and on to Fareham, via St. Denys and Swanwick.[183] The proposal followed a failed plan to bring light rail to the Portsmouth and Gosport areas in 2005.

Southampton Airport is a regional airport located in the town of Eastleigh, just north of the city. It offers flights to UK and near European destinations, and is connected to the city by a frequent rail service from Southampton Airport Parkway railway station[184] and by bus services.[185]

For longer flights, Gatwick Airport is linked by a regular rail service and Heathrow Airport is linked by National Express coach services.

Queen Mary 2 at the new Ocean Terminal, with Isle of Wight passenger ferry Red Jet 3

Southampton's tradition of luxury cruising began in the 1840s, one of the pioneers being P&O, who advertised tours to Egypt.[186] The city was one of Europe's main ports for ocean passenger travel to North America and elsewhere, with British, French, and US liners regularly visiting.

Many of the world's largest cruise ships can regularly be seen in Southampton water, including record-breaking vessels from Royal Caribbean and Carnival Corporation & plc. The latter has headquarters in Southampton, with its brands including Princess Cruises, P&O Cruises, and Cunard Line.

The city has a particular historical connection to Cunard Line and their fleet of ships. This was particularly evident on 11 November 2008, when the Cunard liner Queen Elizabeth 2 departed the city for the final time amid a spectacular fireworks display, after a full day of celebrations.[187] Cunard ships are regularly christened in the city, for example Queen Victoria was named by The Duchess of Cornwall in December 2007, and the Queen named Queen Elizabeth in the city during October 2011. The Duchess of Cambridge performed the naming ceremony of Royal Princess on 13 June 2013.

At certain times of the year, the Queen Mary 2, Queen Elizabeth, and Queen Victoria may all visit Southampton at the same time, in an event commonly called 'Arrival of the Three Queens'. The Cunard Line maintains a regular transatlantic service to New York City for most of the year, with its ocean liner RMS Queen Mary 2.

The importance of Southampton to the cruise industry was indicated by P&O Cruises' 175th-anniversary celebrations, which included all seven of the company's liners visiting Southampton in a single day. Adonia, Arcadia, Aurora, Azura, Oceana, Oriana, and Ventura all left the city in a procession on 3 July 2012.[188]

The use of the port by cruise ships and bulk cargo ships has led to concerns over air quality.[189] In 2017 Southampton City Council estimated that the port contributed between seven and 23 per cent of air pollution in the city.[190] Cruise ships had to run their engines whilst docked because, unlike other cruise ship ports, Southampton did not provide shore power.[191] In 2019 an environmental pressure group ranked Southampton as the fifth highest in a list of 50 European ports whose air was polluted by sulphur oxide.[192] The cruise industry trade association Cruise Lines International Association claimed that the report was inaccurate and used highly questionable methodology.[193] Since September 2021, Port of Southampton has shore power installed at the Horizon Cruise Terminal at berth 102 and at the Mayflower Cruise Terminal at berth 106, both situated in the port's Western Docks.[194] Shore power will eventually be available at all five of the port's cruise terminals.

While Southampton is no longer the base for any cross-channel ferries, it is the terminus for three internal ferry services, all of which operate from terminals at Town Quay. Two of these, a car ferry service and a fast catamaran passenger ferry service, provide links to East Cowes and Cowes, respectively, on the Isle of Wight and are operated by Red Funnel. The third ferry is the Hythe Ferry, providing a passenger service to Hythe on the other side of Southampton Water.

Southampton used to be home to a number of ferry services to the continent, with destinations such as San Sebastian, Lisbon, Tangier, and Casablanca. A ferry port was built during the 1960s.[195] However, a number of these relocated to Portsmouth and by 1996, there were no longer any cross-channel car ferries operating from Southampton with the exception of services to the Isle of Wight. The land used for Southampton Ferry Port was sold off and a retail and housing development was built on the site. The Princess Alexandra Dock was converted into a marina. Reception areas for new cars now fill the Eastern Docks where passengers, dry docks and trains used to be.

Bluestar and First Southampton buses outside the Guildhall

The main bus operator is Bluestar which also operates Unilink under contract to the University of Southampton.[196] Xelabus also operates a handful of routes. QuayConnect, which runs between Southampton Central station and the ferry terminals on Town Quay, via WestQuay is run with funding from Red Funnel.[197] There is also a door-to-door minibus service called Southampton Dial-a-Ride, for residents who cannot access public transport. This is funded by the council and operated by SCA Support Services.[198]

Most bus services terminate in the city centre. First Hampshire & Dorset uses Portland terrace as their endpoint for their X4/X5 routes. Bluestar uses Vincent's Walk/Hanover Buildings for their east, city and northbound routes and Portland Terrace for their westbound routes. Xelabus uses Vincent's Walk as their main terminus for its Southampton routes.[199]

A "Lucy Box"

There was a tram system from 1879 to 1949. More recent proposals to reintroduce them surfaced in 2016[200] and 2017,[201] and a monorail system was proposed in 1988.[202]

All around Southampton are "Lucy Boxes" – so called as they were made by W. Lucy & Co. and often the only visible remnants of the tramways. They were used to inject power into the lines.

Southampton City Council announced that it would adopt a new ten year 'Cycling Strategy' from 2017, which would include the construction of multiple cycling highways throughout the city and surrounding suburbs. As of March 2020, Southampton Cycle Network routes 1 (Western), 3 and 4 (Eastern), and 5 (Northern) are substantially complete, with work started on route 6 (Bevois Valley).[203]

• Field Marshal Frederick Roberts, 1st Earl Roberts: 1901.
• Field Marshal Herbert Kitchener, 1st Earl Kitchener: 1902.
• David Lloyd George: 1923.
• Ted Bates: 2001.
• Matthew Le Tissier: 2002.
• Lawrence McMenemy: 2007.
• Dame Mary Fagan: 2 February 2013.[228]
• Francis Benali: 16 November 2016.[229][230]
• Albert Warne: 24 January 2022.[231]

• The Royal Hampshire Regiment: 25 April 1946.[232]
• 17 Port and Maritime Regiment, RLC: 26 January 2000.
• HMS Southampton, RN: 26 January 2000.[233]