The Medieval Merchant's House in Southampton is managed by English Heritage and is a surviving example of a restored 13th century merchant's shop and home. The building was constructed in the 1200s by a wine merchant, and it had later domestic and commercial uses afterwards. The building suffered bomb damage in the 1940s, and it was restored in the 1980s to resemble the initial appearance.
The building contains a cellar that was used to store wine and to keep in cool. The cellar is never open to visitors because of a large drop in the stairs at the bottom.
In the 1200s, Southampton was a major port, and the building is located on French street, not far from where the harbour was in those days. French Street was designed for the wealthier merchants, driving the poorer further away. In those days, the population of the city was roughly 5,000. The remains of similar houses can be seen in a vacant gravel lot next to the Medieval Merchant's house; they would have looked similar.
The front of the building on the ground floor would have been the shop with shutters that would have been lowered, and an internal door separates the private home from the shop.
hallway separating the shop from private area; looking down on the great hall
The great hall has a tall ceiling to the roof, and stairs lead off of it to the bedrooms at either end upstairs. In the 1330s, the town was not as popular, and the French attacked it. The house seemed to have suffered some damage then. French Street's buildings then became used for tenants instead of shops. In the 15th century, the wool trade improved Southampton, and the building was once again used for merchants. It then changed its uses into cottages, back to a single house, and then a pub. It was also used as a brothel. The bomb damage suffered in World War II revealed the medieval interior, and action was taken to preserve the property to restore it to its medieval glory and to open it as a tourist attraction. It has been managed by English Heritage since 1984.
great hall; it would have been used for entertaining
hallway upstairs and one of the bedrooms
The front bedroom upstairs hangs over the front of the house slightly so that there is more room. The buildings built in this time have been built to hang slightly over the streets below.
bedroom
The room at the back of the building was the room where private business meetings would have been conducted as it was the most luxurious and actually contained stained glass windows. It was probably also where the moneys were kept as it would have been the most secure building.
The exterior of the house contains a barrel which probably would have been what wine was sold in and also designates the purpose of the shop.
A block or two away is another timber-framed building constructed at a much larger and luxurious scale and looks as though it has been extended from earlier phases to create a much larger building. The road running down along the building would have gone to the harbour.
The Medieval Merchant's House is located in the centre of Southampton. The house is currently open on weekends for visits.
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