OLD Southampton was quite small by today's standards, extending from the Old North Gate, better now known as Bargate, to the Water Gate at the end of the High Street, and from Canal Walk in the east to the River Test to the west.

John Trinder's idea of using the vaults and passage as a tourist attraction is a good one but not new (Letters, September 5).

My mother told me that in the 1920s and 30s guided tours were given of the vaults. She knew this from personal experience.

My mother's family (Dawson) lived for many years on Landsdown Hill. The only part of the castle left was the chapel, then used by a haulage firm.

People who lived on Landsdown Hill were very aware that the houses were built on the castle's foundations, for one thing the soil in the back gardens was never more than two feet deep before stone was reached.

Southampton, being sited on relatively low lying land, had to be raised higher for reasons of defence, both from the tide and man. This was accomplished by building a honeycomb of stone arches which formed the base of the town which was then built on top, with the foundations of the castle rising higher than the rest.

The merchants took advantage of the town's foundations by using them to store their goods, this was how the vaults and passageways evolved.

The people who lived in the old town were always aware of what lay under their town, but never gave it much attention.

C E WATTS, Southampton.