Northam, Southampton

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Northam
Northam park and tower.jpg
The Millbank Tower dominates the Northam skyline
Northam is located in Southampton
Northam
Northam
Location within Southampton
Unitary authority
Ceremonial county
Region
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townSOUTHAMPTON
Postcode districtSO14
Dialling code023
PoliceHampshire
FireHampshire
AmbulanceSouth Central
UK Parliament
List of places
UK
England
Hampshire
50°54′45″N 1°23′28″W / 50.9124°N 1.391°W / 50.9124; -1.391Coordinates: 50°54′45″N 1°23′28″W / 50.9124°N 1.391°W / 50.9124; -1.391

Northam is a suburb of Southampton in Hampshire. On the West bank of the River Itchen, it shares borders with St Mary's, Bitterne and Bevois Valley. Beside the border with St Mary's is the Chapel area, which has been home to some recent apartment building developments in Northam.[1] The A3024 road runs through the suburb and crosses the Northam Bridge, which links Northam with Bitterne via Bitterne Manor. Although St Mary's Stadium takes its name from the neighbouring St Mary's, the stadium itself is in Northam, and home to Southampton F.C..

History[]

In 1549 it was decided that the inhabitants of Northam had no rights of common over Southampton Common.[2] Northam shipyard was established in 1693 after John Winter purchased the Manor of Northam for that purpose.[3][4]

The first Northam Road Bridge was built in 1796.[5] The original bridge was made of wood.[6] During Victorian times, much of Southampton's industry was based around the banks of the Itchen

From 1840 Northam was home to the Northam iron works owned (along with Millbrook foundry) by Summers and Day.[7][8] The first ship was launched from the yard 14 October 1840.[7] Named Pride of the waters (later Ruby) the ship was noted at the time to be the first ship to be constructed from iron in the various shipyards of the river Itchen.[7] Shortly afterwards (by 1842) John Rubie opened a third shipyard just downstream of the Summers and Day yard.[9]

The reached Northam in 1839[citation needed]. In order to continue to Southampton Terminus railway station the line had to cross Northam road.[10] Originally a level crossing was constructed but after a dispute with the Northam bridge company the railway agreed to build a bridge to carry the road over the railway.[10] Construction of the bridge in brick began some time before 1840.[10] In 1858 new junction was added connecting the line to what is now Southampton Central railway station.[10] This required the extension of the bridge which was done by added a cast iron section[10]

Work to replace the bridges that took Northam road over the railway began in 1907 and the new bridge opened in 1908.[10] The New bridge was of steel construction supported by girder lattices[10]

Steamship companies (such as the White Star Line and the Cunard Line) were major employers in the district in the early 20th century. Over 350 Northam residents died aboard RMS Titanic when it foundered off the coast of Newfoundland in 1912; 125 students at one school alone were orphaned.[11]

In the early to mid 20th century the road bridge was rebuilt and strengthened, reopening in 1954.[12] In 1957 Southampton city council began the construction of a housing estate that including the 16 floor Millbank House tower.[13] The tower was opened 1 November 1960 by the Mayor of Southampton and was re-clad in 1988 in aluminium.[14][13] At the same time the balconies were enclosed.[13]

In 1965, further work was undertaken on the A3024, the dual carriageway which runs through Northam, to coincide with the opening of the M27 motorway.

The London & South Western Railway opened a large Motive Power Depot at Northam in 1840, which remained the principal locomotive servicing facility in the area until 1903 when it was replaced by a new depot at Eastleigh. In 2001, South West Trains chose Northam as the location for the maintenance facility for its new Siemens Desiro fleet of trains. The Northam Carriage Servicing Depot was constructed by Turner & Townsend and opened in 2003.[15]

Places of worship[]

The was originally a Church of England church, and subsequently home to Northam Pentecostal Church. It was purchased by in the early 1980s and given its new name.[16] The building is a Grade II listed building.[17]

Northam Primitive Methodist Church was opened in 1874.[18] It expanded to include a Sunday school in the late 1920s.[18] 

Television Centre, Southampton[]

The television studios, demolished in 2009

Northam was home to Television Centre, Southampton, run by ITV franchises Meridian Broadcasting, TVS and Southern Television, before Meridian moved their operations to Whiteley. As well as the regional news magazine programme Meridian Tonight, the studios were originally home to the very first series of the popular game show, Catchphrase (before it moved to Maidstone Studios) and handled transmission of Meridian, Anglia and HTV West. The first attempt to redevelop the site failed in 2009 when the developer went into administration.[19] In 2014 Inland Homes announced plans to develop the site as a residential area.[19]

See also[]

  • Northam (Southampton) railway station

References[]

  1. ^ "Highwood enjoy life on the beach! - Highwood Group, Romsey, Hampshire". Retrieved 13 October 2014.
  2. ^ Davies, J. Silvester (1883). A history of Southampton: partly from the MS. of Dr. Speed, in the Southampton Archives. Gilbert & Co. p. 49.
  3. ^ Rance, Adrian (1986). Southampton An Illustrated History. Milestone Publications. p. 74. ISBN 0903852950.
  4. ^ Rance, Adrian B (1981). Shipbuilding in Victorian Southampton. Southampton University Industrial Archaeology Group. p. 3. ISBN 0905280024.
  5. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 14 March 2007. Retrieved 14 December 2006.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  6. ^ "A History of Southampton". Retrieved 13 October 2014.
  7. ^ Jump up to: a b c Rance, Adrian B (1981). Shipbuilding in Victorian Southampton. Southampton University Industrial Archaeology Group. p. 13. ISBN 0905280024.
  8. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 3 May 2006. Retrieved 14 December 2006.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  9. ^ Rance, Adrian B (1981). Shipbuilding in Victorian Southampton. Southampton University Industrial Archaeology Group. pp. 16/17. ISBN 0905280024.
  10. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g Moy, S. S. J; Tedstone, N. M (February 1998). "Northam Railway Bridge: an unusual bridge in Southampton". Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers -Transport. 129 (1): 20–27. doi:10.1680/itran.1998.30089. Retrieved 22 March 2021.
  11. ^ Titanic Voices by Donald Hyslop et al. Published by Southampton City Council, 1994.
  12. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 27 September 2007. Retrieved 14 December 2006.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  13. ^ Jump up to: a b c Barclay, M; Mason, M (May 1994). "The overcladding of Millbank House, Southampton". Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers - Structures and Buildings. 104 (2): 125–134. doi:10.1680/istbu.1994.26323. Retrieved 20 March 2021.
  14. ^ Douch, Robert (1968). Monuments and memorials in Southampton (Southampton papers, no.6). City of Southampton. p. 11.
  15. ^ Siemen's Southampton smart depot is completed and ready for new Desiro units Rail issue 466 23 July 2003 page 75
  16. ^ [1][permanent dead link]
  17. ^ Southampton City Council: Listed buildings in Southampton Archived 7 February 2012 at the Wayback Machine Accessed 13 September 2007.
  18. ^ Jump up to: a b "Sundays were the Lord's Day". Southern Daily Echo. 26 May 2005. Retrieved 26 March 2021.
  19. ^ Jump up to: a b Franklin, James (24 July 2014). "Plans revealed for £40m development on former Meridian TV site in Northam area of Southampton". Southern Daily Echo. Retrieved 28 March 2021. 

External links[]

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