Tag: East Gate

Research Rabbit Hole ~ East Street & The Ditches 1935

East Street looking towards St Mary’s Street 1930s

Known locally as the Ditches, Southampton’s East Street and Canal Walk play an important part in my latest novel, A Dish Best Served Cold. East Street dates back to the days of the medieval town when it led from English Street (now the High Street) to Bag Row (now St Mary’s Street) and linked the medieval town with the Anglo-Saxon settlement of Hamwic. Of course, modern-day East Street is nothing like the street in my novel. The Southampton blitz saw to that. 

Continue reading Research Rabbit Hole ~ East Street & The Ditches 1935

The metamorphosis of the forgotten walls

15 February 2018

For many years the medieval walls from Bargate to Polymond Tower have been neglected and largely forgotten. They are so well hidden behind the shops on Hanover Buildings and the old Bargate Shopping Centre many people don’t even know they are there. Those that do venture along York Walk are often met with a dark, dingy, rubbish strewn journey. With the demolition of the Bargate Centre, this is about to change. There are ambitious plans to open up York Walk and make a feature out of the walls and towers there. Demolition work began a few weeks ago and today, as I was in town on business, I thought I’d see how it was going. Continue reading The metamorphosis of the forgotten walls