'Don't Lose Your Head' was shot in
an open field alongside the old "Mansbridge" which crosses the
Itchen Navigation Canal in Southampton. This bridge is no
longer in use to vehicles since really it was impractical for
two way traffic on one of the main routes into the city, with
cars having to wait for the bridge to be clear before they
could cross. A Bailey Bridge was placed alongside the old
bridge at some point during the second world war, which was
replaced with a more modern bridge in 1975. The original
bridge is still in use, but these days can only accommodate
cyclists and pedestrians.
This area
of Southampton is known as 'Mansbridge' and according to
Wikipedia...There has been a bridge at Mansbridge since at
least the year 932, when it was referred to as Mannysbrigge in
King Athelstan's charter to the prior of St. Swithun's Priory
in Winchester. In the Domesday Book of 1086, the location was
recorded as Manebrige or Manesbrige Hundred, within the county
of Hantscire. A wooden bridge by the name of Blak Bridge was
described as being "a little above Woodmill" (i.e. upstream of
Woodmill in Swaythling) by Leland in 1535-43, and this may be
a reference to Mansbridge as there are no known crossing
points of the river between Mansbridge and Woodmill.
Saxton's
map of 1575 shows the bridge at Mansbridge labelled as "mans
bridge", while Speed's 1611 map refers to the hundred as
Mansbridg. Blaeu's 1645 map shows Mansbridge Hundred but
Morden's map of 1695 labels the bridge "Mansbridg", and shows
it within the Fawley or Waltham (possibly Bishop's Waltham)
Hundred. However, the bridges that stand at Mansbridge today
are much more recent than those mentioned above; the older of
the two was built in 1816 by the county council; this bridge
was made of stone with a single segmental arch and decorated
with a lambswool pattern.
Just along
the road from the bridge is a charming little pub named "The
White Swan" which sits on the bank of part of the Itchen
Navigation Canal. Originally dating from the early 1800s, this
much enlarged pub sits on the banks of the River Itchen and
next to the A27 - once the main road before the M27 was built.
The pub relies on motorised visitors and is food orientated -
it is part of M&B's Great British Carvery chain. On entering
via the main door the large restaurant & carvery area is to
the left while to the right is a good sized bar with plenty of
tables to sit and have a drink at. The pub suffered several
bouts of flooding from the river in 2013/14 and it was then
substantially refurbished in a smart old but contemporary
style; flood alleviation measures should help keep it dry next
time. Outside seating is available at the back - riverside -
and the front of the pub. |
