Historic Southampton
@HistoricalSoton
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I’m Russell and local history is my hobby.
Southampton, England
Joined October 2015
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For those of you who don’t know me, I’m Russell, and local history is my hobby. I’ve been interested in it since childhood and I’ve been doing this thing on Twitter since 2015. It’s great to be able to share my interest with other people, so thank you all very much for following!
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The Duke of Wellington. It’s amazing to think that people have been buying beer here since the 1490s.
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I’m excited to share my Titanic crew map which I’ve been working on every day for about a month.
The interactive map displays the addresses of 721 Titanic crew members who lived or lodged in Southampton prior to the fateful voyage. 542 of them died.
Map:
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Charles Lightoller was Titanic’s second officer. At the time, he lived on Station Road in Netley.
He survived Titanic and was twice decorated for gallantry (Royal Navy) in WW1.
In 1940, he rescued 120-130 men from Dunkirk in his yacht. Sadly, two of his sons were killed in WW2.
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10 April 1912.
#OnThisDay
109 years ago, Titanic departed Southampton as she began her maiden voyage.
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Over 1,500 people died when Titanic sank
#OnThisDay
109 years ago.
Over a third of those who died were crew who had signed on with a Southampton address.
Families waited for news outside the White Star Line office on Canute Road. The names of survivors were put up outside.
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Thank you all so much for following my posts. Without you, this hobby of mine would be nothing. Thank you! It amazes me that people follow from all over the world. Whether you’re in Southampton or elsewhere, I’d love to know where you’re from, and where you see my posts from! 😊
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5 June 1944. The day before D-Day.
#OnThisDay
seventy-seven years ago, the Bagg family were photographed in their garden on Hill Lane, Southampton.
Behind them in Rockleigh Road, an American field howitzer unit is ready and waiting for the invasion.
© IWM (NYT 27247)
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#OnThisDay
in 1944 the men of E Company, 506th Regiment, 101st Airborne, arrived in Southampton.
They had spent more than a month fighting in Normandy before returning to England from Utah Beach.
The men would later be immortalised in the book and TV series ‘Band of Brothers’.
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Titanic at Southampton on 4 April 1912, six days before her maiden voyage.
This photograph was taken
#OnThisDay
109 years ago.
She had arrived in the early hours of the morning and is dressed with signal flags to celebrate the first visit to her home port.
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On top of Southampton’s medieval walls. The same place in 1906 and 2020.
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#OnThisDay
in 1976, Second Division Southampton lifted the FA Cup at Wembley after beating First Division Manchester United 1-0. Bobby Stokes scored the famous winning goal for
#SaintsFC
.
📸:
@dailyecho
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10 April 1912.
#OnThisDay
108 years ago, Titanic departed Southampton on her maiden voyage.
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Southampton’s Royal Pier in 1949. Seventy years later the remains are in a sorry state.
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I’ve been thinking about how amazing it is that so many people from all over the world view my posts about Southampton’s history.
Near or far, I’d love to know where you’re from, or where in the world you are.
🌎🌍🌏
Wherever you are, I hope you’re able to have a nice weekend!
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106 years ago today, just after noon:
Titanic leaves the dock at Southampton, but SS New York’s moorings snap and she drifts out in front of the Titanic.
SS New York was “dragged about like a naughty child”. They came so close to colliding you could “throw a hat between them”.
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We all love Southampton’s rich nautical history.
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For days after the sinking of the Titanic in 1912, families would gather outside the offices of the White Star Line on Canute Road, and wait for news on loved ones. Over a third of those who perished in the disaster had a Southampton address.
These buildings still exist.
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#OnThisDay
in 1977, the Clash played at Southampton’s Top Rank. The legendary punk band would visit Southampton again in 1980.
@PunKandStuff
@joinerslive
@the1865
@TheClash
@southampton2025
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Titanic at Southampton on 4 April 1912, six days before her maiden voyage.
This photograph was taken
#OnThisDay
111 years ago.
She had arrived from Belfast in the early hours of the morning and is dressed with signal flags to celebrate the first visit to her home port.
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This Twitter account is an enjoyable hobby. I’m spending my day researching stuff for future tweets. Thank you all for following, without you this hobby would be nothing! I love the fact that so many people from all over the world are interested in Southampton’s history.
Cheers!
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10 April 1912.
#OnThisDay
110 years ago, Titanic departed Southampton on her maiden voyage.
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Thank you - all 12k of you!!!!! - for following my tweets and making my hobby what it is. You’re all brilliant.
😊👍
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The Red Lion on Southampton High Street has been a pub since the 1550s.
The building itself was constructed in the late 15th and early 16th century. The facade is Victorian. It was built upon an older house, as there is a medieval vault underneath.
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10,000 followers!! Thank you all so much for following my tweets, I really appreciate it. I feel very lucky that I’m able to share my hobby with so many people around the world. Cheers!
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In the early hours of 4 April 1912, Titanic arrived at Southampton ahead of her maiden voyage.
This photo was taken 106 years ago today.
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Titanic at Southampton on 4 April 1912, six days before her maiden voyage.
This photograph was taken
#OnThisDay
110 years ago.
She had arrived from Belfast in the early hours of the morning and is dressed with signal flags to celebrate the first visit to her home port.
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#OnThisDay
in 1976, Second Division
@SouthamptonFC
lifted the FA Cup at Wembley after beating First Division Manchester United 1-0.
Bobby Stokes scored the famous winning goal for
#SaintsFC
.
It was the last time the Queen attended an FA Cup final.
📸:
@dailyecho
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The Bargate this morning at 03:23. Quite pleased with this photo considering I was a little bit tipsy.
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#OnThisDay
in 1976, the victorious
#SaintsFC
squad paraded the FA Cup on a triumphant procession through the streets of Southampton. The Daily Mirror estimated that around 175,000 people came out to welcome home their heroes.
📸: BBC
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Titanic at Southampton prior to her fateful maiden voyage. This famous photograph has been brought to life by
@vanguard1917
.
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Walk through the Westgate and you follow in the footsteps of the Pilgrims. The gate led to West Quay where they boarded the Mayflower for America in 1620.
In 1415 much of Henry V’s army embarked at Southampton, so it’s likely men who fought at Agincourt walked through here too.
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Over 1,500 people died when Titanic sank
#OnThisDay
111 years ago.
Over a third of those who died were crew who had signed on with a Southampton address.
Families waited for news outside the White Star Line office on Canute Road, where names of survivors were put up outside.
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Around 1,500 people died when Titanic sank
#OnThisDay
108 years ago.
Over a third of them were crew who had signed on with a Southampton address.
Families waited for news on loved ones outside the White Star Line office on Canute Road. Names of survivors were put up outside.
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Big thank you to everyone who follows my tweets and interacts with them. This hobby would be nothing without you all!
It makes me happy seeing local people take pride in the city. Seeing people from all over the world take an interest in Southampton is amazing too.
Thank you!
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5 June 1944. The day before D-Day.
#OnThisDay
75 years ago the Bagg family were photographed in their garden on Hill Lane, Southampton.
Behind them in Rockleigh Road an American field howitzer unit is ready and waiting for the invasion.
© IWM (NYT 27247)
#DDay75
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Thank you to those of you who follow my tweets. Thanks for the likes, retweets, and comments. I really appreciate your support for this hobby of mine and I learn something new every day. Without you lot, this hobby would be nothing! Cheers.
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Then and now on Southampton’s medieval town walls.
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Michael George Hannides came to England from Cyprus in 1936 with hardly a penny to his name. He eventually saved enough to buy the food license at the cafe where he worked and so, in 1940, he founded George’s.
The restaurant is still run by his family and is reopening on 4 July.
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Markus Liebherr was born
#OnThisDay
in 1948.
In 2009, Liebherr saved League One
@SouthamptonFC
from possible liquidation. His death in 2010 was a huge shock, but his legacy secured the future of
#SaintsFC
. Thanks to him, the club was able to return to the Premier League in 2012.
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Just a photo of Muhammad Ali signing a can of Ovaltine at the Fine Fare supermarket in Hedge End in 1971.
📸:
@dailyecho
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Thanks to
@MattDaveyJourno
at the
@dailyecho
for inviting me to discuss my hobby! Always knew I’d be on Page 3 someday…
Having started a Twitter account in 2015 titled ‘Historic Southampton’ – Russell Masters couldn’t have imagined how popular his love of history would become.
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Women making Spitfires in the Supermarine factory at Woolston in 1939.
The Spitfire was designed and first built here. The factory was marked as a target by the Luftwaffe and it was put out of action after three raids in September 1940. Over one hundred people died in the raids.
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Busy day at Southampton in 1931. In the Ocean Dock we have Majestic, Homeric, Berengaria, Mauretania, and Aquitania.
Image shared with kind permission from Daryl LeBlanc.
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The Grapes on Oxford Street. A pub since at least 1851.
One morning in 1912 three brothers named Slade were drinking here. They had all signed on to join Titanic but they left the pub a little late. They got held up by a train crossing the road and missed the voyage by minutes.
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The same stretch of Southampton’s fourteenth century town wall, before and after the land reclamation projects of the twentieth century.
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Conducted my first ever guided tour of historic Southampton this morning. Only two people on the tour but apparently they loved it*. To be honest, I thought it was an excellent tour.
*It was my dad and my nan so they would say that... 😉
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#OnThisDay
in 1912, at 23:40 (ship’s time), Southampton resident and Titanic lookout Frederick Fleet spotted a ‘black mass’ in front of him.
He rang the crow’s nest bell three times, picked up the telephone, and told the bridge, “Iceberg, right ahead.”
The rest is history.
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#OnThisDay
in 1976, Second Division
@SouthamptonFC
lifted the FA Cup at Wembley after beating First Division Manchester United 1-0.
Bobby Stokes scored the famous winning goal for
#SaintsFC
.
It was the last time the Queen attended an FA Cup final.
📸:
@dailyecho
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#OnThisDay
in 1966, seventeen-year-old Mick Channon made his league debut for
@SouthamptonFC
at the Dell.
Channon scored that day, and he would go on to score 228 goals for
#SaintsFC
in all competitions. He is still the club’s all-time leading goalscorer.
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Then and now on Southampton’s medieval town walls.
I originally posted this in 2019 so my ‘now’ photo is a couple of years old.
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Titanic at Southampton on 4 April 1912.
This photograph was taken
#OnThisDay
107 years ago.
She had arrived in the early hours of the morning, and is dressed with signal flags to celebrate the first visit to her home port.
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Up on Southampton’s medieval walls, then and now.
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Women making Spitfires at the Supermarine factory in Woolston in 1939.
The Spitfire was designed and first built here. The factory was marked as a target by the Luftwaffe and it was destroyed in September 1940.
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Then and now on top of Southampton’s medieval town walls.
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#OnThisDay
in 1936, the Spitfire prototype K5054 embarked upon its maiden flight at Southampton Municipal Airport, Eastleigh.
Designed and built in Southampton by R. J. Mitchell and his team at Supermarine in Woolston, the aircraft would go on to become an iconic symbol of WW2.
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On top of Southampton’s medieval town walls. The same view, early 1900s compared to 2020.
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10 April 1912.
#OnThisDay
111 years ago, Titanic departs Southampton for the first and final time as she begins her fateful maiden voyage.
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10 April 1912.
#OnThisDay
107 years ago the Titanic departed Southampton on her maiden voyage.
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This old postcard was sent in January 1903. Would the sender recognise the same view of Southampton if they saw it today?
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I have been stuck inside my tiny flat for seven or eight days now due to Covid. I appreciate the excellent history content that people continue to put on Twitter. And a big thank you to those of you who still interact with my tweets - I have really appreciated the company!
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SOUTH WESTERN HOUSE, A THREAD:
I am immensely grateful to
@Tkiddle
for showing us around South Western House recently.
The iconic building is now apartments. For many years it was Southampton’s grandest hotel, which played host to royalty, VIPs, and celebrities.
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#OnThisDay
in 1936, the Spitfire prototype K5054 had its maiden flight at Southampton Municipal Airport, Eastleigh.
Designed and built locally by R. J. Mitchell and his team at Supermarine in Woolston, it would become an iconic symbol in the fight against Nazism.
© IWM MH 5205
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This Grade II listed slipway on the River Itchen is the only remnant of the Supermarine factory that once stood here.
Flying boats and seaplanes, including Schneider Trophy winning aircraft, were built here.
In this very factory the iconic Spitfire was designed and first built.
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#OnThisDay
in 1936, the Spitfire prototype K5054 had its maiden flight at Southampton Municipal Airport.
It was designed and built locally by R. J. Mitchell and his team at Supermarine in Woolston.
The Spitfire would go on to become an iconic symbol in the fight against Nazism.
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St Mary’s Stadium was built on the site of a gasworks. In 1940 the Luftwaffe marked the gasworks as a target on a reconnaissance photo of Southampton.
It was bombed on 26 September 1940.
Eleven men died. All
#SaintsFC
fans. Today there is a remembrance plaque on the stadium.
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Anglo-Saxon Southampton was called ‘Hamwic’ or ‘Hamtun’. The surrounding area was ‘Hamtunscīr’ and this word is where ‘Hampshire’ comes from. Hampshire was ‘Hantescire’ in the Domesday Book, hence ‘Hants’. It has also been called the ‘County of Southampton’ & ‘Southamptonshire’.
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American soldiers in Southampton in September 1918. They’re marching to the docks to embark for France.
I wonder who the children were? I bet they remembered this moment.
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#OnThisDay
in 2015: I started this Twitter account!
The past six years have been brilliant and I’m very lucky to be able to share my hobby with so many people around the world. This account would be nothing without you lot, so thank you. I hope you continue to enjoy my tweets!
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Over 1,500 people died when Titanic sank
#OnThisDay
110 years ago.
Over a third of those who died were crew members who had signed on with a Southampton address.
Families waited for news outside the White Star Line office on Canute Road. Names of survivors were put up outside.
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Over 1,500 people died when Titanic sank
#OnThisDay
112 years ago.
Over a third of those who died were crew who had signed on with a Southampton address.
Families waited for news outside the White Star Line office on Canute Road, where names of survivors were put up outside.
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My mum took this photo in 2000. Long enough ago to be considered ‘historic’?
Who remembers when the Trinity House lightship ‘Calshot Spit’ was located at Ocean Village?
It was built by Thornycroft at Woolston in 1914, and guided shipping in Southampton Water until the 1970s.
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Two very different views from the same place on top of Southampton’s medieval walls.
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Above Bar Street after the destruction of the Second World War.
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Saw something recently about
@Westquay
being twenty years old. I remember it being built, I can’t believe it was that long ago! That’s me on Catchcold Tower in my favourite top, with Arundel Tower and the construction work going on behind me. The view here is very different now.
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Did you know that Hampshire takes its name from Southampton?
Southampton was called Hamtun in Anglo-Saxon times, and so the surrounding area was Hamtunscir. In the Domesday Book the county was called Hantescire, hence the abbreviation Hants.
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This postcard was sent in 1903. I’m not sure the sender would recognise the same area now…
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Southampton High Street. From a postcard sent in 1905.
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#OnThisDay
in 1966, seventeen-year-old Mick Channon made his league debut for
@SouthamptonFC
at the Dell.
Channon scored that day, and he would go on to score 228 goals for
#SaintsFC
in all competitions. He is still the club’s all-time leading goalscorer.
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THREAD - THE SOUTHAMPTON BLITZ:
#OnThisDay
eighty years ago - 23 November 1940 - the Luftwaffe targeted Southampton and the town suffered its most destructive raid of the Blitz so far.
It was front page news in America as the Nazis claimed Southampton was left a smoking ruin...
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Titanic at Southampton on 4 April 1912.
This photograph was taken
#OnThisDay
108 years ago.
She arrived in the early hours of the morning and is dressed with signal flags to celebrate the first visit to her home port.
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The cowherd managed the animals on Southampton Common. Edward Dyett moved into the cowherd’s house when he got the job in 1774. He starting selling beer on the side and the venture was so profitable that in 1789, the house became a pub. The Cowherds is still a popular pub today.
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The Royal Victoria Hospital, Netley. This image only shows half of the grand building, which was a quarter of a mile in length. The huge military hospital on Southampton Water opened in 1863 and it remained in use until after the Second World War. Today, only the chapel remains.
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#OnThisDay
in 1965, Frederick Fleet died at 8 Norman Road, Southampton.
As a lookout on Titanic, Fleet was the first to see the iceberg on that fateful night in 1912. He rang the bell, phoned the bridge, and told them: “Iceberg, right ahead.”
He is buried in Holybrook Cemetery.
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Oxford Street, then and now. Almost a century separates these two photographs.
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The 14th century Westgate led to Southampton’s West Quay. Men who ultimately fought at Agincourt in 1415 likely marched through the gate before boarding their ships and invading France. The Pilgrims also likely used the gate in 1620 as they began their voyage to America together.
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Alfred Hawthorne ‘Benny’ Hill was born in Southampton
#OnThisDay
in 1924. At the height of his fame, the Benny Hill Show had 21 million viewers. He would divide his time between Southampton and London, where he died in 1992. He was buried in Hollybrook Cemetery, Southampton.
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