Mansbridge

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Mansbridge
Mansbridge (geograph 5048421).jpg
Housing in Mansbridge, 2016
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Mansbridge
Location within Southampton
Unitary authority
Ceremonial county
Region
Country England
Sovereign state United Kingdom
Post town SOUTHAMPTON
Postcode district SO18
Dialling code 023
Police Hampshire and Isle of Wight
Fire Hampshire and Isle of Wight
Ambulance South Central
UK Parliament
List of places
UK
England
Hampshire
50°56′14″N1°21′52″W / 50.9372°N 1.3645°W / 50.9372; -1.3645 Coordinates: 50°56′14″N1°21′52″W / 50.9372°N 1.3645°W / 50.9372; -1.3645

Mansbridge is a suburb on the northern perimeter of Southampton, England. The area is named after the Mans Bridge which spans the River Itchen. For a considerable time, this was the southernmost crossing point of the river, before the construction of Woodmill in Swaythling. The bridge itself still stands and is a Grade II listed structure [1] but is closed to road traffic (pedestrians and cyclists may still use it), having been replaced by a larger and more modern road bridge to carry the A27.

Contents

The suburb contains a mixture of housing. The first developments, on the north side of the A27, were designed by architect Herbert Collins, whose houses are a feature of several other Southampton districts. A larger estate was later constructed on the south side, along with Mansbridge Primary School, the logo of which is the bridge itself. The residential area of Mansbridge is bordered to the west by the London to Weymouth railway line and to the east by the river. Beyond the river, Mansbridge takes on a much more rural air, with woodland to the south and water meadows to the north.

The neighbouring areas are Swaythling to the west, Townhill Park to the south, and Chartwell Green to the east. A strip of green belt land separates Mansbridge from Eastleigh to the north.

History

The bridges

There has been a bridge at Mansbridge since at least the year 932, when it was referred to as Mannysbrigge in King Athelstan's charter to the prior of St. Swithun's Priory in Winchester. [2] In the Domesday Book of 1086, the location was recorded as Manebrige or Manesbrige Hundred, within the county of Hantscire . [3] A wooden bridge by the name of Blak Bridge was described as being "a little above Woodmill" (i.e. upstream of Woodmill in Swaythling) by Leland in 1535–43, and this may be a reference to Mansbridge as there are no known crossing points of the river between Mansbridge and Woodmill. [2] Saxton's map of 1575 shows the bridge at Mansbridge labelled as "mans bridge", [2] while Speed's 1611 map refers to the hundred as Mansbridg. [3] Blaeu's 1645 map shows Mansbridge Hundred but Morden's map of 1695 labels the bridge "Mansbridg", and shows it within the Fawley or Waltham (possibly Bishop's Waltham) Hundred. [2] [3]

The bridges that stand at Mansbridge today are much more recent than those mentioned above; the older of the two was built in 1816 by the county council; this bridge was made of stone with a single segmental arch and decorated with a lambswool pattern. [2] [4] The 1816 bridge is a grade II listed building, having first been listed on 14 July 1953. [1] It is closed to motorised traffic and forms part of National Cycle Route 23.

The current bridge carrying the A27 road was constructed in 1975, and replaced a bailey bridge erected during the Second World War. [5]

The Grange

The suburb of Mansbridge had at its heart, for a century, a large house called "The Grange." The Grange had an extensive ornamental garden, containing a diverse collection of trees. After World War II the house fell into disrepair, and was eventually demolished around 1970. The grounds are now a part of the Monks Brook Greenway, a nature trail, and many of the original trees can still be seen along the brook's bank. [6]

Southampton water supply

Under the powers of the Southampton Waterworks Amendment Act 1850 a pumping station was set up at Mansbridge to take water from the River Itchen and transfer it to a pair of reservoirs on Southampton Common. [7] The pumping station ceased being used in 1892. [7]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hampshire</span> County of England

Hampshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to approximately 1.9 million people, Hampshire is the 5th-most populous county in England. Its largest settlements are the cities of Southampton and Portsmouth. The county town is Winchester. It is bordered by Berkshire to the north, Surrey to the north-east, Wiltshire to the north-west, West Sussex to the south-east, and Dorset to the south-west. The county contains two national parks: the New Forest and part of the South Downs, which together cover 45 per cent of Hampshire.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">River Itchen, Hampshire</span> River in Hampshire, England

The River Itchen in Hampshire, England, rises to the south of New Alresford and flows 26 miles (42 km) to meet Southampton Water below the Itchen Bridge. The Itchen Navigation was constructed in the late 17th and early 18th centuries to enable barges to reach Winchester from Southampton Docks, but ceased to operate in the mid-19th century and is largely abandoned today.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Swaythling</span> Human settlement in England

Swaythling is a suburb and electoral ward of the city of Southampton in Hampshire, England. The ward has a population of 13,664.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Townhill Park</span> Human settlement in England

Townhill Park is a suburb of Southampton, England, bordering Swaythling, Bitterne Park and West End. It is built on land which once belonged to the house which carries the same name.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bitterne Manor</span> Human settlement in England

Bitterne Manor is a suburb of Southampton surrounding the manor house of the same name. It is located on the eastern bank of the River Itchen, across Cobden Bridge from St Denys.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bitterne Park</span> Human settlement in England

Bitterne Park is a suburb and Electoral Ward of Southampton, England, on the Eastern bank of the River Itchen, built on sloping parkland which once formed part of Bitterne Manor.

St Denys is a partially riverside district of Southampton, England, centred 1.5 miles (2.4 km) north north-east of the city centre facing variously Bitterne Park and quay across the River Itchen estuary. The river is here spanned in the mid-east extreme of the district by Cobden Bridge, one of five within the city's broad boundaries, six including the railway bridge 100 m south. It is separated from the city centre by the districts sometimes known as Bevois Valley and New Town, in turn.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sholing</span> Human settlement in England

Sholing, previously Scholing, is a district on the eastern side of the city of Southampton in Southern England. It is located between the districts of Bitterne, Thornhill and Woolston.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Woolston, Southampton</span> Human settlement in England

Woolston is a suburb of Southampton, Hampshire, located on the eastern bank of the River Itchen. It is bounded by the River Itchen, Sholing, Peartree Green, Itchen and Weston.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Monks Brook</span> River in Hampshire, England

Monks Brook is a river in the English county of Hampshire. It is a tributary of the River Itchen, which it joins at a medieval salmon pool in Swaythling. The brook is formed from seven streams that rise in the chalky South Downs, with the official source of Monks Brook being known as Bucket's Corner. Monks Brook drains a clay catchment of 49 square kilometres (19 sq mi). The brook is designated a main river, which means the operating authority for managing it is the Environment Agency, not the local government authorities for the areas through which the river runs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Redbridge, Southampton</span> Human settlement in England

Redbridge is a ward with a population of 14,432, 3.1 miles (5.0 km) to the west of the city centre of Southampton, England. The settlement is positioned at the mouth of the River Test and is the southern terminus of the former Andover Canal and Sprat and Winkle railway line, and the modern M271 motorway.

Southampton is a city in Hampshire, England. The area has been settled since the Stone Age. Its history has been affected by its geographical location, on a major estuary on the English Channel coast with an unusual double high-tide, and by its proximity to Winchester and London; the ancient and modern capitals of England. Having been an important regional centre for centuries, Southampton was awarded city status by Queen Elizabeth II in 1964 .

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Itchen Navigation</span> Disused canal system in Hampshire, England

The Itchen Navigation is a 10.4-mile (16.7 km) disused canal system in Hampshire, England, that provided an important trading route from Winchester to the sea at Southampton for about 150 years. Improvements to the River Itchen were authorised by Act of Parliament in 1665, but progress was slow, and the navigation was not declared complete until 1710. It was known as a navigation because it was essentially an improved river, with the main river channel being used for some sections, and cuts with locks used to bypass the difficult sections. Its waters are fed from the River Itchen. It provided an important method of moving goods, particularly agricultural produce and coal, between the two cities and the intervening villages.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Northam Bridge</span> Bridge in Northam, Bitterne Manor

The Northam Bridge is a road bridge across the River Itchen in Southampton, England, linking the suburbs of Northam and Bitterne Manor. The current bridge was the first major prestressed concrete road bridge to be built in the United Kingdom. The bridge carries the A3024 road as a dual carriageway, with two lanes on each carriageway.

National Cycle Route 23 is a route of the National Cycle Network, running from Reading to Sandown. The partially signed route passes through Basingstoke, Eastleigh and Southampton; once across the Solent, it continues through Cowes and Newport.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Winnall, Hampshire</span> Human settlement in England

Winnall is a northern suburb of Winchester, Hampshire, on the east bank of the River Itchen. It is the location of the Winnall Moors nature reserve on the flood-plain of the Itchen and the University of Southampton's Erasmus Park hall of residence. Winnall is also the location of St Swithun's School, Winnal Primary school and Winchester's main industrial estate, occupying land between the A34 and the former Didcot, Newbury and Southampton Railway, by junction 9 of the M3.

South Stoneham was a manor in South Stoneham parish. It was also a hundred, Poor law union, sanitary district then rural district covering a larger area of south Hampshire, England close to Southampton.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St Mary's Church, South Stoneham</span> Church in Hampshire, England

St. Mary's Church, South Stoneham is one of the two remaining medieval churches in the city of Southampton, England. Parts of the building date from the Norman period and the chancel arch is 12th century. The church lies in a secluded position off Wessex Lane, near the north-eastern edge of Southampton and is almost hidden in the Southampton University accommodation campus.

History of Woolston, suburb of Southampton, Hampshire.

Shamblehurst, also known as Sandhust, was a manor and tithing within the ancient parish of South Stoneham, now in the modern-day Borough of Eastleigh. It had Allington tithing to the north and Botley and Durley parishes to the east.

References

  1. 1 2 "Listed Buildings in Southampton" (PDF). Southampton City Council. p. 90. Archived from the original (PDF) on 1 October 2008. Retrieved 14 November 2009.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Norgate, Martin and Jean (2001). "Mans Bridge". Old Hampshire Gazetteer. University of Portsmouth. Archived from the original on 28 August 2007. Retrieved 19 February 2009.
  3. 1 2 3 Norgate, Martin and Jean (2001). "Mansbridge Hundred". Old Hampshire Gazetteer. University of Portsmouth. Archived from the original on 7 March 2012. Retrieved 19 February 2009.
  4. Historic England. "Mans Bridge (1092023)". National Heritage List for England . Retrieved 16 April 2012.
  5. Course, Edwin (2011). The Itchen Navigation. Hampshire Industrial Archaeology Society. pp. 14–15. ISBN   978-0-905280-10-3.
  6. A History of Mansbridge 1990, book, P. Wilson
  7. 1 2 Thomson, Sheila D (1989). Southampton Common. City of Southampton Society. pp. 18–19. OCLC   655858743.