Andy Skinner: The Second Hundred Years' War

Andy Skinner is a Learning and Engagement Officer with Southampton City Council. He'll be delivering September's illustrated talk about how our city changed throughout 18th and 19th centuries.

During the Georgian period, Southampton was a popular spa town, boasting impressive hotels, sea-bathing, theatres and balls. The great and the good flocked to the town and many of the beautiful historic buildings in the town today were built around that time. And yet, that’s not the whole story!

Throughout the period, Great Britain was engaged in a succession of wars, often referred to as the Second Hundred Years War: The American War of Independence, the Anglo-Dutch War and regular war with France.

Southampton played its part in this conflict, as a muster point for troops, a safe harbour for ships and as a prison for captured soldiers. This talk will unpick some of the fascinating elements in this overlooked aspect of the…