Encyclopedia > Portsmouth, England
Portsmouth, England
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Most of the city lies on Portsea[?] Island, located at the confuence of the Solent into the English Channel. The island is separated from the mainland on the north by a narrow creek, bridged in three places to make it (in appearance) a peninsula. A few hundred metres to the west of the southern end of the island lies another peninsula of the mainland, forming a sheltered natural harbour between the two. Portsdown hill dominates the skyline to the North, and the waters of the Solent lie to the South, with the Isle of Wight beyond.
The origin of the name Portsmouth is a matter of some dispute, popular legend holds that it comes from being the "mouth of the port" (the port originally being that at Portchester, previusly known as Portus Adurni). The other main suggestion is that the name came from a cheftain with the name Port (not an uncommon old English name) with the Saxon word mutha.
Although there have been settlements in the area well before the Common Era, 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 French invaders. The earliest detailed references to Portsmouth can be found in the Southwick Cartularies[?].
In the Domesday survey there is no mention of Portsmouth, however settlements that later went on to form part of Portsmouth, primarily Buckland (later Portsea), Copnor and Froddington (later Fratton) were listed. At this time it is estimated the Portsmouth area had a population not greater than two or three hundred.
While in the primary manor of Portsea there was a small church prior to 1166 (now St Mary's at Kingston) Portsmouth's first real church came into being in 1181 when John of Gisors granted an acre of land to Augustinian monks at the Southwick Priory[?] to build a chapel dedicated to Thomas a Becket. This chapel continued to be run by the monks of Southwick Priory[?] until the Reformation after which its possession was transferred to Winchester College. The modern Portsmouth Cathedral[?] is built on the original location of the chapel.
In 1194, after King Richard I (the Lionheart) returned from being kidnapped by Duke Leopold of Austria[?], Richard set about summoning a fleet and an army to Portsmouth, which Richard had taken over from John of Gisors.
On May 2, 1194 King Richard I 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 the money would be used for local matters.
The actual physical charter was handed over by the Bishop William de Longchamps[?] of Ely, 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 privelages large parts of the original charter were quoted verbatim.
As a crescent and an eight-point star (as appear on the city 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.
By this time Portsmouth was already a major naval port and a fleet of over a hundred ships were docked in its harbour.
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 was previously known as Kingshall Green).
In 1200 King John issued another charter to Portsmouth reaffirming the rights and privileges awarded by King Richard. King John's desire to invade Normandy resulted in the establishment of Portsmouth as a permenent naval base.
In 1212 William of Wrotham[?] (Archdeacon of Taunton, Keeper of 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 a almshouse and hospice until 1540 when like other religious buildings it was seized by King Henry VIII).
During the thirteenth century Portsmouth was commonly used King Henry III and Edward I[?] as a base for attacks against France.
By the fourteenth 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 the ports largest trade was in wine from Bayonne and Bordeaux.
In 1338 a French fleet led by Nicholas Behuchet[?] arrived at Portsmouth docks flying English flags before anyone realised that they were a hostile force. The french burnt down most of the buildings in the town and many of the population were raped and slaughtered, only the local church and Domus Dei survived. 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 devestation 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 a threat the French again sacked the city in 1369, 1377 and 1380.
King Henry V was the first king to decide to build permanent fortification in Portsmouth, in 1418 he ordered a wooden Round Tower be built at the mouth of the harbour, the tower was completed in 1426.
However it wasn't until the Tudor dynasty that Portsmouth's defence was seriously dealt with. Under King Henry VIII 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[?].
Over the years Portsmouth's fortification was increased by numerous monarchs including King Henry VII and Queen Elizabeth I, although most of these have now fallen into disrepair or been converted into tourist attractions.
On December 21, 1872 the Challenger expedition was launched from Portsmouth.
The city was bombed extensively during WW2, while most of the city has since been rebuilt developers still occasionally find unexploded bombs.
- 1181 - Establishment of a church.
- 1194 - Portsmouth awarded it's Royal Charter
- 1212 - Establishment of docks.
- 1212 - Domus Dei the first hospital of the city buit.
- 1256 - Portsmouth given permission to form a local guild of merchants.
- 1265 - Town sacked and burnt during the Barons' Wars[?].
- 1338 - French invaders burn down most of town.
- 1348 - Black Death strikes Portsmouth for the first time.
- 1426 - Portsmouth's first permanent defensive works (the Round Tower) completed.
- 1449 - Portsmouth placed under Greater Excommunication[?] as a result of the murder of the Bishop of Chichester.
- 1495 - Britain's first dry dock built at Portsmouth.
- 1510 - Mary Rose built in Portsmouth dock yard.
- 1527 - Southsea castle built.
- 1561 - Britain's first state lottery[?] funds further fortifications.
- 1563 - 300 locals die of the plague.
- 1625 - The Black Death strikes Portsmouth.
- 1729 - Establishment of the Royal Naval Academy[?].
- 1760 - The modern Landport Gate[?] built.
- 1809 - The town of Southsea established.
- 1811 - Introduction of piped water into Portsmouth.
- 1812 - Birth of Charles Dickens in Portsmouth.
- 1834 - Portsmouth hit by Earthquake.
- 1835 - The Municipal Reform Act[?] of 1835 abolishes Southamption[?] jurisdiction of the port.
- 1860 - The worlds first ironclad[?] launched.
- 1861 - Clarence Pier built
- 1872 - Challenger expedition launched from Portsmouth
- 1890 - Portsmouth Town Hall built.
- 1898 - Portsmouth F.C., the city's principal football club was founded.
- 1931 - The population of Portsmouth peaks at quarter of a million people.
- 1932 - Portsmouth Airport opens.
- 1994 - Portsmouth became the only city other then Paris to be the start and end point of the Tour de France.
- 2000 - Portsmouth suffers flooding due to failure of the emergency water drainage system during heavy rainfall.
- 2001 - MyTV (later renamed PortsmouthTV) launches.
The city is administered by the Portsmouth City Council, which is currently a unitary authority. Until January 1, 1997 it was a district of Hampshire, but the borders of Hampshire were adjusted by the "Hampshire (Cities of Portsmouth and Southampton) (Structural Change) Order 1995".
| Year | Number of houses | Population | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1560 | 1000 (est) | Portsmouth: a history by Patterson | |
| 1801 | 5310 | 32,160 | 1801 census |
| 1811 | 6852 | 40,567 | 1811 census |
| 1821 | 8627 | 45,048 | 1821 census |
| 1831 | 9410 | 50,389 | 1831 census |
| 1841 | 9886 | 53,032 | 1841 census |
| 1851 | 12,825 | 72,096 | 1851 census |
| 1861 | 15,819 | 94,799 | 1861 census |
| 1871 | 19,013 | 112,954 | 1871 census |
| 1881 | 22,701 | 127,989 | 1881 census |
| 1891 | 29,353 | 159,251 | 1891 census |
| 1901 | 36,368 | 188,133 | 1901 census |
| 1911 | 231,165 | 1911 census | |
| 1921 | 247,343 | 1921 census | |
| 1931 | 249,300 | 1931 census | |
| 1951 | 233,545 | 1951 census | |
| 1961 | 68,618 | 215,077 | 1961 census |
| 1971 | 197,431 | 1971 census | |
| 1981 | 175,382 | 1981 census | |
| 1991 | 177,142 | 1991 census | |
| 2001 | 186,700 (est) | 2001 census (preliminary report) |
Most of Portsmouth's tourist attractions are related to it's naval history, among these are the D-Day museum[?] (which holds the Overlord Embroidery[?]), the HMS Victory which has been restored in the Dockyard, the remains of the Mary Rose raised from the sea-bed in recent years and the HMS Warrior[?].
Other tourist attractions include the birthplace of Charles Dickens, Cumberland House[?] a natural history museum and Southsea castle[?].
In the last decade the number of shops in Portsmouth have grown dramatically due to both the growth of the local economy and improved transport links.
Shopping areas in the city include:
- Ocean Retail Park[?] an out of town shopping area mainly composed of shops requiring large floor space for selling consumer goods (furniture, electrical goods, computers).
- Cascades Shopping Centre (http://www.cascadesshopping.com/) an indoor shopping centre built in the early nineties with approximately 75 shops covering a wide range of goods.
- Commercial Road running alongside the Cascades shopping centre this area contains appproximately a further 50 shops.
- Gunwharf Quays (http://www.gunwharf-quays.com/) a new shopping area which opened in 2002 in consists of 85 mainly upmarket fashion stores.
- Bridge Centre a 11,043 square metre shopping centre built in 1988, now dominated by the newly built Asda Walmart[?] store.
- Tricorn centre a "futuristic" shopping centre of 35 shops built out of concrete in the 1960s now commonly regarded as an eyesore. It is currently unused and is awaiting demolition.
Other shopping areas with more than twenty shops include Palmerston Road, Elm Grove and Albert Road.
The city has one university, the University of Portsmouth[?], but several local colleges also have the power to award HNDs[?].
Local further education colleges include Highbury College[?] which specializes in practical teaching, Portsmouth College, South Downs College and Havant College which all offer a mixture of academic and pracical courses.
Local secondary schools include Priory School[?], St Luke's School[?], Mayfield School[?], Portsmouth Grammar School[?], Admiral Lord Nelson School[?] and Milton Cross School[?], the last two both being developed in the last five years in order to meet the demand of a growing young population.
Portsmouth was one of the first cities in the UK to get a local TV station, MyTV (which later rebranded to PortsmouthTV) in 2001. The TV station has had some success but it limited availability in some parts of Portsmouth has limited its growth.
The city currently has only one major daily local newspaper known as The News, PPP the company producing The News also produces a free weekly "local affairs" newspaper called The Journal,
Plans are afoot to build a tower called the Spinnaker Tower. The much-troubled millennium project is now finally underway and due for completion in 2003. The tower will be 165m tall, features viewing decks at sea level, 100m, 105m, and 110m. A high speed internal lift runs up one leg, and a stunningly designed panoramic external glass lift runs up the outside of the opposite leg.
A light rail link to Gosport has been authorised; these two towns are presently linked by a ferry.
There is an ongoing debate on the development of public transport structure, with monorails and underground trains both being considered.
- Portsmouth City Council (http://www.portsmouth.gov.uk/)
- Portsmouth Football Club (http://www.pompeyfc.co.uk/)
- Portsmouth Local History (http://homepage.ntlworld.com/stephen.pomeroy/local/local.htm)
Live Webcams
- Overlooking harbour (http://62.49.203.250/harboureye/newsbrand.htm)
- View from Portsmouth college (http://www.portsmouth-guide.co.uk/local/livepicture/collegeview.htm)
See Also: Southsea.
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