Bevois Valley ( ) is an inner city area 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 England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

, within Bevois Electoral Ward, and includes areas called Bevois Town and Bevois Mount. The area lies south of and adjoins

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 ...

and is within easy walking distance of the

city centre A city centre is the commercial, cultural and often the historical, political, and geographic heart of a city. The term "city centre" is primarily used in British English, and closely equivalent terms exist in other languages, such as "" in Fren ...

. It follows the line of the original valley of the River Itchen and as such the land is primarily

clay Clay is a type of fine-grained natural soil material containing clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolin, Al2 Si2 O5( OH)4). Clays develop plasticity when wet, due to a molecular film of water surrounding the clay pa ...

s and

shingles Shingles, also known as zoster or herpes zoster, is a viral disease characterized by a painful skin rash with blisters in a localized area. Typically the rash occurs in a single, wide mark either on the left or right side of the body or fac ...

. The area apparently gains its name from a folk lore hero called

Bevis of Hampton Bevis of Hampton ( fro, Beuve(s) or or ; Anglo-Norman: ; it, Buovo d'Antona) or Sir Bevois, was a legendary English hero and the subject of Anglo-Norman, Dutch, French, English, Venetian,Hasenohr, 173–4. and other medieval metrical chival ...

and his giant companion

Ascapart Ascapart (also spelled ''Ascupart'', ''Ascapard'', ''Ascopard'', ''Ascopart'' and ''Asgapard'') was a legendary giant from English folklore, supposedly conquered by Bevis of Hampton, though so huge as to carry Bevis, his wife, and horse under h ...

. Bevois Valley has a primary school (Bevois Town Primary School), a church (Bevois Town Church) and two gurdwaras. The nearest railway station is St Denys railway station. It has recently been the recipient of EU money for improvement. Along with the nearby Bedford Place, it is a popular area for nightlife, with various takeaways, pubs, nightclubs, and small venues offering live music. Since 2001, the area has been home to the Eilis O'Connell sculpture Shear.

References

Areas of Southampton {{Hampshire-geo-stub