Heritage: Fascinating facts about Christmas time

Richard I (1157-1199), often called Richard the Lionheart, may have spent his only Christmas in England in Southampton Castle in 1194. This was stated by many Southampton historians including the Victorian Rev. John Silvester Davies and Elsie M. Sandell in the 1950s. A local rich merchant had paid part of his ransom; the King having been imprisoned abroad during the Crusades. However, recent research indicates that he was here earlier that year but there is no proof of  him still being here at Christmastime.

The Bells of St. Mary’s song was composed about the new bells installed in 1914 in St. Mary’s Church, Southampton. Two songwriters on their way to the USA by ship from Southampton docks heard the bells and composed the song in 1919. Featured in the film The Bells of St. Mary’s, released in December 1945 starring Ingrid Bergman and Bing Crosby, it became a major hit for Crosby. A version appeared on the classic Phil Spector produced album “A Christmas Gift for You”, released in 1963.

Isaac Watts (1674 -1748), the father of English hymn writing, wrote Joy to the World as an Easter hymn but it has become associated with Christmas. His family lived in French Street and he attended King Edward VI School which at that time was in Bugle Street.

Jona Lewie (real name John Lewis) had a Christmas hit in December 1980 with his anti-war song Stop the Cavalry. He was born in Hythe in 1947.

Benny Hill who was born in Bernard Street, Southampton, in 1924, had the 1971 Christmas number one with Ernie, the Fastest Milkman in the West. One of his homes was at 22, Westrow Gardens, Southampton and the number 22 is mentioned in the song lyric as the house number of his love interest, Sue.

Jane Austen (1775-1817) attended a Winter Ball at the Dolphin Hotel in the High Street. She lived with her mother and sister in a property owned by her brother Frank from 1806-09. It no longer exists but the Juniper Berry pub was later built on the site. She wrote that: “there were perhaps thirty couples of dancers; the melancholy part was to see so many dozen young women standing by without partners, and each of them with two ugly naked shoulders!”

The last ever Southampton tram passed round the Bargate on 31 December 1949. Horse drawn trams had started in 1879, and an electrified service ran from 1900.

By Christmas 1940 Southampton was reeling from the extensive bombing raids in late November and early December. The Echo wrote at the time that: “War is the very opposite of the Spirit of Christmas and all that it means; yet amidst the strife and struggle, the Christmas spirit lives on in the hearts of the British people. If it is less of an occasion for feasting and self-indulgence and more a welcomed opportunity to be self-less, we may count it amongst the happiest days of our lives.”