In medieval times the court leet in Hampshire dealt with matters such as wrangles over water supply, the grazing of stock and what a proper measure of beer looked like.
On Tuesday, the age-old tribunal in Southampton will consider a modern controversy: why the lights on one of the city’s bridges beam out blue. Fans of Southampton Football Club are using the court process, which may date back 1,000 years, to try to get the Itchen Bridge lights switched from the colours of their fierce rivals Portsmouth FC.
The Southampton taxi driver Perry McMillan, who is leading the campaign, said: “I was born and bred in Southampton and have been a Saints fan since the 1960s and it’s hard to believe that the lights on the Itchen Bridge are blue, instead of red and white. Hundreds of Southampton supporters travel across the bridge on foot, bike, and bus and have had more than a decade of mockery from Portsmouth supporters. It’s a situation we need to rectify.”
McMillan has submitted his claims to the court leet, where residents can present matters of local interest. A panel including honorary aldermen, past mayors, and former sheriffs will review his argument when he appears before them.
The court leet convenes on the first Tuesday after Michaelmas, which this year is on 3 October.
According to the city council, the history of the court leet in England probably goes back well before 1066. Most disappeared from England in the 18th and 19th centuries, but Southampton’s remained.
A spokesperson for Southampton city council said blue lights were installed on the bridge as red had been considered problematic for mariners and pilots. They said: “The original design proposals for the Itchen Bridge included red LED finials and strip arrays on each column to promote the city, and our links to Southampton FC. However, the colour was deemed not safe or acceptable, following consultation with the local port and aviation authorities, therefore the blue arrays were selected.”
McMillan said he believed this argument was a red herring – pun intended. “I will be challenging that – every tall building or crane in Southampton has a red light on top of it.”
The city council describes the court leet as providing a “valuable opportunity for any citizen or group of citizens in Southampton, to make representations (called presentments)”.
The Itchen Bridge was fitted with the blue LED lights in 2011. Portsmouth residents have taken similar umbrage to rival colours in the past. In 2015, 100 litres of unwanted red paint due to be used on Portsmouth’s Spinnaker Tower was given away after an angry reaction to the proposed red and white colour scheme.
