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God’s House Tower

Henry V’s ships at Southampton

Godshouse Tower In the summer of 1415 all ships over 20 tons at London were ordered to assemble at Southampton to transport Henry V’s army to France. But Southampton had also been chosen by Henry as a location where some of his ships would be constructed. These works were carried out by William Soper, a wealthy burgess of the town (who later served as an MP and had an affair with the niece of his fellow MP!). Continue reading →

Henry V’s hard line from Southampton

From the beginning of July 1415 Henry V’s army began to gather in Southampton. On 28 July the king wrote a letter to King Charles VI of France, ‘our cousin and adversary’, from the castle of Southampton. This contains one of the first known invocations of the law of Deuteronomy: if one prepares to attack a town then one must first offer it peace. But if this is refused, the town can be put the sword. Continue reading →