King John’s Palace
Southampton, a City Built on Exchange
The Projection
This projection explores Southampton’s history through trade – the activity that has shaped the city over many hundreds of years, from early trade goods to modern container shipping.
It traces trade in Southampton from Roman and medieval goods, through recorded medieval markets, to the banana boats of the 1900s and today’s container port.
Created with Community Curator Rajan Jolly, the projection brings these moments together to spotlight how trade has shaped everyday life in Southampton across generations.
Find this show
Blue Anchor Ln, Southampton SO14 2AE
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King Johns Palace
King John’s Palace is one of the finest surviving examples of Norman domestic architecture in England. Built in the late 1100s, it originally stood on Southampton’s medieval quayside, at a time when the town was already an important port.
The building combined living space on the upper floor with storage below, where valuable goods were kept close to the waterfront.
After the French raid of 1338, the house was adapted as part of the town’s sea defences, with doors and windows blocked or converted into gun slits.
Over time, the building took on many uses, including stables in the 1700s, a coal merchant’s business in the 1800s, and a museum in the 1900s.
Access Notes
The projection at King John’s Palace is viewed from within the open ruins of the building. Viewing takes place outdoors.
Level access is available from Western Esplanade onto Blue Anchor Lane.
Blue Anchor Lane can also be accessed from the turning by Tudor House and Garden on Bugle Street, though this route involves a steep downhill path to the entrance of King John’s Palace.
Ground surfaces may be uneven in places.
British Sign Language (BSL)
A British Sign Language (BSL) interpreter will be present at each projection location every evening from 6–8pm for the full duration of the projections.
Audio Description
Listen to an audio description of this projection, created to support blind and partially sighted visitors. Audio descriptions offer a spoken overview of the visual artwork and key moments within the projection.
audio description
Curator and Community Spotlight
Rajan Jolly was the Community Curator for the King John’s Palace projection. He is actively involved in Southampton’s Asian community and regularly organises community events that bring people together across the city.
For this project, Rajan worked with members of his community to explore Southampton’s heritage through visits to historic sites, museums and archives. For many, this offered new insights into aspects of the city’s history – including stories and collections they had not encountered before.
The project supported people to feel more connected to Southampton’s history and more confident engaging with the city’s heritage as part of its ongoing story.
Rajan
Jolly
Archive Spotlight
Name of spotlight item
Credits
Produced by:
Southampton Forward, in partnership with Southampton City Council
Creative Partners:
Double Take Projections and Light Up Trails
Supported by:
Arts Council England, The National Lottery Heritage Fund, Esmée Fairbairn Foundation
Collection Credits & Copyright:
Archival material from Southampton Cultural Services
Laser scans produced as part of a collaborative project between Southampton Cultural Services and the Department of Archaeology at the University of Southampton
Paul Carter Photography
For images or other media from the collections held by Southampton Cultural Services, great care has been taken to identify all copyright holders correctly. Where copyright is unknown, or credited incorrectly, we welcome any information that might lead to the copyright holder. In cases of errors or omissions, please contact [email protected] so that we can ensure images are correctly credited in future.
Script & Narration:
Developed collaboratively by project team and community curator. Voiced by Ishaan Jolly.
