Celebrating new collections: Southampton University Officers Training Corps

The Special Collections has just acquired a small collection of material relating to the Southampton University Officers Training Corps providing additional information on the formation and workings of this Corps in the 1930s to 1951.

Southampton University Officers Training Corps archive material [MS416/26 A4348]

The Southampton University Training Corps traces its origins to November 1902 when around 20 students, mainly from the Education Department of Hartley University College, formed a Company for the Second (Volunteer) Battalion of the Hampshire Regiment. Foot drills were performed at the College Assembly Hall on a Saturday night after the Choral Society meetings and weapons training was held at the Drill Hall in Carlton Place.

In 1908 the Volunteers became part of the Territorial Force and joined the Fifth Battalion of the Hampshire Regiment. By 1912 the Company was formed of approximately 100 men and was considered to be one of the best in the battalion.  It was the county champion in the first Battalion Annual Sports meeting of 1912.

At the outbreak of the First World War members of the Company were immediately commissioned.  Those who remained in the Company were sent to India as part of the Hampshire Regiment.

The Fifth and Seventh Battalions were merged in 1922 and, in 1929, a College Platoon of the Hampshire Regiment was formed.  This latter was to form the nucleus of the University College Southampton Senior Division Officers’ Training Corps that was established in 1937. With this new Corps the long association with the Hampshire Regiment ended and it became the responsibility of the Rifle Depot at Winchester.

Memorandum on the proposed OTC, 1937 [MS416/26 A4348]

The new archive contains the memorandum on the proposed OTC by J.W.Ackroyd, University College, Southampton, 27 January 1937, in which he sets out the main items of expenditure required to support a Corps of 30 cadets, including for grants, certificates, uniforms at £3 each, office expenses, a miniature rifle range, drill hall, office, armoury and clothing store.

The War Office accepted the proposal and in their letter to the Registrar of University College, Southampton of 13 May 1937 replied that “I am commanded by the Army Council to acknowledge your letter No 916 of 20^th April, 1937, and to inform you that they gratefully accept the offer of the authorities of the University College, Southampton, to furnish an infantry continent of the senior division, Officers Training Corps, and that an announcement to this effect will be made in Army Orders in due course.”

The OTC had over seventy cadets by 1939, but at the declaration of war that year all Officers Training Corps at Universities were abolished and replaced by Senior Training Corps.

Senior Training Corps, 1942 [MS1/7/291/22/3]

Wartime undergraduates had to spend a considerable time in military training with compulsory parades at lunchtime and once per week. All cadets from the STC also were automatically enrolled into the Home Guard.  Many hundreds of cadets served in the Corps between 1940 and 1944 and were commissioned into all branches of the armed forces. In 1944, the Ministry of Labour excused students from compulsory military training at University, with recruitment for the Senior Training Corps reverting to the voluntary system.  This led to a drop in numbers, but the Southampton Corps continued although contingents in London, Exeter and Reading all closed. The University Training Corps replaced the Senior Training Corps in 1948. This change meant that for the first time cadets were enlisted in the Territorial Army, received pay for parades and were clothed and equipped at public expense.

However, this new status did not halt the dwindling strength of the Corps and in April 1951 it was placed in suspended animation. It was re-established in 1979, at the request of the University Military Education Committee, with Carlton Place becoming its permanent accommodation.

The new archive material for the OTC covers the period 1936-51.  It is composed of a series of record books and parade rolls that provide details of the cadets, their training and service.  The record books, 1937-48, provide a detailed account of the training and drills undertaken by the recruits in the Corps.  Each cadet is listed by their name, with their date of birth, date of enrolment, number of years previously reported efficient – which applied to cadets who have joined the Senior Division at University from Junior Divisions at school – numbers of years attending camp, numbers of drills attended, their musketry level and certificates.  At the end under remarks there are notes relating to resignation, promotion or commission in military service. 

Extract of the first pages of the OTC record book 1939/40 [MS416/26 A4348]

The two first names in the 1939/40 record book, for instance, relate to cadets who were commissioned as Second Lieutenants in the Royal Canadian Corps of Signals.  Others in the same volume were commissioned in the Royal Marines, the RAF and the Wiltshire Regiment with quite a number also called for military service under the Military Service Act, which related to the conscription of men between the ages of 18 and 41 years in the armed forces.

The archive also contains a small quantity of correspondence and papers relating to the formation and history of the Corps. Of particular interest are papers from 1936-7 relating to discussions for the foundation of the Corps.

This archive provides a valuable addition to our holdings chronicling the history of the University. For more information on the development of the University why not look at our Highfield 100 blog series. And look out for future blogs detailing other new collections.

Spotlight on collections: the Hutchison House Club for Working Lads

In the latter half of the nineteenth century London’s East End saw an influx of East European Jews. The existing welfare institutions found themselves overwhelmed with demand. Consequently, several new organisations were established to keep young Jewish men out of mischief including the Brady Street Lads’ Club founded in Whitechapel in 1896 and the Hayes Industrial School set up in 1901 for Jewish young offenders.

Hutchison House Club report, 1932-3 [MS366/A4222/26]

This blog post will focus on one similar institution: the Hutchison House for Working Lads, known affectionately as ‘The Hutch’. Established in 1905, it became one of several local agencies committed to encouraging young people to combine loyalty to faith and citizenship.  

The temptations which beset boys living in a neighbourhood under the influence of gambling and street-lounging very often prove their undoing, and, but for the presence of the club among them, many would be spending their evenings in the midst of unhealthy surroundings.

[The Hutchison House Club for Working Lads, Fourth Annual Report, 1908]

In 1905 the Hutchison House Club for Working Lads was created by the Rothschild family in conjunction with Max Bonn (1877-1938), an American-born merchant banker and Frank Goldsmith MP. Based at Camperdown House, in Half Moon Passage it aimed to provide support and activities for primarily Jewish young men. It was also the Headquarters of the Jewish Lads’ and Girls’ Brigade. Lionel Nathan de Rothschild (1882-1942) became the first president. At the club’s opening on 28 June 1905, he declared:

We hope to catch the youth of the immediate neighbourhood, and to help them to rise in the world, to help them out of the temptations which they find in the street, the music-halls and the public houses. We want to instil into the boys ambition, the pride of being Jews and the pride in being Englishmen. We want to teach them the qualities of endurance and sportsmanship.

Hutchison House Club membership card [MS366/A4222/18]

At its creation, the subscription was 4d a week for seniors and 2d a week for juniors. The boys moved to the seniors aged about 16 and a portion of the club was reserved for their exclusive use. By 19 years boys had to be re-elected to retain membership. Payment would be excused providing there was an adequate reason. Candidates for admission to the club must be aged between 13 and 16 and a half although, in special cases, the Management Committee could admit candidates regardless of age. Candidates had to supply details of their former school (at this time, working class boys usually left school before they turned 14), current employment and proof of age.

Sporting activities were a large focus of the club which was generally open every evening. Activities like gymnastics and boxing were seen to have a significant positive influence. Evening classes were offered as well as opportunities in life skills such as debates, French class, concerts and lectures and first aid. There was a library, educational rambles and other hobbies such as dominos, chess, draughts, billiards and bagatelle. Outside the premises the club also offered running, swimming, cricket, football and an annual camp.

Due to the “demoralising effect” of unemployment or unsuitable employment, a key aim of Hutchison House – as stated in their Fourth Annual report – was to find “satisfactory employment” for its members to shorten the gap between leaving full time education and finding work: “Satan finds some mischief still for idle hands to do.” They worked in partnership with the Jewish Board of Guardians Industrial Committee and the Lads’ Employment Committee.

Hutchison House Club rules [MS366/A4222/18]

Showers were provided free of charge which, according to the Annual Report from 1908, were “much appreciated and in constant use”. A savings bank facility was also offered. By 1908 they had a membership of around 300 making it one of the largest boys’ clubs in London.

In 1915 the Club’s premises were offered to the government for war work; in 1918 the newly-raised Jewish Battalion of the 38th Royal Fusiliers had a kosher meal here and was inspected in Great Alie Street by Lieutenant General Sir Francis Lloyd, as part of its famous march through Whitechapel. 

The archive material held at the University of Southampton (MS366 A4222) includes minute books of the finance and managing committee, 1905-10; of the education sub-committee and the managing committee, 1908-24; and of the general committee, 1905-12, together with notes of a meeting of the managing committee concerning a change in the rules, 25 Jul 1940. There are small series of correspondence, 1906-12; financial papers, 1906-51, and copies of annual reports, 1908-33.

Further papers of the Hutchison House Club for Working Lads will be found in the Rothschild Archive.

Directing the Steps of Strangers: Guidebooks in the Cope Collection

Choosing a holiday destination is not always easy, even when there is no pandemic. Comparing potential destinations, deciding where to stay and how to travel are questions faced by tourists of any period, and fortunately guidebooks exist to supply the answers. Older editions, often discarded when out of date, now provide a glimpse of holidays past and how they have changed over the years.

Where Shall We Go: a Guide to the Watering-Places and Health Resorts of England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales (1892) Rare Books Cope 02

The Cope Collection contains many examples of guidebooks to Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, those that were published locally, local volumes in the long series produced by large commercial publishers and the more general regional guides. The earliest examples of guides that were specifically intended for visitors, date from the 18th century and were usually published by the local printer or bookseller. In the 19th and 20th centuries guidebook publishing expanded enormously, as the advent of the railways and the social and economic changes meant that many more people had the opportunity to travel. Publishers of foreign travel guides entered the domestic market, sending their correspondents around the country to report on the tourist destinations. Popular guidebook series could run for many years such as those produced by Black’s and the Ward Locke Red Guides, published from the 1880s to the 1970s. Railway and steam packet companies also published guides, keen to encourage more people to use their services.

The South Coast Guide: Brighton to Dartmouth (1923) Cope 02

Local booksellers and printers continued to be heavily involved in guidebook production and in the 20th century many local authorities published or commissioned guides. As they often relied on advertising to help offset the publication costs, their guides contain a wealth of local information beyond that of the official text of the guide. In comparison, the larger publishers tended to include a standard set of country-wide adverts in each of their volumes.

For the 18th century visitor to that ‘region of politeness and elegance’ that was the Southampton Spa, the guidebooks emphasise the improvements in health that a visit to the town could bring, especially through drinking and bathing in seawater. Other attractions were its pleasing situation, the purity of the air and the streets full of handsome buildings.

The Southampton Guide (1781) Rare Books Cope SOU 03.5 1781

Amusements included the coffee houses and circulating libraries, the theatre and assembly rooms, the rules for the Ball helpfully included. There was practical information too on ‘the going out and coming in’ of stagecoaches and the rates for hiring sedan chairs. On accommodation, the early guides had comparatively little to say – wealthy travellers of the time often came for lengthy periods and took lodgings in private houses or rented accommodation rather than staying in hotels or inns. Thomas Ford’s Southampton Guide of 1781 describes how ‘the inhabitants vie with each other in fitting up their houses in the neetest and genteelest Manner to accommodate the Company’.

From: The Southampton Guide (1787) Rare Books Cope SOU 03.5 1787

The many guidebooks to 19th-century Bournemouth (the evergreen valley of the south) chart how it began life as a winter health resort and despite the growth in summer tourism, tried hard to maintain its genteel reputation and avoid what were seen as the less desirable aspects of the pleasure resort. Newly developed in the 1840s, it had only one hotel to boast of in the guide of 1842 and attractions were limited to bathing and the marine library. The appendix on the Bournemouth’s climate was longer than the text of the guide itself.

View of Bournemouth from: The Visitor’s Guide to Bournemouth and its Neighbourhood (1842) Rare Books Cope BOU 03.5 1842

By the 1880s Bournemouth was a well-established health resort attracting refined, if ailing, visitors to an impressive range of sanatoria and a further ten ‘principal hotels’. The attractions on offer had also increased and visitors could enjoy promenading on the pier, visiting the pleasure gardens and taking an excursion by steamboat or charabanc. To distance Bournemouth from the pleasure resorts, one guide was keen to point out that detached villas were the form of development favoured in Bournemouth rather than the terraced housing seen elsewhere and another noted that the beach ‘was much less disturbed by the peripatetic minstrel or the importunate shore-pedlar’ seen at the ‘metropolitan watering places’.

Bright’s Illustrated Guide to Bournemouth (1886) Rare Books Cope BOU 03.5 1886

At the turn of the century the growing emphasis on holidays for pleasure brought a change in tone to many guidebooks, which were brought alive by the inclusion of photographs. Although a trip to the seaside was still expected to bring an improvement in health, this was to be gained as much by activity as by rest. Two guidebooks to Southsea published in 1911 and 1919 reflect this change with their lists of sporting facilities – bowling, tennis, croquet and golf and many photographs.

The West Beach, Southsea, from: Southsea and Portsmouth Guide (1911) Cope POR 03.5 1911

Guidebooks of the 1920s and 30s often included large numbers of adverts for hotels and guest houses, by then the preferred form of holiday accommodation, and these give an insight into the guests’ expectations. Offering sea views, proximity to attractions and good food would attract visitors in any age, whilst highlighting ‘electric light throughout’ and ‘separate tables’ in the dining room are definitely features of their time.

From: The South Coast Guide: Brighton to Dartmouth (1923) Cope 02

The guidebooks in the Cope Collection, although intended to have a useful life of perhaps a year or two, have acquired a value beyond their immediate purpose as a resource for the study of the history of travel and tourism in the local area.

Biodiversity and Revd. William Annesley

Biodiversity is emerging as a hot topic with much recent media focus on the scale of biodiversity loss and the urgency of wildlife conservation programmes. The Living Planet Index, which is maintained by the WWF and the Royal Zoological Society, has recorded dramatic declines for some species throughout the globe over recent decades and, closer to home, the State of Nature reports have shown us the challenges facing wildlife in Britain.

Many reasons have been given for the disappearance of wildlife from our lives: urban encroachment on natural landscapes; pesticide use; overfishing; climate change and the sheer scale and intensity of agriculture (according to some estimates more than half of all land in Britain is now dedicated to raising livestock and the production of crops).

Delving into the archives at the University of Southampton’s Special Collections, we find a manuscript volume containing a catalogue of plants growing wild near Andover, and other parts of the county of Hampshire. The catalogue was compiled by the Honorable and Revd William Annesley AM, who resided at Ramridge near Andover, where he died on 1^st November, 1830. [MS5/27]

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MS5/27: ‘Plants of Hampshire’ by the Revd William Annesley AM, c.1830

Annesley’s list appears to have been transcribed or edited later by someone named J. P. Jones, who added the following note: “This list was drawn up by the Honorable and Revd William Annesley AM […] Mr A. was a good botanist and accurate observer, and his habitats may be depended on. Where no particular locality is given, the habitat must be considered as being near Andover.”

The very first entry in Annesley’s catalogue is Adonis autumnalis, also known as ‘pheasant’s eye’ or ‘red chamomile’, which Annesley described as “not uncommon in cornfields and turnip fields at Weyhill & near Andover.” It is rather apt then, given today’s theme of biodiversity loss, that this beautiful plant is now classed as an endangered species on the UK Red List and has been marked as a UK BAP priority species.

Adonis autumnalis aka Pheasant’s eye or red chamomile, from James Sowerby’s ‘English Botany’ Vol. V, 1796 (Tab 308) [Rare Books Salisbury Coll. QK 306]

Moving through the list we find many other species described as ‘in abundance’ near Andover, particularly those belonging to the genus Ranunculus, better known as the buttercups, spearworts and water crowfoots, including Ranunculus parviflorus. According to the Plant Atlas this particular species appears to be stable within its core areas but had retreated into southwest England by the 1930s and is now rare and decreasing in Ireland.

Ranunculus flammula aka ‘Lesser spearwort’ from James Sowerby’s ‘English Botany’ Vol. VI, 1796 (Tab 387)
[Rare Books Salisbury Coll. QK 306]

Berberis vulgaris, also known as the common barberry, was found by Annesley “among other bushes or the wooded part of Perham Down near Andover in abundance & apparently quite wild.” The plant is described as less common than it once was and the Barberry Carpet moth, which is entirely dependent upon this plant species, is now threatened.

Anemone nemorosa or wood anemone was, rather appropriately, recorded at woods near Andover. This plant is still common in Britain and as it spreads at a very slow pace (around six foot per century) it is a good indicator of the age of ancient woodland.

Anemone nemorosa aka ‘Wood anemone’ from James Sowerby’s ‘English Botany’ Vol. V, 1796 (Tab 355)
[Rare Books Salisbury Coll. QK 306]

Annesley’s catalogue continues for some twenty pages and lists more than four hundred plant species. A full analysis of the volume, rather than the snippets included here, would give a more comprehensive picture of the two-hundred year trend in biodiversity at Andover; but given the examples highlighted and what we already know about the challenges for wildlife elsewhere in Britain, a story of decline would not be surprising.

It’s not all doom and gloom, however. Thanks to various conservation efforts and a growing awareness of nature under threat, Andover is nowadays home to a few local nature reserves as well as the Broughton Down Nature Reserve, managed by the Hampshire & Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust, which is eight miles away (as the crow flies):

“This 25 hectare chalk downland nature reserve offers spectacular views across the Test Valley to Danebury Hill Fort and Stockbridge Down. The springy, flower rich turf attracts a plethora of butterflies, including the chalkhill and adonis blues, dark green fritillaries and rare silver spotted skippers – look closely and you may even spot a bloody-nosed beetle. Broughton Down is a botanist’s paradise, with horseshoe vetch, wild thyme and common rock roses growing in abundance, as well as fragrant, pyramidal and frog orchids. The woodland is home to tawny owls, great spotted woodpeckers, kestrels and buzzards.”

If you’re interested in learning more about wildlife conservation or volunteering there are a number of opportunities available, searchable by your postcode, with the Wildlife Trusts.

Bevois Mount House

In the 18^th and 19^th centuries, a number of large houses were built around the edge of Southampton for wealthy owners, encouraged by the short-lived popularity of the town as a spa.  As the 19^th and early 20^th century progressed, their estates were gradually sold off for housing as Southampton continued to grow.  Some of the houses were re-purposed as schools or hostels, while some became increasingly dilapidated and were eventually demolished.

One of these houses was Bevois Mount House in Lodge Road.  The surrounding land was acquired in 1723 by Sir Charles Mordaunt, the third Earl of Peterborough, who improved and enlarged the existing farmhouse.  He had been among those who had invited William of Orange to invade England and take the throne from James II in 1688.  He became a Privy Councillor in 1689, but fell out of favour in 1697 and was imprisoned in the Tower of London for a few weeks, accused of conspiracy.  After the accession of Queen Anne, he returned to favour and led an expedition to Spain in 1705 during the War of the Spanish Succession, where he captured Barcelona.

The grounds of the house contained an artificial mound, formerly part of Padwell Farm, which according to local legend had been built by the legendary knight Sir Bevois to defend Southampton against the Danes, or alternatively it had formed his tomb.  When he came to name his new house, Lord Peterborough was taken by this romantic tale.  Among his many friends was Alexander Pope, the poet, who visited Southampton several times and helped lay out the extensive gardens.  One of his favourite paths became known as Pope’s Walk and he described the place as “beautiful beyond imagination”.  The Earl loved to show off his grounds and the fine view, but preferred to do this at high tide when the mud in the River Itchen was concealed!

Engraving of Bevois Mount House, late 18th or early 19^th century  [Cope SOU 91.5 BEV  pr 942] 

Other guests included Jonathan Swift and Voltaire.  It is said that the Earl chased Voltaire out of the house with a drawn sword due to a dispute over money, but it is possible that this incident took place in London.  Swift described Peterborough as “the ramblingest lying rogue on earth”, while the historian and politician Macaulay called him “the most extraordinary character of that age”.

After Lord Peterborough’s death in 1735, his second wife, the opera singer Anastasia Robinson continued to live in Bevois Mount House until her death in 1755.  The house then passed through several owners including the Earl’s nephew, Sir John Maudaunt, who had commanded a brigade at the Battle of Culloden but was court martialled for the failure of an expedition he led against Rochefort.  After his death, the estate was purchased by the poet William Sotheby.  An account of 1753 describes the gardens in great detail, including “divers circular walks and labyrinths, so very intricate that it is hardly possible to avoid getting lost in them.”  There was “a bowling green or parterre adorned with fine Italian marble statues”, also a small vineyard, grottoes, alcoves and a summer house over a wine cellar.  The Sporting Magazine of 1804 contains a fulsome description of the house and its contents, beginning “The approach to this earthly paradise is a noble lofty gateway, once adorned with beautiful marble figures”.  Inside, there were further classical statues, a Roman altar, and a “well-stocked” orangery.

Estate in 1844 [Hants Field Club Proceedings Vol 5 p.109 Cope q06]

In 1844 William Betts bought the estate, then amounting to 103 acres.  He made extensive additions to the house and further adorned the gardens with lakes, fountains, arbours and greenhouses.  He also constructed the impressive stone gateway known as Stag Gates at the Avenue entrance.  This bore the legend “Ostendo non ostento” meaning “I display but boast not”, being Betts personal motto.  The gateway was presented to Southampton Corporation by William Burrough Hill in 1919 but was demolished not long afterwards to make room for a double tramway.  The donor was upset by what he regarded as an act of vandalism, so he removed the stags to a place of safety.  No-one knows for certain what became of them, but a piece of curved stone discovered in a garden in 1963 may have been part of one.  Some of the masonry from the pillars was reused in East Park for the bases of flower stands, and in path construction.  For many years the memory of the gates was preserved by the town in the name of the bus stop on the Avenue.  The gates are remembered in a recent mural at the junction of Cambridge and Alma Roads, completed in 2016.

Stag Gates watercolour by Peter Cook [Cope: Peter Cook postcards Box 3]

Betts had financial problems in the mid 1850s and was forced to sell the house and gardens to John Wolff who was a shipping agent and consul for several South American countries. Wolff was a patron of the arts, and bought many pictures from F. L. Bridell, a local artist. The rest of the estate was sold to speculative builders who were responsible for constructing Lodge Road and other nearby streets.  The memory of the house was preserved in the names Earls Road, Peterborough Road and Mordaunt Road.  Lodge Road was so named after the lodge that Betts built near the Avenue entrance to his estate close to the Stag Gates.

Plan of new streets [Hants Field Club Proceedings Vol 5 p.109 Cope 06]

In 1871 the house became a school for “young ladies” owned by Mr and Mrs Barns. By then the conservatory and the west wing, consisting of 13 rooms, had been removed, and the long decline began. Mrs Barns leased the house and its grounds to the University College in 1900, for use as a hostel for female students.

Lease of Bevois Mount House Lodge from Mrs Eleanor Barns to Sir F. Perkins J.P. and others, 1900 [MS1/ 2/3/3]

The lease lists the greenhouse, coach house, stable and garden as well as the main house.  In addition to keeping the buildings in good repair, the College must not cut down any of the trees in the grounds without written consent.  The Peter Cook postcard collection contains five different views of the house from this time, including the following:

Front view of Bevois Mount House [Peter Cook postcards PC1923a]

Rear view of Bevois Mount House with garden [Peter Cook postcards PC1926]

Interior (dining room) of Bevois Mount House [Peter Cook postcards PC1924]

At the end of each summer term, a garden party was given in the grounds of the hostel.  Women students were only allowed to attend evening functions if chaperoned by Miss Aubrey, the Supervisor of Women, or one of the female superintendents of the hostels.  Miss Aubrey was a former student and one of the University College’s first graduates and a lecturer in English.  Permission had to be obtained before arranging excursions or accepting any evening invitation.  They could not be out after 6 p.m. in winter or 8.30 p.m. in summer without permission.  Women students were forbidden to talk to men students outside the College precincts except at college functions, but this rule was widely disregarded.

In 1904 the thirty or so women students at Bevois Mount were wearing sailor hats trimmed with a red band, while their male counterparts wore maroon college caps with gold edging and a badge.  There was another women’s hostel for College students at Windsor House, but this was closed around 1911 and the remaining students were moved to Bevois Mount.  That hostel finally closed at the end of the 1911-12 session as the result of the College’s financial problems.  The number of residential women students had dropped by then, and students had to find approved lodgings instead.

After the outbreak of the First World War, the house was used to house German officer prisoners of war.  It is said that passengers on the top deck of the trams could see the inmates taking the air in the garden, and the barred windows.  After the war, St George’s School used it briefly, but by 1922 It was occupied by Borough Motors, who ran their garage business from the back garden.

Borough Motor Works [Peter Cook postcards PC1928]

By this time the house had gone a long way down in the world and was in a poor state of repair. It suffered the same fate of several other large houses dating from the 18^th and 19th centuries and was finally demolished in about 1940.  A sad end to a colourful history.

The nature of the mound on the highest part of the hill which gave the house its name is unclear, and various suggestions have been made.  For centuries it was linked with the legendary Sir Bevois of Hampton, and was believed by some to be his tomb.  It is said that a large skeleton was found when a summer house was constructed in the mid 18^th century, possible evidence for the mound being a burial barrow.  It could also have been a motte, part of a Norman castle, and perhaps this is the most likely explanation.  It has been suggested that it could have been constructed during the period of anarchy in the 12^th century during the civil war between Stephen and Matilda.  The mound must have been quite large, as the description of 1753 details walks and labyrinths cut into it.  It is alleged that Roman coins were found, suggesting the possibility of a small Roman fort or watch station overlooking the Itchen.  However, the top of the hill was destroyed by quarrying in the late 19^th century, so it is likely that the true nature of the mound will remain a mystery.