Southampton tourist guide Godfrey Collyer, pictured, leads us on a tour through St Denys, giving an intriguing glimpse into the area's past, from the history of St Denys Church and the school, to the railway, Cobden Bridge, Riverside Park and St Denys Priory.

 

• Who was Saint Denys?
• What became of him?
• Why was St Denys transformed from farmland into a suburb?
• Why did they have to extend the pews in St Denys Church, and where did the organ come from?
• Why was the church built in the first place?
• How and why was the railway bridge over the Itchen to Netley constructed?
• Why was a second Cobden Bridge built?
• What's underneath the grass at Riverside Park?
• And why were there drinking fountains around the Triangle clock tower?
• And, in a 'bonus' clip, why were there battles on Cobden Bridge when it was first built

This tour answers these and many other questions about the development of St Denys and Bitterne Park.

Bomb damage in St Denys

It was recorded on September 19, 2015 during a SEE Southampton public tour of St Denys as part of the recent HeART of Heritage Urban Exhibition week at St Denys Church, which coincided with Heritage Open Days in the city.

The recording lasts around 40 minutes, edited down from an hour-long tour. Some sections (particularly outside the church and school) include live background music that wafted across from the festival, and there are traffic and street noises throughout.

Talking about why the railway branch line was constructed

Looking towards the railway bridge, originally lit by gas lamps

Original Cobden Bridge

Site of the priory off Priory Road

Use the player below to listen, or click here (often right click then 'save page as', or similar, to save the file to your local machine – who knows, perhaps even to put onto a portable device to take the tour yourself?). Duration: approx 40 minutes.

We'd like to thank Godfrey Collyer and SEE Southampton for letting us make the recording available, and encourage you to also visit SEE Southampton's website for information about their other tours and other activities, including a local history blog.

Bonus clip! In a second brief audio, SEE Southampton guide Steve Roberts tells us about punch ups on Cobden Bridge, broken up by police charges, as villagers from the west were able easily to cross the river to the east for the first time. Click here to listen or download, or use the player below.

This clip is just over a minute.