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This paper presents the results of an investigation into the Holocene depositional history of Southampton Water, southern England. A three phase history of estuary development is proposed. Between c. 7500 and 5000 bp (8200 to 5700 cal. a bp), mean sea-level rose rapidly from c. −9m to −4 m od. During this interval thin basal peats which developed in present outer estuary locations were inundated and the area of intertidal and subtidal environments within the estuary expanded. Relative sea-level (RSL) rise began to slow between 5000 and 3000 bp (5700 and 3200 cal. a bp) and a phase of saltmarsh and freshwater peat accumulation occurred. In this interval freshwater peat-forming communities extended outwards and seawards across former saltmarsh and mudflat environments and caused a reduction in the extent of the intertidal area within the estuary. During the late Holocene there was a switch to …