Tag: Clausentum Quay

A blue sky kind of week

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4 to 7 March 2015

The Tuesday afternoon hailstorm was short lived and, by Wednesday morning, it was back to blue skies by the time I left for work.  For a change I decided to take a slightly longer route along the river with lovely glimpses through the fences and gates to all the moorings there. The water was flat and calm reflecting the boats moored under Cobden Bridge and I couldn’t help smiling to myself as I made my way to the office. It was going to be a busy week with two members of staff on holiday and a new one to train so I needed all the calm views I could get especially as I was still expecting Commando’s stomach bug to kick in at any moment. Continue reading A blue sky kind of week

Clausentum, the beginnings of a city

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1 March 2015

Before the medieval town of Southampton was even thought of, or the villages of Hawick and Hamtun that came before it, there was a Stone Age settlement on a wooded bend of the banks of the River Itchen about three miles from Southampton Water. In AD 43, the Romans invaded Britain and, around thirty years later, built the fortress settlement of Clausentum on the spot.  The sharp bend in the river enclosing a promontory of land made it easy to defend the site with just a wall and two ditches and inside this enclosure wooden huts and wharves were built. On Sunday morning, I thought I’d explore what little remains of Clausentum, I didn’t have far to walk because my village grew up around it. Continue reading Clausentum, the beginnings of a city