Phase one

Medieval shields

We are often asked where the medieval shields on the north face of the Bargate have gone. It is a complex issue that goes back over 50 years! They were carved in the 1380s from Ventnor Stone, which weathers badly.

The shields have decayed, and the damaged areas were repaired with mortar, painted with heraldic designs, and repainted as necessary. They had a major refurbishment in 1946. In 1971 the old roof was replaced with a flat concrete roof. This might be when the problem we are dealing with today really started. The problem was that the rain was getting into the parapet somehow and the north face has not been able to dry out properly for decades.

The 1946 repainting lasted until 1998 when an historic buildings conservator replaced the damaged areas of the shields and repainted the designs. The special paint was supposed to last 20 years, but within five years, much of it had gone and the mortar repairs had begun to drop off. There have been three attempts to solve the problem, the last in 2023. We can now confirm that the works completed in 2023 and 2024 have slowed down the amount of moisture getting into the north wall of the Bargate. Stonework has dried out to an extent that we are now working with Historic England to agree how the shields can be repaired.

In 2022, Southampton’s Culture Team led a project to install new lights and handrails in two of the medieval wine vaults near St Michael’s Church, known as St Michael’s Prison Vault on Castle Way, and the vault under 11 St Michael’s Square. The lighting installation was designed and fitted by Southampton City Council electricians to cope with very damp conditions.

As well as guided tours, six of the vaults are available for hire.

Find out more and hire a vault. 

Most of the vaults reflect an age when Southampton was at the centre of the wine trade, when most of the wine imported from France came through the port on its way to London and other parts of the country. St Michael’s Prison Vault is the exception as its medieval stonework is largely obscured by features built to convert it into an air-raid shelter during the Second World War.

Although the castle disappeared many centuries ago, there are some important elements of the royal castle complex still in existence. Most of these are being repaired as part of the Heritage Assets Repair Programme.

In 2023, the focus was on the massive Castle Bailey Wall North – the curved wall next to Castle Way and the Albion Place Car Park. The entire wall has been repointed and turf laid on the top to create a ‘soft capping’. This technique has also been used on the Weigh House in French Street to protect the tops of the walls and stop them decaying in future.

Find out more details about soft capping.

The sections being repaired in 2024 include:

• Arundel Tower to Forty Steps
• Forty Steps to Garderobe Tower
• Westgate Hall to Square Tower

The Town Walls include:

• Town Wall: Section 75 yards west of Bargate to Arundel Tower
• Forty Steps
• Garderobe Tower
• Section from Garderobe Tower to Castle Hall
• William Nicholl Tower
• William Nicholl Tower to Westgate
• Section from Westgate to South Arcades
• Section from Simmel Street to Blue Anchor Postern to William Nicholl Tower

As part of our commitment to maintaining Tudor House as a place for all to enjoy, works were carried out in 2023 to repair and protect the venue. Further works will be carried out in 2025.

The Weigh House is an historic building in French Street, in the Old Town, with a fascinating history. In the mid thirteenth century, it housed the royal Tron, or weigh beam, scales and weights. Known in medieval times as the Peysage or Poysage House (from the Old French ‘peser’ meaning to weigh) it was where merchandise, particularly wool, was weighed to assess the amount of customs due before they were sent from Southampton to ports across Europe.

The building was restored in the 1930s only to be burnt down during the Southampton Blitz. The most comprehensive programme of repairs since then was completed in 2022. The work was funded by Southampton City Council and carried out by Chichester Stoneworks Ltd. It included:

• Removing all the hard cement mortar used to point the stonework in the past replacing it with lime mortar. This is a more traditional material that is breathable and chemically compatible with the stone and will ensure the monument remains in a better condition in the longer term
• Stabilising the walls by replacing the wrought iron anchors with a stainless steel Cintec anchor system inserted inside the walls
• Repairing both the windows. Some of the stonework was in such poor condition it had to be replaced and the old metal frames had corroded so those have been replaced as well
• Installing ‘soft capping’, which is turf containing a wildflower mix laid on top of the walls to protect them from decaying in the future

If you would like to find out more about the Weigh House, and the medieval vault next door, you can book onto a tour on the Visit Southampton website

August 2022 - work completed

May 2022 progress update

April 2022 progress update

October 2023 update

The stone steps built in 1853, leading down the Town Walls from Albion Place to Western Esplanade, known as Forty Steps, have had a complete overhaul. Many of the worn stone treads have been replaced and the metal handrail repaired, reset and repainted.

The Arcades have been thoroughly cleaned and surveyed in detail so that new stone can be ordered to replace some of the greensand arches that are eroding badly. The original stone was quarried on the Isle of Wight. As this source is no longer available, the new stone will be Shaftesbury Green Sandstone. This is the closest match that we can find.

Meanwhile, work has started on the east face of the Western Town Wall that is inside the car park next to the Pig-in-the-Wall, at the same time as scaffolding is being erected around the Westgate. This will allow the contractors to start repairing the roof before the worst of the winter weather begins.

August 2023 update

As the repairs to Forty Steps are completed and the railings replaced, our contractors are moving on to check and repair one of the most interesting sections of the western town walls – the Arcades.

This section includes windows and doors to wealthy medieval merchants’ houses that were blocked up by order of the King after Southampton was attacked by French and Genoese soldiers in 1338. Gun ports for cannon were set in the blocked doorways and the arcades were built up against the houses around 1380 to add an extra line of defence. This was once one of the busiest parts of the medieval port and was still part of Southampton’s shoreline until the 1920s when land was reclaimed to build the western docks.

December 2022 update

The repairs to the Town Wall next to the Westgate are now complete! We removed most of the cement mortar and replaced it with a more porous and traditional lime mortar which will allow the wall to dry out without causing more damage to the stone.

This is just one of many conservation projects taking place throughout the city.

October 2022 update

The repairs to the Town Walls are well underway!

Many stones in this stretch of the wall have deteriorated in recent years. New stone has arrived from Dorset which the masons have used to replace them.

The most badly affected area of the Town Wall was repaired using a traditional hot lime mix and the eroded stone has been replaced with new material.

When the Town Wall was first built in the 14th century most of the stone came from quarries on the Isle of Wight. These quarries were worked out long ago so we have used Purbeck Inland Freestone, the closest geological match available to us today.

September 2022 update

We started to repair this section of the town walls in September 2022. It needs repointing and a significant number of the stones are crumbling away. Some of this damage has been caused by the use of hard, cement mortar in the past.

We will remove most of the cement mortar and replace it with a more porous lime mortar that will allow the wall to dry out without causing more damage to the stone. Most of the stone used in medieval Southampton was from the Isle of Wight or Northern France. Some types are no longer available, but similar stone can be sourced from Dorset and other quarries in France. We will replace the most heavily eroded stone with the closest match we can find.

The wall was built to protect the south-west corner of the town after the French Raid of 1338. It was built over the top of wealthy merchants’ houses and the plots behind the new wall became gardens. In 1760, Westgate House was built along the line of the wall to the south with gardens either side. Its lodge was built up against the stretch of wall being repaired. Both the house and the lodge were demolished by 1900 to make way for a new road along the outside of the walls – Western Esplanade.

Westgate Hall is on the other side of the wall. This timber-framed building once stood in St Michael’s Square and was moved to this location in 1634. It has been used as a warehouse, banqueting hall and events venue. Today, it is mainly used for weddings. Read more about the history of Westgate Hall.