St Denys is a partially riverside district of
Southampton
Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...
, England, centred
north north-east of
the city centre facing variously
Bitterne Park
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.
Bitterne Park Ward includes the suburbs of Bitterne Park, Bitt ...
and quay across the
River Itchen estuary. The river is here spanned in the mid-east extreme of the district by
Cobden Bridge
Cobden Bridge is a major road bridge in Southampton, UK. It crosses the River Itchen joining the suburbs of St Denys and Bitterne Park. It forms part of the A3035. The present bridge dates from 1928, but there has been a bridge on this site s ...
, 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
Bevois Valley ( ) is an inner city area of Southampton, England, within Bevois Electoral Ward, and includes areas called Bevois Town and Bevois Mount. The area lies south of and adjoins Portswood and is within easy walking distance of the city ...
and
New Town, in turn.
History
The far south has evidence of a
Roman
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...
river crossing to ''
Clausentum
Clausentum was a small town in the Roman province of Britannia. The site is believed to be located in Bitterne Manor, which is now a suburb of Southampton.
Identification
Route VII of the Antonine Itinerary documents the Roman settlement of Clau ...
'' on the east of the river, and certain finds of other Roman archaeology.
The area is named after the 12th-century
St. Denys Priory, of minor wealth and size, of which little remains, aside from an archway of the original chapel spanning two back gardens, and a counterpart moved to beside the rear wall of King John's Palace at Tudor House Museum in the city centre.
St Denys consisted of a very small hamlet
nucleus
Nucleus ( : nuclei) is a Latin word for the seed inside a fruit. It most often refers to:
*Atomic nucleus, the very dense central region of an atom
* Cell nucleus, a central organelle of a eukaryotic cell, containing most of the cell's DNA
Nucl ...
and scattered farms throughout the medieval period. Drains and dykes improved the land for habitation and crop agriculture over many centuries.
19th century and later
The land here was extensively developed at
low-rise
A low-rise is a building that is only a few stories tall or any building that is shorter than a high-rise, though others include the classification of mid-rise.
Definition
Emporis defines a low-rise as "an enclosed structure below 35 metres 15 ...
level from the mid-19th century to the early 20th century; by 1895 it had a quite dense grid of streets which preceded most of the larger area west of the north-south railway line, namely
Portswood
Portswood is a suburb and Electoral Ward of Southampton, England. The suburb lies to the north-north-east of the city centre and is bounded by (clockwise from west) Freemantle, Highfield, Swaythling, St. Denys and Bevois Valley.
Portswood W ...
, apart from its main road.
A history of large
laundries provided employment, servicing Southampton's
ocean liners until the late 20th century. A number of homes of
Titanic
RMS ''Titanic'' was a British passenger liner, operated by the White Star Line, which sank in the North Atlantic Ocean on 15 April 1912 after striking an iceberg during her maiden voyage from Southampton, England, to New York City, Unit ...
(sank 1912) victims and survivors are in St Denys. Considerable bombing in the
Southampton Blitz
The Southampton Blitz was the heavy bombing of Southampton by the Nazi German ''Luftwaffe'' during World War II. Southampton was a strategic bombing target for the Luftwaffe as it contained both busy docks with associated business premises and ...
due to proximity to the railway connecting London and
docks.
Demography
The area is populated with a wide mix of younger working families, older residents and students.
A small community of
houseboats is moored along the easterly border, the waterfront, conversions from
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
motor torpedo boats.
Landmarks
Church
The church was built in 1868, designed by
George Gilbert Scott and is a
listed building in the initial category; the parish dates from the previous year, its patron is and remains the
Bishop of Winchester.
The stained glass windows have been restored, and the congregation of the early 21st century holds events in church rooms and gardens.
Industry
The area is bounded in part by sewage treatment works built on former salt meadows, supplementing another for the west side of the city.
Boundaries
;Church parishes and local government ward(s) history
St Denys is bounded by the estuary (east), a mainline
railway
Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...
(west), the far side of buildings on the north side of the start of Kent Road (north) and the
A335 bypass, which when built in the late 20th century meant removing part of the original parish. Today the area is roughly equivalent to a third of the
ward
Ward may refer to:
Division or unit
* Hospital ward, a hospital division, floor, or room set aside for a particular class or group of patients, for example the psychiatric ward
* Prison ward, a division of a penal institution such as a pris ...
of
Portswood
Portswood is a suburb and Electoral Ward of Southampton, England. The suburb lies to the north-north-east of the city centre and is bounded by (clockwise from west) Freemantle, Highfield, Swaythling, St. Denys and Bevois Valley.
Portswood W ...
; it remains a whole ecclesiastical parish in the
Church of England
The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britai ...
. In the
Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
it is grouped with Portswood to the north into a parish.
The (Roman Catholic) Diocese of Portsmouth
Deaneries showing parish subdivisions for schools purposes
Public transport
The area is connected by a minor passenger stop on the site of a junction with the coastal line to Portsmouth
Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council.
Portsmouth is the most dens ...
or Brighton of the South West Main Line
The South West Main Line (SWML) is a 143-mile (230 km) major railway line between Waterloo station in central London and Weymouth on the south coast of England. A predominantly passenger line, it serves many commuter areas including south we ...
. The area is connected by a high-frequency timetable of buses to Southampton city centre, including its railway station
Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a prep ...
, where the mainline continues to Weymouth.
Gallery
File:StDenysStation-Platforms.jpg, St Denys railway station
St Denys railway station serves the St Denys and Portswood suburbs of Southampton in Hampshire, England. It is down the line from .
Built in 1865, the station is named after the surrounding area, which in turn is named after the Priory of St ...
platforms, canopies and homes and gardens in the hilly western part of Portswood and Bevois Mount beyond
File:Cobden Bridge.jpg, Six large arches of Cobden Bridge across the sky-reflecting estuary of the chalkland-fed Itchen
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Denys
Areas of Southampton