St Julian’s Church, situated on the north side of Winkle Street, was originally the chapel of God's House Hospital, St Julian being the patron saint of travellers and pilgrims. Both the chapel and the adjoining tower and gateway are original to the 12th century hospital (built in c.1190) but both have been much altered since then. The chancel arch in the chapel is probably the only surviving 12th century feature. Richard, Earl of Cambridge, who in 1415 was executed in front of the Bargate for conspiracy against Henry V, was buried in the chapel and a plaque on the south wall commemorates his internment.
In 1567 Queen Elizabeth gave permission to protestant refugees from France and the Low Countries - sometimes called Walloons - to settle in the town and they were granted use of St Julian’s chapel for worship. In the following centuries other protestant refugees from France and the Channel Islands came to Southampton and joined the church’s French-speaking congregation, after which the church became known as the ‘French Church’. The congregation was Calvinist until 1712, after which date it conformed to the order of the Church of England. The church is Grade I listed.
St Julian's Church
A modern photograph of the church and tower from Winkle Street.
St Julian's Church×
St Julian's Church
A lithograph by T. H. Skelton of c.1830.
St Julian's Church×
Further reading:
Historic Buildings of Southampton, by Philip Peberdy, p22-23. (HS/k)
L’Eglise Walloon at Southampton, by William Portal. (HS/j)
History of Southampton, by Rev. J. S. Davies, p403-422, 459. (HS/h)
Buildings of England: Hampshire and the I.O.W., by Nikolaus Pevsner and David Lloyd, p520. (H/i)
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