Anspach Place, Southampton
Why is there a square named Anspach Place in Southampton? It is named after Anspach House, a now-vanished building once occupied by Elizabeth Craven and her second husband, the Margrave of Anspach. She and the Margrave leased a house there on the West Quay from 1801 until 1812 to use as a holiday home. She loved sailing and kept a boat there, in which she sailed across the Channel on at least one occasion. Southampton attracted many sailing enthusiasts who loved to take their private boats out towards and around the Isle of Wight. Later she also leased the adjacent house, and named the combined residence Anspach House. It was next door to the mediaeval Westgate, with its stone Gothic arch. Anspach House 1845 In the summer of 1809, Craven spent some weeks there in the company of the young novelist Anna Maria Porter, one of the many female writers she took under her wing. If they attended any of the public social events in the town, they might have met another...