Southampton Kings House

Has been described as a Possible Palace (Royal)

There are no visible remains

NameSouthampton Kings House
Alternative NamesKing John's Palace
Historic CountryHampshire and the Isle of Wight
Modern AuthoritySouthampton; City of
1974 AuthorityHampshire
Civil ParishSouthampton

Circa 1170. Early C14 and mid-C14. Remains of a merchant's house, the ground floor originally used for storage and the upper floor as living quarters. It originally stood on the quayside. The west wall was incorporated in the city defences after the French raid of 1338. The roof was removed in the early C20. Two storeys stone. North and west arcades have original C12 windows of 2 round-headed lights in round-arched frames. The west facade also has the blocked archways which led directly on to the quays, one C12 round-headed arch and 2 early C14 segmental-headed arches. Within these blocked arches are 2 vertical defensive slits of the C14 defences which may be the earliest surviving gunports in Britain. Parts of the original stone fireplace on the north side of the first floor survive, including both jambs, with inset shafts and scalloped capitals. Against the east wall is a late Norman chimney of circa 1200, removed from No 79A High Street, in the form of a long round stone shaft rising from a square base. This house is one of the most complete of the larger C12 town houses surviving in the country. (Listed Building Report)

Immediately to the south of the postern and behind the last three bays of the arcade is the twelfth-century house called locally 'King John's Palace.' It is in two stages, and measures on the south side 44 ft., on the east 41 ft., on the west along the town wall, of which it forms a portion, 35 ft., and on the north, along Blue Anchor Lane 43 ft. On the first floor is a large room with an original fireplace and chimney, and five original windows, one a mere loop and four of two lights each, all in the west or outer wall excepting one two-light window on the north facing the lane and the site of the destroyed Norman house opposite. On the same floor a wall passage started at the middle of the east side and led round through the south side to the town wall

This passage, or what remains of it, is now hidden by a lean-to roof constructed within the eastern half of the house. The ground-floor has two Norman doorways; one in the lane, the other in the archway next to the postern. (VCH)

Gatehouse Comments

Royal visits to Southampton were frequent, since this was the main port used to get to the French territories of the Crown, and there are records of a King's house providing supplementary accommodation to Southampton Castle, presumably for the court rather than the king himself. The identification of the merchants house now called 'King John's Palace' as the site of this royal house by Turner is unproven and probably fanciful although the house is of considerable architectural and historic importance. It is possible, of course, the house was owned by the Crown and let out.

- Philip Davis

This site is a scheduled monument protected by law

This is a Grade 1 listed building protected by law

Historic England Scheduled Monument Number
Historic England Listed Building number(s)
Images Of England
Historic England (PastScape) Defra or Monument number(s)
County Historic Environment Record
OS Map Grid ReferenceSU418112
Latitude50.8996391296387
Longitude-1.40665996074677
Eastings441822
Northings111285
HyperLink HyperLink HyperLink

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Books

  • Hughes, M. (ed), 1989. Archaeology in Hampshire Annual Report for 1988 (Hampshire County Council) p 25
  • Faulkner. P.A., 1975, 'The Surviving Medieval Buildings' in Platt, C. and Coleman-Smith, R. (ed), 1975, Excavations in Medieval Southampton 1953 - 1969, Vol 1: The Excavation Reports p. 83-85, including fig 15
  • Pevsner, N., and Lloyd, D., 1967, Buildings of England: Hampshire and the Isle of Wight (London, Penguin) p. 539-40
  • Dale, W., 1931, The Story of some of the Historic Buildings of Southampton p. 13-14 (note)
  • Page, Wm (ed), 1908, VCH Hampshire and the Isle of Wight Vol. 3 p. 500 online transcription
  • Mackenzie, J.D., 1896, Castles of England; their story and structure (New York: Macmillan) Vol. 1 p. 213 online copy
  • Davies, J.S., 1883, A History of Southampton p. 91-2 online copy
  • Turner, T.H., 1851, Some account of Domestic Architecture in England (Oxford) Vol. 1 p. 32-7 online copy
  • Duthy, J., 1839, Sketches of Hampshire (Winchester, Jacob and Johnson)
  • Englefield, H.C., 1805, A Walk through Southampton (Southampton: T. Baker and son) p. 68-9 plates ii, vi online copy

Journals

  • 1989, 'Medieval Britain and Ireland in 1988' Medieval Archaeology Vol. 33 p. 192 no. 122 online copy
  • Wood, M., 1935, 'Norman Domestic Architecture' The Archaeological Journal Vol. 92 p. 167-242 esp 181-4 online copy
  • 1894, 'The Norman House; Or "King John's Palace," at Southampton' Proceedings of the Hampshire Field Club and Archaeological Society Vol. 2.3 p. 365-7
  • Minns, G.W., 1890-3, Proceedings of the Hampshire Field Club and Archaeological Society p. 365
  • 1872, The Archaeological Journal Vol. 29 p. 373 (note) online copy
  • Kell, E., 1865, 'on the castle and other ancient remains at Southampton' Journal of the British Archaeological Association Vol. 21 p. 197-208, 285-7 online copy
  • I.H.P., 1847, 'On the Building called the King's House, and other Architectural Remains in the Town of Southampton' The Archaeological Journal Vol. 4 p. 7-13 online copy

Guide Books

  • Hearnshaw, F.J.C. and Macdonald Lucas, R., 1932 (9edn), Descriptions and History of Tudor House and of the Norman House traditionally known as ' King John's Palace ' in the County Borough of Southampton p. 4-7, 11-15

Primary Sources

  • C145/20(38) (Survey of c. 1260) The National Archives reference (calendared in Maxwell Lyte, H.C., 1916, Calendar of Inquisitions Miscellaneous (Chancery), preserved in the Public Record Office (H.M.S.O.) Vol. 1 No. 494)