7 - Southampton

Summary

IT IS DIFFICULT TO trace the development of gunpowder weapons in most individual towns due to the fragmentary nature of the extant evidence and a lack of inventories. Fortunately, it is possible to carry out an in-depth study of the use of guns by the town governors of Southampton, due to a relative abundance of surviving sources. This chapter demonstrates that the town's experience of firearms, whilst sharing some similarities with other coastal settlements, was unique. By the middle of the fifteenth century, Southampton had become one of the most prosperous towns in England, largely as the result of having secured two staples, wool and metals, which were exported from the town by Italian merchants. This trade declined in the later years of the fifteenth century, with a fall in custom revenues in the early years of the reign of Edward IV, but it revived and reached a peak under the reign of Henry VII. The period also saw significant changes to the government of the community, with a charter of incorporation in 1445 and the creation of the county of the town of Southampton in 1447. These charters, and later ones, established the right of the town to self-governance and freedom from the interference of the county of Southampton or of the sheriff.

The town was also important due to its military role in the late medieval period. It operated as a point of embarkation for many English armies transported to France and provided ships for naval expeditions. This meant that it was vulnerable to attack, as was demonstrated on 5 October 1388, when a French fleet attacked and burnt the town. Later, in 1457, the inhabitants were successful in repelling another French raid, in part due to the strength of their defences and artillery. The town was also embroiled in the factional conflict of the Wars of the Roses, as can be seen from a commission of array granted to the aldermen of the town on 28 April 1460, to resist the Yorkist lords and to ‘fortify the walls and make defences called “loupes” thereon, and to appoint watches, scouts and keepers of the gates day and night’. The inhabitants also participated in the military operations of the crown, such as in 1470, when soldiers were sent for the king's expedition to the north.