Southampton's historic monuments set for £6.7m revamp
The city is bidding to become UK City of Culture 2025
The Bargate and medieval vaults in Southampton could reopen to the public following a multimillion-pound investment.
Fifty-three monuments in the city – including the Bargate and Holyrood Church – are set for a £6.7m revamp.
The investment was approved by city leaders in the summer but the full list of the sites set to be repaired has just been released.
Details of the work and exact timescales are yet to be confirmed.
But Cllr Spiros Vassiliou, cabinet member for culture and heritage, said the 53 sites will be restored and regenerated.
He also confirmed that sites such as the Bargate and the vaults could then be reopened to the public.
The announcement comes as earlier this month Southampton was named as one of eight places in the running for the title of the UK City of Culture 2025.
The Bargate, Town Walls, Castle Bailey Wall North, Castle Eastgate, Weigh House and William Nichol Tower are all among the monuments set for repair
Cllr Vassiliou said city leaders will then look at reopening some sites such as the vaults and the Bargate to the public.
He said the roof of the Bargate needs to be repaired and there will be a tender process once work is completed “to see what ideas are put forward” for the site.
“I would personally love to see some sort of cafe in there and open the roof up as a viewing platform,” he added.
The medieval vaults could instead be leased to organisations to host events such as wine tasting and art and music events.
However, Cllr Vassiliou said the first step would be to make the sites safe as part of the multi-million pound investment.
He added: “We have heritage assets to rival other cities, and this plays a big part of our bid to become UK City of Culture 2025. It’s incredibly important that we look after our heritage assets, repair them and regenerate them for the public to use in the future.”
He described the restoration work as “detailed and complex”.
“This means we are unable to give exact timescales and the full complexity of some of the work is not always apparent until you get started,” he added.
As reported, the £6.7m investment was announced in the summer by the new administration at Southampton City Council as they set out the mid-year budget.
Cllr Vassiliou said a review of the assets started under the previous administration.
But he said the new administration put the money in the budget to fund the scheme and “to ensure that it gets done”.
Cllr Satvir Kaur, leader of the opposition on the city council, said the investment is “very welcome”.
She added: “Irrespective of who was running the council this would have happened, as an important step towards our UK City of Culture bid, which started under Labour. We had already planned and identified key sites and monuments, so it’s encouraging the new administration are carrying on with the work we started.”
THESE ARE THE HERITAGE ASSETS SET TO BE REPAIRED OR REGENERATED:
Bargate
Buttress to the south of Cement Terrace
Canute’s Palace
Castle Bailey Wall North
Castle Bailey Wall South
Castle Eastgate
Castle Hall and Castle Garderobe
Castle Hall South Wall
Castle Vault
Cellars at 90 and 91 High Street
Conduit House and Head
Coping stones south of the Garderobe Tower
Corn Store Ruin
Forty Steps
Four medieval wine vaults at 95-98 High Street
God’s House Tower and Gate
Holy Rood Church
King John’s Palace
Lankester’s Vault
Norman Town House Ruin
North section of The Arcades
Quilter’s Vault
Section of netted wall to west of Castle Way
Square Tower at Bugle Street
St Denys Priory Arch
St Mary’s Churchyard Wall
St Michael’s Prison Vault
The Undercroft
Tower House and Solent House
Town wall adjacent to Westgate Hall
Town wall between Westgate Hall and South Arcades
Town Wall from west of Bargate to South Limit of Castle
Town Wall: Bargate Quarter including Polymond Tower
Town Wall: from God’s House Tower to Briton Street, including Friary Gate, Round Tower and Friary Garderobe
Town wall: Section between Bugle Street and Bugle Tower
Town wall: section between Simnel Street and the site of the Bugle Tower excluding the West Gate
Town Wall: Section south of East Street
Tudor House
Vault at 11 St Michael’s SquareCross House
Vault at 79 High Street
Vault at 86 High Street
Vault at 88 High Street
Vault at 94 High Street
Vault at High Street and Castle Way Corner
Vault under St Michael’s Square adjoining Church
Vaults at 46 and 48 High Street
Watergate
Weigh House
Weigh House Vault
Westgate Hall
Westgate Tower
William Nicholl Tower
Wool House