113-562: Portsmouth is an island port city situated on Portsea Island in the county of Hampshire , England . Its history has been influenced by its association with the sea, and its proximity to London , and mainland Europe . Portus Adurni which later became known as Portchester Castle , was one of the Saxon Shore forts and was a major base of the Classis Britannica and possibly its Headquarters. Although there have been settlements in
226-469: A cholera epidemic; according to a by-law , any house within 100 feet (30 m) of a sewer had to be connected to it. By 1871 the population had risen to 100,000, and the national census listed Portsmouth's population as 113,569. A working-class suburb was constructed in the 1870s, when about 1,820 houses were built, and it became Somerstown . Despite public-health improvements, 514 people died in an 1872 smallpox epidemic. On 21 December of that year,
339-592: A fort , at nearby Portchester in the late third century. The city's Old English Anglo-Saxon name, " Portesmuða ", is derived from port (a haven) and muða (the mouth of a large river or estuary). In the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle , a warrior named Port and his two sons killed a noble Briton in Portsmouth in 501. Winston Churchill , in A History of the English-Speaking Peoples , wrote that Port
452-539: A base for attacks against France . In 1265, the city was on the receiving end of a serious raid by the Barons of the Cinque Ports . After scattering the defenders, they seized various ships and cargo and burned the town. By the 14th century, commercial interests had grown considerably, despite rivalry with the dockyard of nearby Southampton . Common imports included wool , grain , wheat , woad , wax and iron , however
565-457: A conclusive and decisive victory. Portsmouth Harbour was a vital military embarkation point for the 6 June 1944 D-Day landings. Southwick House , just north of the city, was the headquarters of Supreme Allied Commander Dwight D. Eisenhower . A V-1 flying bomb hit Newcomen Road on 15 July 1944, killing 15 people. Much of the city's housing stock was damaged during the war. The wreckage was cleared in an attempt to improve housing quality after
678-710: A diplomatic incident with the Soviet Union and scandal in British domestic politics. On 2 April 1982, Argentine forces invaded two British territories in the South Atlantic: the Falkland Islands and South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands . The British government's response was to dispatch a naval task force , and the aircraft carriers HMS Hermes and HMS Invincible sailed from Portsmouth for
791-578: A figure which increased to 23,000 during the First World War . The whole of Portsea Island came united under the control of Portsmouth borough council in 1904. In 1906, HMS Dreadnought was launched from Portsmouth Dockyard. The ship revolutionised naval warfare and began an arms race with Germany. The ship's entry into service in 1906 represented such an advance in naval technology that her name came to be associated with an entire generation of battleships. A major terrorist incident occurred in
904-471: A fleet and an army to Portsmouth, which he had taken over from John of Gisors. On 2 May 1194 the king gave Portsmouth its first royal charter granting permission for the city to hold a fifteen-day annual fair (which became known as the Free Market Fair), weekly markets (on Thursdays), to set up a local court to deal with minor matters, and exemption from paying the annual tax ("farm") of £18 a year—instead
1017-462: A fleet of 100 ships to the port. Richard gave Portsmouth market-town status with a royal charter on 2 May, authorising an annual fifteen-day free-market fair, weekly markets and a local court to deal with minor matters, and exempted its inhabitants from an £18 annual tax. The 1194 royal charter's 800th anniversary was celebrated in 1994 with ceremonies at the city museum. King John reaffirmed Richard I's rights and privileges, and established
1130-518: A loss of about 500 lives, while going into action against the French fleet . It was during the Tudor period that the town gained its first military governor. The role of managing military operations in Portsmouth had previously been the duty of the constable of Portchester Castle . In 1563, the city was struck by a plague that killed around 300 people. It was also in the Tudor period that two mills were built at
1243-463: A major scientific expedition, the Challenger Expedition , was launched from Portsmouth. While an extensive number of subscription libraries were formed in Portsmouth in the early part of the 19th century, Portsmouth trailed many other cities in the provision of public libraries, with the first not being opened until 1884. The city in the form of Portsmouth Corporation Transport purchased
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#17328481311261356-537: A number of French ships blockaded the town (which housed ships which were set to invade Normandy); Henry gathered a fleet at Southampton, and invaded the Norman coast in August that year. Recognising the town's growing importance, he ordered a wooden Round Tower to be built at the mouth of the harbour; it was completed in 1426. Henry VII rebuilt the fortifications with stone, assisted Robert Brygandine and Sir Reginald Bray in
1469-738: A permanent naval base. The first docks were begun by William of Wrotham in 1212, and John summoned his earls, barons, and military advisers to plan an invasion of Normandy . In 1229, declaring war against France, Henry III assembled a force described by historian Lake Allen as "one of the finest armies that had ever been raised in England". The invasion stalled, and returned from France in October 1231. Henry III summoned troops to invade Guienne in 1242, and Edward I sent supplies for his army in France in 1295. Commercial interests had grown by
1582-483: A process which was to take many years. Portsmouth's overland links to London started to be improved with an early turnpike trust being set up to improve the road where it passed Butser Hill . In 1714, the crown purchased the two mills at the entrance to the millpond. The first local newspaper in the city was the Portsmouth and Gosport Gazette . First published in 1745 it continued to publish until around 1790. There
1695-406: A regiment of Infantry. A large parade ground was created and new officers' quarters were added in 1893. Later, when the north (officers') range of the adjacent Cambridge Barracks was purchased by Portsmouth Grammar School , the south (soldiers') range was incorporated into Clarence Barracks (it was later itself purchased by the school). The barracks suffered a significant amount of bomb damage in
1808-495: A threat, the French again sacked the city in 1369, 1377 and 1380. In 1418, King Henry V ordered a wooden Round Tower be built at the mouth of the harbour, which was completed in 1426. In 1450, Adam Moleyns Bishop of Chichester was murdered while in Portsmouth. Through the Tudor period, Portsmouth's fortification 's were subject to almost continuous reworking. Under King Henry VIII
1921-569: A time quarters for Invalid soldiers stood on the site, until barrack accommodation for around a thousand infantry was built there in 1760; this was known as Fourhouse Barracks . Later, when both Forehouse and Clarence were in Army hands, the two together were sometimes known as Clarence Barracks (in the 1860s several properties in St Nicholas Street had been purchased by the War Office 'so as to unite
2034-859: Is among the few British cities with two cathedrals: the Anglican Cathedral of St Thomas and the Roman Catholic Cathedral of St John the Evangelist . The waterfront and Portsmouth Harbour are dominated by the Spinnaker Tower , one of the United Kingdom's tallest structures at 560 feet (170 m). Southsea is Portsmouth's seaside resort , which was named after Southsea Castle. Southsea has two piers; Clarence Pier amusement park and South Parade Pier . The world's only regular hovercraft service operates from Southsea Hoverport to Ryde on
2147-509: Is east of the island. The Farlington Marshes , in the north off the coast of Farlington , is a 125 hectares (310 acres) grazing marsh and saline lagoon. One of the oldest local reserves in the county, built from reclaimed land in 1771, it provides a habitat for migratory wildfowl and waders . South of Portsmouth are Spithead , the Solent , and the Isle of Wight . Its southern coast was fortified by
2260-555: Is estimated the Portsmouth area had a population not greater than two or three hundred. While in the primary diocese of Portsea there was a small church prior to 1166 (now St Mary's in Fratton) Portsmouth's first real church came into being in 1181 when John of Gisors granted an acre (4,000 m) of land to Augustinian monks at the Southwick Priory to build a chapel dedicated to Thomas Becket . This chapel continued to be run by
2373-610: Is located primarily on Portsea Island and is the United Kingdom's only island city, although the city has expanded to the mainland. Gosport is a town and borough to the west. Portsea Island is separated from the mainland by Portsbridge Creek , which is crossed by three road bridges (the M275 motorway , the A3 road , and the A2030 road ), a railway bridge, and two footbridges. Portsea Island, part of
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#17328481311262486-475: Is the residential Milton and an area of reclaimed land known as Milton Common (formerly Milton Lake), a "flat scrubby land with a series of freshwater lakes". Further north on the east coast is Baffins , with the Great Salterns recreation ground and golf course around Portsmouth College . The Hilsea Lines are a series of defunct fortifications on the island's north coast, bordering Portsbridge Creek and
2599-551: Is the second busiest in the United Kingdom after Dover , handling around three million passengers a year. The city formerly had its own airport, Portsmouth Airport , until its closure in 1973. The University of Portsmouth enrolls 23,000 students. Portsmouth is the birthplace of notable people such as author Charles Dickens , engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel , former Prime Minister James Callaghan , actor Peter Sellers and author-journalist Christopher Hitchens . The Romans built Portus Adurni (now called Portchester Castle ),
2712-531: The Challenger expedition embarked on a 68,890-nautical-mile (127,580 km) circumnavigation of the globe for scientific research. When the British Empire was at its height of power, covering a quarter of Earth's total land area and 458 million people at the turn of the 20th century, Portsmouth was considered "the world's greatest naval port". In 1900, Portsmouth Dockyard employed 8,000 people –
2825-623: The Battle of Trafalgar in 2005, with Queen Elizabeth II present at a fleet review and a mock battle. The naval base is home to two-thirds of Britain's surface fleet. The city also hosted international commemorations for 50th, 75th and 80th anniversaries of the D-Day landings, these were attended by international leaders and remaining veterans. Portsmouth is 73.5 miles (118.3 km) by road from central London, 49.5 miles (79.7 km) west of Brighton , and 22.3 miles (35.9 km) east of Southampton . It
2938-679: The Battle of Trafalgar . The Royal Navy's reliance on Portsmouth led to its becoming the most fortified city in the world. The Royal Navy's West Africa Squadron , tasked with halting the slave trade, began operating out of Portsmouth in 1808. A network of forts, known as the Palmerston Forts , was built around the town as part of a programme led by Prime Minister Lord Palmerston to defend British military bases from an inland attack following an Anglo-French war scare in 1859. The forts were nicknamed "Palmerston's Follies" because their armaments were pointed inland and not out to sea. In April 1811,
3051-629: The Dissolution of the Monasteries , in 1539 in anticipation of a French invasion. He also invested heavily in the town's dockyard, expanding it to 8 acres (3.2 ha). Around this time, a Tudor defensive boom stretched from the Round Tower to Fort Blockhouse in Gosport to protect Portsmouth Harbour. From Southsea Castle, Henry witnessed his flagship Mary Rose sink in action against the French fleet in
3164-483: The Eocene . Northern areas of the city include Stamshaw , Hilsea and Copnor , Cosham , Drayton , Farlington , Paulsgrove and Port Solent . Other districts include North End and Fratton. The west of the city contains council estates , such as Buckland , Landport , and Portsea, which replaced Victorian terraces destroyed by Second World War bombing. After the war, the 2,000-acre (810 ha) Leigh Park estate
3277-490: The First World War . Council housing was built on a large scale from the 1920s onwards, with families from inner city slums being rehoused on new estates including Paulsgrove , mostly in the north of Portsmouth. Portsmouth was elevated from Town to City status on 21 April 1926. As a major Royal Navy Dockyard , the Portsmouth Royal Naval Dockyard and surrounding city were bombed extensively during
3390-548: The Hampshire Basin , is low-lying; most of the island is less than 3 metres (9.8 ft) above sea level . The island's highest natural elevation is the Kingston Cross road junction, at 21 feet (6.4 m) above ordinary spring tide. Old Portsmouth , the original town, is in the south-west part of the island and includes Portsmouth Point (nicknamed Spice Island). The main channel entering Portsmouth Harbour, west of
3503-733: The Hampshire Telegraph and Sussex Chronicle . In 1850, the Portsmouth Times and Naval Gazette (often known simply as the Portsmouth Times ) began publication. The Evening News began publication in 1877 and came under common ownership with the Hampshire Telegraph in 1883. In 1884, the Portsmouth Times gained a sister paper called the Evening Mail , which was later renamed the Southern Daily Mail . On 21 December 1872,
History of Portsmouth - Misplaced Pages Continue
3616-405: The Isle of Wight . Southsea Common is a large open-air public recreation space which serves as a venue for a wide variety of annual events. The city has several mainline railway stations that connect to London Victoria and London Waterloo amongst other lines in southern England. Portsmouth International Port is a commercial cruise ship and ferry port for international destinations. The port
3729-652: The National Museum of the Royal Navy and Portsmouth Historic Dockyard ; which has a collection of historic warships, including the Mary Rose , Lord Nelson 's flagship, HMS Victory (the world's oldest naval ship still in commission), and HMS Warrior , the Royal Navy's first ironclad warship . The former HMS Vernon shore establishment has been redeveloped into a large retail outlet destination known as Gunwharf Quays which opened in 2001. Portsmouth
3842-530: The Oxford Dictionary of British Place Names gives the Anglo-Saxon name "Portesmūða" as late as the 9th century, meaning "mouth [of the harbour called] Portus" (from Latin). In Anglo-Saxon times a folk etymology "[harbour] mouth belonging to a man called Port" arose, which caused a statement in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle that in 501 AD " Port and his 2 sons, Bieda and Mægla, came with 2 ships to Britain at
3955-694: The Portsmouth and Arundel Canal , along with the Wey and Arun Canal , provided an inland waterway route to London. This did not last long, with parts of the Portsmouth and Arundel Canal being closed after just 4 years. Portsmouth gained its first railway link in 1847, with a direct route to London arriving in 1859. In 1802, The Portsmouth Gazette and Weekly Advertiser was purchased by the Portsmouth Telegraph and ceased publication. The Portsmouth Telegraph then went through 3 rapid name changes, before settling on
4068-577: The Round Tower , the Square Tower , Southsea Castle, Lumps Fort and Fort Cumberland . Four sea forts were built in the Solent by Lord Palmerston : Spitbank Fort , St Helens Fort , Horse Sand Fort and No Man's Land Fort . The resort of Southsea is on the central southern shoreline of Portsea Island, and Eastney is east. Eastney Lake covered nearly 170 acres (69 hectares) in 1626. North of Eastney
4181-788: The Royal Marines Light Infantry in 1827. By the 1840s the Marines were outgrowing this accommodation, and an arrangement was made whereby the Admiralty exchanged Clarence Barracks for the Army's Forton Barracks , near Gosport. In 1848 the Portsmouth Division of the Royal Marines Light Infantry moved into their new accommodation in Forton, and the Army took possession of Clarence Barracks. Ten years later, however, Clarence
4294-555: The Second World War . Nazi German Luftwaffe night-time air raids began on 24 August 1940 when 1,320 high explosive bombs and 38,000 incendiary devices were dropped on the city, damaging the Guildhall , 30 churches, eight schools, one hospital and over 80,000 homes. 930 people were killed and 1,216 people were injured. The extensive bombing of housing in Portsmouth resulted in even greater need for new private and council housing in
4407-486: The South Hampshire urban area with Gosport , Fareham , Havant , Eastleigh and Southampton. Portsmouth's history can be traced to Roman times and has been a significant Royal Navy dockyard and base for centuries. Portsmouth was founded c. 1180 by Anglo-Norman merchant Jean de Gisors in the south-west area of Portsea Island, a location now known as Old Portsmouth . Around this time, de Gisors ordered
4520-461: The transfer of Hong Kong in 1997, after which Britannia was retired from royal service, decommissioned and relocated to Leith as a museum ship. HMNB Portsmouth is an operational Royal Navy base and is home to two-thirds of the UK's surface fleet. The base has long been nicknamed Pompey , a nickname it shares with the wider city of Portsmouth and Portsmouth Football Club . The naval base also contains
4633-552: The 1545 Battle of the Solent with the loss of about 500 lives. Some historians believe that the Mary Rose turned too quickly and submerged her open gun ports; according to others, it sank due to poor design. Portsmouth's fortifications were improved by successive monarchs. The town experienced an outbreak of plague in 1563, which killed about 300 of its 2,000 inhabitants. In 1623, Charles I (then Prince of Wales) returned to Portsmouth from France and Spain. His unpopular military adviser, George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham ,
History of Portsmouth - Misplaced Pages Continue
4746-469: The 1960s and early 1970s. The success of the project and the quality of its housing are debatable. Portsmouth was affected by the decline of the British Empire in the second half of the 20th century. Shipbuilding jobs fell from 46 per cent of the workforce in 1951 to 14 per cent in 1966, drastically reducing manpower in the dockyard. The city council attempted to create new work; an industrial estate
4859-593: The 20th century, Portsmouth achieved city status on 21 April 1926. During the Second World War , the city was a pivotal embarkation point for the D-Day landings and was bombed extensively in the Portsmouth Blitz , which resulted in the deaths of 930 people. In 1982, a large Royal Navy task force departed from Portsmouth for the Falklands War . Her Majesty's Yacht Britannia was formerly based in Portsmouth and oversaw
4972-582: The Clarence, Cambridge and Fourhouse Barracks'). In the 1880s the old ramparts were levelled and the opportunity was taken in 1890 to demolish the old Clarence/Fourhouse barracks and build a 'spectacular' new complex of buildings (on a much larger scale, since they were no longer hemmed in behind fortifications). The new Clarence Barracks housed six garrison battalions of the Royal Artillery , while nearby Victoria Barracks (begun ten years earlier) contained
5085-505: The Danes at Portsmouth, where most of their ships were docked. Although the Danes were driven off, Wulfherd was killed. The Danes returned in 1001 and pillaged Portsmouth and the surrounding area, threatening the English with extinction. They were massacred by the English survivors the following year; rebuilding began, although the town experienced further attacks until 1066 . Although Portsmouth
5198-565: The French landed in Portsmouth. Although the town was plundered and burnt, its inhabitants drove the French off to raid towns in the West Country . Henry V gathered his forces in Portsmouth for an invasion of France in 1415, it was while staying at Portchester Castle that the Southampton plot was uncovered. This campaign would culminate with victory at the battle of Agincourt. He also built Portsmouth's first permanent fortifications . In 1416,
5311-520: The Greyhound public house on High Street, which is now Buckingham House and has a commemorative plaque. Most residents (including the mayor) supported the parliamentarians during the English Civil War , although military governor Colonel Goring supported the royalists . The town, a base of the parliamentarian navy, was blockaded from the sea. Parliamentarian troops were sent to besiege it , and
5424-466: The King's Ships) started constructing the first docks of Portsmouth. At about the same time Pierre des Roches , Bishop of Winchester , founded Domus Dei (Hospital of St Nicholas ) which performed its duties as an almshouse and hospice until 1540 when like other religious buildings it was seized by King Henry VIII . During the 13th century, Portsmouth was commonly used by King Henry III and Edward I as
5537-617: The Naval Barracks (HMS Victory , later renamed HMS Nelson ) to allow the Duchess of Kent Barracks to be vacated, while new permanent quarters were constructed for them within Victory alongside their male counterparts. In 1967 most of the former Clarence Barracks buildings were demolished, the site having been acquired for housing by the City Council. The officers' quarters survived; the last of
5650-590: The Portsea Island Company constructed the first piped-water supply to upper- and middle-class houses. It supplied water to about 4,500 of Portsmouth's 14,000 houses, generating an income of £5,000 a year. HMS Victory ' s active career ended in 1812, when she was moored in Portsmouth Harbour and used as a depot ship . The town of Gosport contributed £75 a year to the ship's maintenance. In 1818, John Pounds began teaching working-class children in
5763-421: The Restoration , Charles II married Catherine of Braganza at the Royal Garrison Church on 14 May 1662. Catherine was reputed to have introduced the cultural practice of tea drinking to England at this event. During the late 17th century, Portsmouth continued to grow; a new wharf was constructed in 1663 for military use, and a mast pond was dug in 1665. In 1684, a list of ships docked in Portsmouth
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#17328481311265876-476: The Round Tower was rebuilt out of stone and a Square Tower was raised. It was at this time that Robert Brygandine and Sir Reginald Bray , with the support of the king, commenced the building in Portsmouth of the country's first dry dock. In 1527 with some of the money obtained from the dissolution of the monasteries Henry VIII built the fort which became known as Southsea Castle . In 1545, he saw his vice- flagship Mary Rose founder off Southsea Castle , with
5989-402: The Second World War. In March 1948 they were converted for use by the Women's Royal Naval Service and renamed the Duchess of Kent Barracks (after the Princess Marina of Greece and Denmark , who was Duchess of Kent and Commandant of the Service). The barracks began to be decommissioned in the early 1960s. From 1966 senior and junior WRNS ratings were temporarily accommodated in the Wardroom of
6102-437: The South Atlantic on 5 April. The successful outcome of the war reaffirmed Portsmouth's significance as a naval port and its importance to the defence of British interests. In January 1997, Her Majesty's Yacht Britannia embarked from the city on her final voyage to oversee the handover of Hong Kong; for many, this marked the end of the empire. She was decommissioned on 11 December of that year at Portsmouth Naval Base in
6215-401: The Soviet cruiser Ordzhonikidze docked in Portsmouth harbour on a diplomatic mission that had taken head of state Nikita Khrushchev and Nikolai Bulganin to Britain. Naval intelligence was interested in the design of the ship and MI6 recruited diver Lionel Crabb to collect intelligence on the ship particularly its propulsion. After diving into the harbour Crabb was never seen again. This led to
6328-408: The UK" by the BBC, was demolished in late 2004 after years of debate over the expense of demolition and whether it was worth preserving as an example of 1960s brutalist architecture . Designed by Owen Luder as part of a project to "revitalise" Portsmouth in the 1960s, it consisted of a shopping centre, market, nightclubs, and a multistorey car park . Portsmouth celebrated the 200th anniversary of
6441-406: The UK" was finally demolished after years of delay and wrangling over the cost of doing so, and controversy as to whether it was worth preserving as an example of 1960s Brutalist architecture . In 2005, Portsmouth was a focus for Sea Britain , a series of events to mark the 200th anniversary ( bicentenary ) of Lord Nelson 's victory at the Battle of Trafalgar . In particular, in June, there
6554-446: The area continued until 1974. Builders still occasionally find unexploded bombs , such as on the site of the destroyed Hippodrome Theatre in 1984. Despite efforts by the city council to build new housing, a 1955 survey indicated that 7,000 houses in Portsmouth were unfit for human habitation. A controversial decision was made to replace a section of the central city, including Landport, Somerstown and Buckland, with council housing during
6667-401: The area since before Roman times, mostly being offshoots of Portchester , Portsmouth is commonly regarded as having been founded in 1180 by John of Gisors ( Jean de Gisors ). Most early records of Portsmouth are thought to have been destroyed by Norman invaders following the Norman Conquest . The earliest detailed references to Portsmouth can be found in the Southwick Cartularies . However,
6780-412: The city becoming the most fortified in Europe, with a network of forts circling the city. From 1808, the Royal Navy 's West Africa Squadron , who were tasked to stop the slave trade , operated out of Portsmouth. The King's mill burned down in 1868 and over the next decade land was reclaimed from the millpond until it ceased to exist. New transport links were constructed during this century. In 1823,
6893-503: The city in 1913, which led to the deaths of two men. During the suffragette bombing and arson campaign of 1912–1914, militant suffragettes of the Women's Social and Political Union carried out a series of politically motivated bombing and arson attacks nationwide as part of their campaign for women's suffrage . In one of the more serious suffragette attacks, a fire was purposely started at Portsmouth dockyard on 20 December 1913, in which two sailors were killed after it spread through
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#17328481311267006-412: The city in 1968, and IBM relocated their European headquarters in 1979. Portsmouth's population had dropped from about 200,000 to 177,142 by the end of the 1960s. Defence Secretary John Nott decided in the early 1980s that of the four home dockyards, Portsmouth and Chatham would be closed. The city council won a concession, however, and the dockyard was downgraded instead to a naval base. In 1956,
7119-405: The city's coat of arms ) were to be found on both the seals of King Richard and William de Longchamps it is commonly thought that this may have been the source of them, although there is no known documentary evidence for this. King Richard later went on to build a number of houses and a hall in Portsmouth. The hall is thought to have been at the current location of the Clarence Barracks (the area
7232-543: The city's maritime connections: the lions and unicorn have fish tails, and a naval crown and a representation of the Tudor defensive boom which stretched across Portsmouth Harbour are around the unicorn. During the Second World War , the city (particularly the port) was bombed extensively by the Luftwaffe in the Portsmouth Blitz. Portsmouth experienced 67 air raids between July 1940 and May 1944, which destroyed 6,625 houses and severely damaged 6,549. The air raids caused 930 deaths and wounded almost 3,000 people, many in
7345-485: The city. While most of the city has since been rebuilt, to this day developers still occasionally find unexploded bombs . Southsea beach and Portsmouth Harbour were military embarkation points for the D-Day landings on 6 June 1944. Southwick House , in Southwick five miles to the north of Portsmouth, had been chosen as the headquarters for the Supreme Allied Commander, US General Dwight D. Eisenhower , during D-Day. On 4 July 1968, an estimated 250,000 people witnessed
7458-473: The construction of a chapel dedicated to St Thomas Becket . This became a parish church by the 14th century. Portsmouth was established as a town with a royal charter on 2 May 1194. The city is home to the first drydock ever built. It was constructed by Henry VII in 1496. Portsmouth has the world's oldest dry dock , "The Great Stone Dock" ; originally built in 1698, rebuilt in 1769 and presently known as "No.5 Dock". The world's first mass production line
7571-414: The construction of the world's first dry dock , and raised the Square Tower in 1494. He made Portsmouth a Royal Dockyard, England's only dockyard considered "national". Although King Alfred may have used Portsmouth to build ships as early as the ninth century, the first warship recorded as constructed in the town was the Sweepstake (built in 1497). Henry VIII built Southsea Castle, financed by
7684-453: The country's first ragged school . The Portsea Improvement Commissioners installed gas street lighting throughout Portsmouth in 1820, followed by Old Portsmouth three years later. During the 19th century, Portsmouth expanded across Portsea Island. Buckland was merged into the town by the 1860s, and Fratton and Stamshaw were incorporated by the next decade. Between 1865 and 1870, the council built sewers after more than 800 people died in
7797-427: The dockyard and military establishments. On the night of the city's heaviest raid (10 January 1941), the Luftwaffe dropped 140 tonnes of high-explosive bombs which killed 171 people and left 3,000 homeless. Many of the city's houses were damaged, and areas of Landport and Old Portsmouth destroyed; the future site of Gunwharf Quays was razed to the ground. The Guildhall was hit by an incendiary bomb which burnt out
7910-410: The dockyard during the war, making it one of the empire's most strategic ports at the time. Portsmouth's boundaries were extended onto the mainland of Great Britain between 1920 and 1932 by incorporating Paulsgrove , Wymering , Cosham , Drayton and Farlington into Portsmouth. Portsmouth was granted city status in 1926 after a long campaign by the borough council. The application was made on
8023-449: The early 19th century as "azure a crescent or, surmounted by an estoile of eight points of the last." Its design is apparently based on 18th-century mayoral seals. A connection of the coat of arms with the Great Seal of Richard I (which had a separate star and crescent) dates to the 20th century. Marc Isambard Brunel established the world's first mass-production line at Portsmouth Block Mills , making pulley blocks for rigging on
8136-504: The end of the creek just above the town. The creek later developed into the body of water known as the mill pond. During the English Civil War , the city was initially held by the royalist faction before falling to parliament after the Siege of Portsmouth in September 1642. In 1665, Charles II of England ordered Bernard de Gomme to begin the reconstruction of Portsmouth's fortifications
8249-592: The first British settlers there. They would arrive in Botany Bay on 18 January 1788. A memorial, officially unveiled by HM The Queen on 11 July 1980, commemorates the First Fleet, with a similar memorial in Sydney , New South Wales . Admiral Nelson left Portsmouth for the final time in 1805 to command the fleet that would defeat the larger Franco-Spanish fleet at Trafalgar . The Royal Navy's reliance on Portsmouth led to
8362-514: The flames. The two victims were a pensioner and a signalman. The attack was notable enough to be reported on in the press in the United States , with the New York Times reporting on the disaster two days after with the headline "Big Portsmouth Fire Loss". The report also disclosed that at a previous police raid on a suffragette headquarters, "papers were discovered disclosing a plan to fire
8475-506: The following century, and its exports included wool, corn, grain, and livestock. Edward II ordered all ports on the south coast to assemble their largest vessels at Portsmouth to carry soldiers and horses to the Duchy of Aquitaine in 1324 to strengthen defences. A French fleet commanded by David II of Scotland attacked in the English Channel , ransacked the Isle of Wight and threatened
8588-640: The globe. The 11-ship First Fleet left on 13 May 1787 to establish the first European colony in Australia , the beginning of prisoner transportation; Captain William Bligh of HMS Bounty also sailed from the harbour that year. After the 28 April 1789 mutiny on the Bounty , HMS Pandora was dispatched from Portsmouth to bring the mutineers back for trial. The court-martial opened on 12 September 1792 aboard HMS Duke in Portsmouth Harbour; of
8701-469: The grounds that it was the "first naval port of the kingdom". In 1929, the city council added the motto "Heaven's Light Our Guide" to the medieval coat of arms. Except for the celestial objects in the arms, the motto was that of the Star of India and referred to the troopships bound for British India which left from the port. The crest and supporters are based on those of the royal arms , but altered to show
8814-581: The guns of Southsea Castle were fired at the town's royalist garrison. Parliamentarians in Gosport joined the assault, damaging St Thomas's Church . On 5 September 1642, the remaining royalists in the garrison at the Square Tower were forced to surrender after Goring threatened to blow it up; he and his garrison were allowed safe passage out of the city. Under the Commonwealth of England , Robert Blake used
8927-597: The harbour as his base during the First Anglo-Dutch War in 1652 and the Anglo-Spanish War . He died within sight of the town, returning from Cádiz . After the end of the Civil War , Portsmouth was among the first towns to declare Charles II king and began to prosper. The first ship built in over 100 years, HMS Portsmouth , was launched in 1650; twelve ships were built between 1650 and 1660. After
9040-454: The harbour; navigational charts use the contraction. According to one historian, the name may have been brought back from a group of Portsmouth-based sailors who visited Pompey's Pillar in Alexandria , Egypt, around 1781. Another theory is that it is named after the harbour's guardship, Pompee , a 74-gun French ship of the line captured in 1793. Portsmouth's coat of arms is attested in
9153-422: The industrial area. The fire spread rapidly as there were many old wooden buildings in the area, including the historic semaphore tower which dated back to the eighteenth century, which was completely destroyed. The damage to the dockyard area cost the city £200,000 in damages, equivalent to £23,600,000 today. In the midst of the firestorm, a battleship, HMS Queen Mary , had to be towed to safety to avoid
9266-487: The interior and destroyed its inner walls, although the civic plate was retrieved unharmed from the vault under the front steps. After the raid, Portsmouth mayor Denis Daley wrote for the Evening News : We are bruised but we are not daunted, and we are still as determined as ever to stand side by side with other cities who have felt the blast of the enemy, and we shall, with them, persevere with an unflagging spirit towards
9379-454: The island, passes between Old Portsmouth and Gosport. Portsmouth Harbour has a series of lakes, including Fountain Lake (near the commercial port), Portchester Lake (south central), Paulsgrove Lake (north), Brick Kiln Lake and Tipner (east), and Bombketch and Spider Lakes (west). Further northwest, around Portchester, are Wicor, Cams, and Great Cams Lakes. The large tidal inlet of Langstone Harbour
9492-751: The line of fortifications on the other. In 1753 the Cooperage relocated to the Weevil on the Gosport side of the harbour; whereupon the Navy Board began making plans to convert the old buildings into a barracks for the newly constituted Portsmouth Division of the Royal Marines . Accommodation was provided for about a quarter of the Division (which numbered 2,200 men plus officers, two-thirds of whom were expected to be at sea at any one time): eight rooms were set aside for
9605-471: The mainland. Portsdown Hill dominates the skyline in the north, and contains several large Palmerston Forts such as Fort Fareham , Fort Wallington , Fort Nelson , Fort Southwick , Fort Widley , and Fort Purbrook . Portsdown Hill is a large band of chalk ; the rest of Portsea Island is composed of layers of London Clay and sand (part of the Bagshot Formation ), formed principally during
9718-471: The money would be used for local matters. The actual physical charter was handed over by the Bishop of Ely William de Longchamps . The present location of the charter is currently unknown but its text survives, as when later royal charters were granted to the city reaffirming and extending its privileges large parts of the original charter were quoted verbatim. As a crescent and an eight-point star (as appear on
9831-523: The monks of Southwick Priory until the Reformation after which its possession was transferred to Winchester College . The modern Portsmouth Anglican Cathedral is built on the original location of the chapel. The original grant referred to the area as Sudewde however a later grant a few years later used the name Portsmouth. In 1194, after he returned from being held captive by Duke Leopold V of Austria , King Richard I (The Lionheart) set about summoning
9944-518: The navy's ships. The first machines were installed in January 1803, and the final set (for large blocks) in March 1805. In 1808, the mills produced 130,000 blocks. By the turn of the 19th century, Portsmouth was the largest industrial site in the world; it had a workforce of 8,000, and an annual budget of £570,000. In 1805, Admiral Nelson left Portsmouth to command the fleet which defeated France and Spain at
10057-501: The officers, and forty-five rooms for the men (who slept two to a bed, twelve in each room); each room was also furnished with two dining tables, twelve stools and kit-lockers. In 1823-4 the barracks were extended into an adjacent parcel of land previously known as the Shot Locker. The barracks were renamed Clarence Barracks after the Duke of Clarence who visited the site to present colours to
10170-457: The place which is called Portsmouth ". It has been suggested that this is more likely to refer to the area around Portchester. In the Domesday Book there is no mention of Portsmouth. However, settlements that later went on to form part of Portsmouth are listed. These are Buckland , Copnor , Fratton on Portsea Island and Cosham , Wymering and Drayton on the mainland. At this time it
10283-407: The port's largest trade was in wine from Bayonne and Bordeaux . In 1313, the town received a charter from Edward II . This is the oldest of the city's charters that is known to have survived. In 1338, a French fleet led by Nicholas Béhuchet arrived at Portsmouth docks flying English flags before anyone realised that they were a hostile force. The French burned down most of the buildings in
10396-530: The presence of Elizabeth II , the Duke of Edinburgh , and twelve senior members of the royal family. Redevelopment of the naval shore establishment HMS Vernon began in 2001 as a complex of retail outlets, clubs, pubs, and a shopping centre known as Gunwharf Quays. Construction of the 552-foot-tall (168 m) Spinnaker Tower , sponsored by the National Lottery , began at Gunwharf Quays in 2003. The Tricorn Centre , called "the ugliest building in
10509-417: The private horse-drawn tram lines in 1901. The Stanhope Road drill hall was opened by Lord Northbrook in March 1901. In 1904, the boundaries of Portsmouth were extended to finally include the whole of Portsea Island . The boundaries were further extended in 1920 and 1932, taking in areas of the mainland. In 1916, the city experienced its first aerial bombardment when a Zeppelin airship bombed it during
10622-564: The return of Alec Rose , a greengrocer in Osborne Road, after he completed his single-handed circumnavigation in Lively Lady ; he was knighted immediately and made Freeman of the City of Portsmouth . 400 motor-boats, yachts, catamarans and canoes welcomed him into harbour. The University of Portsmouth gained university status in 1992, having held polytechnic status since 1969. In 2003 erection
10735-433: The south coast of England in the Solent , making Portsmouth the only city in England not located primarily on the mainland . The city is located 22 miles (35 km) south-east of Southampton , 50 miles (80 km) west of Brighton and Hove and 74 miles (119 km) south-west of London . With a population last recorded at 208,100, it is the most densely-populated city in the United Kingdom . Portsmouth forms part of
10848-601: The ten remaining men, three were sentenced to death. In 1789, a chapel was erected in Prince George's Street and was dedicated to St John by the Bishop of Winchester. Around this time, a bill was passed in the House of Commons on the creation of a canal to link Portsmouth to Chichester; however, the project was abandoned. The city's nickname, Pompey, is thought to have derived from the log entry of Portsmouth Point (contracted "Po'm.P." – Po' rts m outh P. oint) as ships entered
10961-424: The town. Edward III instructed all maritime towns to build vessels and raise troops to rendezvous at Portsmouth. Two years later, a French fleet led by Nicholas Béhuchet raided Portsmouth and destroyed most of the town; only the stone-built church and hospital survived. After the raid, Edward III exempted the town from national taxes to aid its reconstruction. In 1377, shortly after Edward died,
11074-480: The town; only the local church and Domus Dei survived. The population was subjected to rape and slaughter. As a result of this, King Edward III gave the remaining townsfolk exemption from national taxes so that they could afford to rebuild the town. Only ten years after this devastation, the town for the first time was struck by the plague known as the Black Death . In order to prevent the regrowth of Portsmouth as
11187-555: The war; before permanent accommodations could be built, Portsmouth City Council built prefabs for those who had lost their homes. More than 700 prefab houses were constructed between 1945 and 1947, some over bomb sites. The first permanent houses were built away from the city centre, in new developments such as Paulsgrove and Leigh Park ; construction of council estates in Paulsgrove was completed in 1953. The first Leigh Park housing estates were completed in 1949, although construction in
11300-468: The yard". On 1 October 1916, Portsmouth was bombed by a Zeppelin airship. Although the Oberste Heeresleitung (German Supreme Army Command) said that the town was "lavishly bombarded with good results", there were no reports of bombs dropped in the area. According to another source, the bombs were mistakenly dropped into the harbour rather than the dockyard. About 1,200 ships were refitted in
11413-411: Was a pirate who founded Portsmouth in 501. England's southern coast was vulnerable to Danish Viking invasions during the eighth and ninth centuries, and was conquered by Danish pirates in 787. In 838, during the reign of Æthelwulf, King of Wessex , a Danish fleet landed between Portsmouth and Southampton and plundered the region. Æthelwulf sent Wulfherd and the governor of Dorsetshire to confront
11526-455: Was built in Fratton in 1948, and others were built at Paulsgrove and Farlington during the 1950s and 1960s. Although traditional industries such as brewing and corset manufacturing disappeared during this time, electrical engineering became a major employer. Despite the cutbacks in traditional sectors, Portsmouth remained attractive to industry. Zurich Insurance Group moved their UK headquarters to
11639-427: Was built to address the chronic housing shortage during post-war reconstruction. Although the estate has been under the jurisdiction of Havant Borough Council since the early 2000s, Portsmouth City Council remains its landlord (the borough's largest landowner). Clarence Barracks Clarence Barracks was a military installation at Portsmouth , Hampshire . The original site for what became Clarence Barracks
11752-523: Was condemned by the Army Sanitary Commission as 'quite unfit for habitation', which cited (among other shortcomings) the close proximity of the privies to the cook-house. Immediately to the south of the King's Cooperage stood the Tudor King's Beerhouses (or Brewery) on what was known as Four House Green. In the 17th century they had been sold into private hands and were subsequently closed. For
11865-546: Was established at the naval base's Block Mills which produced pulley blocks for the Royal Navy fleet. By the early-19th century, Portsmouth was the most heavily fortified city in the world, and was considered "the world's greatest naval port" at the height of the British Empire throughout Pax Britannica . By 1859, a ring of defensive land and sea forts, known as the Palmerston Forts , had been built around Portsmouth in anticipation of an invasion from continental Europe. In
11978-682: Was evidence of its increasing national importance. Between 1667 and 1685, the town's fortifications were rebuilt; new walls were constructed with bastions and two moats were dug, making Portsmouth one of the world's most heavily fortified places. In 1759, General James Wolfe sailed to capture Quebec ; the expedition, although successful, cost him his life. His body was brought back to Portsmouth in November, and received high naval and military honours. Two years later, on 30 May 1775, Captain James Cook arrived on HMS Endeavour after circumnavigating
12091-722: Was not mentioned in the 1086 Domesday Book , Bocheland ( Buckland ), Copenore ( Copnor ), and Frodentone ( Fratton ) were. According to some sources, it was founded in 1180 by the Anglo-Norman merchant Jean de Gisors . King Henry II died in 1189; his son, Richard I (who had spent most of his life in France), arrived in Portsmouth en route to his coronation in London. When Richard returned from captivity in Austria in May 1194, he summoned an army and
12204-448: Was previously known as Kingshall Green). In 1200 King John issued another charter to Portsmouth reaffirming the rights and privileges awarded by King Richard. Acquiring this second charter cost Portsmouth ten marks and a type of riding horse known as a Palfrey . King John's desire to invade Normandy resulted in the establishment of Portsmouth as a permanent naval base. In 1212 William of Wrotham (Archdeacon of Taunton , Keeper of
12317-412: Was stabbed to death in an Old Portsmouth pub by war veteran John Felton five years later. Felton never attempted to escape, and was caught walking the streets when soldiers confronted him; he said, "I know that he is dead, for I had the force of forty men when I struck the blow". Felton was hanged, and his body chained to a gibbet on Southsea Common as a warning to others. The murder took place in
12430-470: Was started of a 552 feet high Spinnaker Tower sited at Portsmouth Harbour, and celebrating the city's maritime tradition. Completed in 2005, the tower has twin concrete legs meeting at half height to form a single column from which steel sails are mounted; an observation deck at the top provides a view of the city and harbour for tourists. In late 2004, the Tricorn Centre , dubbed "The ugliest building in
12543-542: Was the early 17th-century King's Cooperage in Old Portsmouth , owned and operated by the Victualling Commissioners . Rebuilt in 1723, it consisted of a long narrow courtyard surrounded by workshops, seasoning sheds, offices and storehouses; a new well was dug and a rainwater cistern erected to provide reliable sources of water. It stood on the town's south-eastern edge, with St Nicholas Street on one side and
12656-462: Was the massive Fleet Review , by HM Queen Elizabeth II and a mock battle ( son et lumière ) that evening, after dark. The full timeline to Portsmouth 's rich maritime history . Portsmouth Portsmouth ( / ˈ p ɔːr t s m ə θ / PORTS -məth ) is a port city and unitary authority in Hampshire , England. Most of Portsmouth is located on Portsea Island , off
12769-634: Was then a 3-year gap before foundation of The Portsmouth Gazette and Weekly Advertiser . The final newspaper to begin publication in the 18th century was the Portsmouth Telegraph; or, Mottley's Naval and Military Journal which was first published in 1799. In 1774, the two mills at the entrance to the millpond were rebuilt as one mill known as the Kings's mill. On 13 May 1787 the First Fleet of ships left Portsmouth Harbour bound for Australia , taking
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