Canute's Palace in

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, is the name given to the

ruins Ruins () are the remains of a civilization's architecture. The term refers to formerly intact structures that have fallen into a state of partial or total disrepair over time due to a variety of factors, such as lack of maintenance, deliberate ...

of a

Norman Norman or Normans may refer to: Ethnic and cultural identity * The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 10th and 11th centuries ** People or things connected with the Norm ...

merchant's house dating from the late twelfth century. Despite its name, the building has no connection with

Canute the Great Cnut (; ang, Cnut cyning; non, Knútr inn ríki ; or , no, Knut den mektige, sv, Knut den Store. died 12 November 1035), also known as Cnut the Great and Canute, was King of England from 1016, King of Denmark from 1018, and King of Norway ...

, nor was it a palace.

Name

The antiquarian, Sir Henry Englefield suggested that the building had been a palace of

, but in fact the house is unconnected with him. In April 1801, Englefield presented a very detailed paper to The

Society of Antiquaries of London A society is a group of individuals involved in persistent social interaction, or a large social group sharing the same spatial or social territory, typically subject to the same political authority and dominant cultural expectations. Societ ...

describing the building, in which he said:

Perhaps I indulge but a fond conjecture, when I consider it possibly the hall from which Canute, surrounded by his courtiers, viewed the rising tide; and from whence he descended to the beach, according to that most interesting narrative of our old historians, to repress by a striking and impressive lesson, their impious flattery.

In 1833, the building was described in ''

The Gentleman's Magazine ''The Gentleman's Magazine'' was a monthly magazine founded in London, England, by Edward Cave in January 1731. It ran uninterrupted for almost 200 years, until 1922. It was the first to use the term ''magazine'' (from the French ''magazine'' ...

'' in which the author, "An Architectural Antiquary", says: "The remains of a very magnificent Norman mansion, improperly called Canute's Palace at Southampton, furnishes the best examples of the elliptical arch with which I am acquainted".

Description

Formerly known as the 'Long House', the building was constructed between 1170 and 1200 with walls of uncoursed rubble, and faced the waterfront before the southern section of the

town walls A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares an ori ...

was built. The house had two storeys and was built in the

hall house The hall house is a type of vernacular house traditional in many parts of England, Wales, Ireland and lowland Scotland, as well as northern Europe, during the Middle Ages, centring on a hall. Usually timber-framed, some high status examples wer ...

style; the room at the eastern end of the upper storey may have been the merchant's counting house. The remains include a window with two round heads which is not original but was added later in the Norman period. Although the gable at the western end is at full height, it has been mostly reconstructed. The gable has a further round-headed window. The building was damaged during World War 2. Canute's Palace is a

scheduled monument In the United Kingdom, a scheduled monument is a nationally important archaeological site or historic building, given protection against unauthorised change. The various pieces of legislation that legally protect heritage assets from damage and d ...

and a Grade I

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

, having obtained the latter status on 14 July 1953. The building is now part of Town Quay Park, which includes the remains of many historical properties in the southern section of the city.

References

{{Buildings in Southampton Grade I listed buildings in Hampshire Scheduled monuments in Hampshire Buildings and structures in Southampton Norman architecture in England Tourist attractions in Southampton