n.
City and unitary authority (pop., 2001: 217,478), historic county of Hampshire , England.
First settled by Romans, it was chartered ( 0441; 1155) by King Henry II and incorporated in 1445. In the Middle Ages its location on the English Channel helped it to become a major British port. Southampton declined in the 17th18th centuries but revived in the 19th with the arrival of railways. It is England's second largest port. Historic buildings include the 11th-century St. Michael's Church and the 12th-century King John's Palace, one of Britain's oldest domestic buildings.