Whether you’re visiting the city for a day, a weekend, or you’re going to board a cruise,
Southampton has so much to offer, and is rich in history. The main thing people know about
Southampton is for being home to the port where The Titanic set out on her maiden voyage
from in 1912. Yet there are so many more interesting facts about this maritime port town,
affectionately nicknamed Soton, inhabited by almost 255,000 Sotonians. Here are a few
interesting things that you may not know about Southampton, which was awarded city status
by Queen Elizabeth II in 1964:
(1) There are around 450 cruise ships that dock in the port of Southampton each year,
carrying around 1.5 million passengers between them
(2) It is thought that the area has been inhabited since the Stone Age and the port first
became important when the Normans arrived in 1066
(3) Fishfingers were created here. In the 1950s, Clarence Birdseye tested out the
response to his cod sticks invention. They were so popular that the Birdseye company
launched them nationally in September 1955
(4) The famous Mayflower ship set sail from Southampton in 1620, taking the Pilgrim
Fathers to America. The Mayflower Memorial can be found on Cuckoo Lane.
(5) The Wellington Arms pub on Park Road is the official British consulate for the
Kingdom of Redonda, situated near Antigua
(6) Jane Austen resided in the town for two years. She celebrated her 18th birthday at the
Dolphin Hotel
(7) There are 8 other Southamptons in the world: Maryland; Massachusetts; New York;
Pennsylvania; Utah; Virginia in the USA and New Brunswick and Ontario in Canada
(8) The first Spitfire flight took off from Southampton in 1936
(9) Southampton has the lowest CO2 emission levels in England, giving it some of the
freshest air in the country. This is because it houses the only geothermal power
station in the UK
(10) Southampton’s much loved football team, which is currently in the Premier
League is based in St Mary’s Stadium. Affectionately known as The Saints, they have
produced many well-respected football players including the likes of Alan Shearer,
Gareth Bale and Luke Shaw.
They count the current UK Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak as one of their more than 3 million fans.
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