Southampton ports and the Titanic
Now hear me out. Having been born and bred Southampton I’ve never really given it much thought. I walk through town day in and day out without really casting my mind upon the history of the place. Yet with the recent anniversary of the Titanic disaster, coupled with the recent revival of the ship in the form of Titanic 2 (due to set sail in 2016) – It seems fitting to at least pen one article to my city that has seen its fair share of history.
Of course everybody knows the story of the Titanic – if you don’t historically, then you most certainly know the James Cameron adaptation. Southampton seems to have had a small part to play in the life and death of the doomed ship – but Southampton was hit the hardest by her sinking as 4 out of 5 of the ship’s crew members were locals. As such relief funds were put in place to help the families left behind.
A recent museum was built last year in the anniversary of the sinking in the town civic centre. As a memorial nod, those living in Southampton were allowed free entry when it opened, but to this day it still only costs £8.50 to enter (£6 for students). The museum is home to such artefacts as Captain Edward Smiths pocket watch, stopped at the time of the sinking and interviews of the survivors playing over head (seriously moving). The centre of the museum is the actual court room in which those who were responsible for the poor safety measures on board were sentenced to jail. You can even stand in the box and gaze down into the underground cells the accused would have walked down into, facing a lifetime of guilt.
Thankfully it isn’t all doom and gloom, Southampton is also home to the Mayflower theatre where productions of Les Miserables, Phantom of the Opera, Hairspray, The Jersey Boys, Avenue Q , Rocky Horror Picture Show and other big musicals take it in turns to come down. The tickets are cheaper than the London prices but nowhere near as cheap in quality as these touring productions sometimes do include cast members from the Westend itself.
The town centre is ringed by the Southampton walls, pretty self explanatory the walls have been there since 1360 and were a defence mechanism from any potential invaders. Some of the wall still stands today, and it is beside these walls and/or beside the docks that you’ll also find some of the nicer historical pubs. Most of them have a tale to tell, either in the form of executions (that took place in the gateway called The Bargate at the top of the high street), or the fact that many pubs down by the water were the last drinking places for most of the Titanic crew.
If nothing in this day and age provides a reason to come see Southampton, then just make sure you’re around in 2016, as seeing an exact replica of the Titanic sat in the docks once again will provide an eerie look at the past. Just don’t miss out the opportunity to stand there and say “God himself could not sink this…” actually no, I can’t bring myself to even type it.
