Portsmouth
From Free net encyclopedia
| City of Portsmouth | |
|---|---|
| Image:EnglandPortsmouth.png | |
| Geography | |
| Status: | Unitary, City (1926) |
| Region: | South East England |
| Ceremonial County: | Hampshire |
| Area: - Total | Ranked 319th 40.25 km² |
| Admin. HQ: | Portsmouth |
| ONS code: | 00MR |
| Demographics | |
| Population: - Total (2004 est.) - Density | Ranked 74th 188,500 4,683 / km² |
| Ethnicity: | 94.7% White 2.4% S.Asian |
| Politics | |
| Image:Arms-portsmouth.jpg Portsmouth City Council http://www.portsmouth.gov.uk/ | |
| Leadership: | Leader & Cabinet |
| Executive: | Liberal Democrats |
| MPs: | Mike Hancock, Sarah McCarthy-Fry |
Template:Otherplaces Portsmouth is a city of about 196,000 people located in the county of Hampshire on the southern coast of Great Britain. The administrative unit itself forms part of the wider Portsmouth conurbation, with an estimated population of 442,252 residents within its boundaries, making it the 11th largest urban area in England. A significant naval port for centuries, it is home to the world's oldest dry dock still in use and to many famous ships.
Portsmouth has declined as a military port in recent years but remains a major dockyard and base for the Royal Navy. There is a commercial port serving destinations on the continent for freight and passenger traffic.
The Portsmouth Urban Area covers an area with a population of about twice that of the city of Portsmouth itself, and includes Fareham, Portchester, Gosport, Havant, Lee-on-the-Solent, Stubbington and Waterlooville.
Contents |
History
Early history of the area
Although there have been settlements in 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.
In the Domesday survey there is no mention of Portsmouth. However settlements that later went on to form part of Portsmouth, primarily Buckland, 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 (4,000 m²) of land to Augustinian monks at the Southwick Priory to build a chapel dedicated to Thomas 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.
Growth of the city
In 1194, after King Richard I (the Lionheart) returned from being held captive by Duke Leopold V 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 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 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.
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 permanent 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 an 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 by 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.
War with France
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 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 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, which 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. In 1545, he saw his vice-flagship Mary Rose founder off Southsea Castle, with a loss of about 500 lives, while going into action against the French fleet.
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 been converted into tourist attractions.
On December 21, 1872 a major scientific expedition, the Challenger expedition, was launched from Portsmouth.
20th Century
Image:Portsmouth-SpinnakerTower.jpg
The city was bombed extensively during WW2. While most of the city has since been rebuilt, developers still occasionally find unexploded bombs.
Southsea beach and Portsmouth Harbour were military embarkation points for the D-Day landings on June 6th 1944. Southwick House, just to the north of Portsmouth, had been chosen as the headquarters for the Supreme Allied Commander, General Eisenhower during D-Day.
21st Century
In 2003, erection was started of a 170 metre 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, Tricorn Centre, dubbed "The ugliest building in the UK" was finally demolished after years of delay and wrangling over the cost of doing so and the controversy as to whether it was worth preserving as an example of sixties Brutalist architecture.
In 2005, Portsmouth was a focus for Sea Britain, a series of events to mark the bicentenary of Lord Nelson's victory at the Battle of Trafalgar. In particular, in June, there was the massive Fleet Review, by HM Queen Elizabeth II.
Geography
Most of the city of Portsmouth lies on Portsea Island, located where the Solent joins the English Channel, making it the United Kingdom's only island city. The island is separated from the mainland to the north by a narrow creek, bridged in places to make it - in appearance - a peninsula. The sheltered Portsmouth Harbour lies to the west of the island and the large tidal bay of Langstone Harbour is to the east. Portsdown Hill dominates the skyline to the north and to the south are the waters of the Solent with the Isle of Wight beyond.
The city includes the following residential districts:
- Baffins, Buckland
- Copnor, Cosham
- Drayton
- Eastney
- Farlington, Fratton
- Hilsea
- Kingston
- Milton
- North End
- Portsea, Paulsgrove
- Somers Town, Southsea, Stamshaw
- Tipner
- Wymering
Education
Higher and further education
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, the largest, which specializes in vocational education, Portsmouth College, South Downs College and Havant College which all offer a mixture of academic and vocational courses.
Secondary education
Local secondary schools are Admiral Lord Nelson School, City of Portsmouth Girls' School, King Richard Secondary School, Mayfield School, Milton Cross School, Priory School, Springfield School, St Edmund's RC School, St Luke's CofE VA Secondary School and The City of Portsmouth Boys' School.
Independent schools include Mayville High School, Portsmouth High School, St John's College and Portsmouth Grammar School.
Both Admiral Lord Nelson School and Milton Cross School were built recently to meet the demand of a growing young population.
Government
The city is administered by Portsmouth City Council, which is currently a unitary authority. Until April 1, 1997 it was a non-metropolitan district of Hampshire. Portsmouth remains part of the Ceremonial county of Hampshire.
Media
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 local radio station is 107.4 The Quay. Other regional stations that cover the central south coast include Ocean FM, on a broadcast frequency of 96.7 to 97.5FM, and BBC Radio Solent on 96.1FM. Before 107.4 The Quay, Radio Victory was the local station in Portsmouth.
The city currently has only one major daily local newspaper known as The News. Johnston Press, owner of Portsmouth Publishing & Printing, the company producing The News, also produces a free weekly "local affairs" newspaper called The Journal.
Shopping
In the last decade the number of shops in Portsmouth has grown dramatically due to both the buoyancy of the local economy and improved transport links.
Shopping areas in the city include:
- Ocean Retail Park is an out-of-town shopping area located on the north eastern side of Portsea Island off the A2030 leading to the A27. It is close to the site of the old Portsmouth Airport that closed in 1973. The retail park is composed of shops requiring large floor space for selling consumer goods (furniture, electrical goods, computers).
- Cascades Shopping Centre 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 approximately a further 50 shops, located near Portsmouth & Southsea train station.
- Gunwharf Quays a new shopping area which opened in 2001 consists of 85 mainly upmarket fashion stores, restaurants and a Vue multi-screen cinema, located near Portsmouth Harbour train station and the Hard Bus Interchange, and a relatively short walk from Commercial Road.
- Bridge Centre a 11,043 square metre shopping centre built in 1988, now dominated by the newly built Asda Walmart store.
- The Historic Dockyard has several shops of interest, selling mainly goods with a nautical theme and with Victory or Mary Rose connotations. It also has a French Market, several times per year and a Christmas Market each year, in the lead-up to Christmas.
Other shopping areas with more than twenty shops include North End, Fratton Road, Palmerston Road, Elm Grove and Albert Road.
Sport
The city is home to Portsmouth F.C., who play their home games at Fratton Park. The club are in the process of building a new stadium on the same site.
Locks Sailing Club at Longshore way is the city's premier dinghy sailing club. Portsmouth Rugby Football Club play their home games in the London Division at Rugby Camp, Hilsea.
The city's rowing club is located in Southsea at the Seafront near the Hovercraft Terminal.
Tourist Attractions
Image:Portsmouth-from-PortsdownHill.jpg Most of Portsmouth's tourist attractions are related to its naval history. In the last decade Portsmouth's Historic Dockyard has been given a much needed face-lift. Among the attractions are the D-Day museum (which holds the Overlord embroidery) and, in the dockyard, HMS Victory, the remains of the Mary Rose raised from the sea-bed in recent years, HMS Warrior and the Royal Naval Museum.
The much-troubled millennium project to build the Spinnaker Tower at Gunwharf Quays was finally completed in 2005. The tower is 165 m tall, features viewing decks at sea level, 100 m, 105 m, and 110 m. A high speed internal lift runs up one leg, and a panoramic external glass lift runs up the outside of the opposite leg.
Other tourist attractions include the birthplace of Charles Dickens, the Blue Reef Centre (formerly Sea Life Centre), Cumberland House (a natural history museum), and Southsea castle.
Transport and communications
The city has several mainline railway stations, on a direct route to London. Portsmouth's stations are (in order, out of the city): Portsmouth Harbour, Portsmouth & Southsea, Fratton, Hilsea and Cosham.
Portsmouth Harbour has passenger ferry links to Gosport and the Isle of Wight. A car ferry service to the Isle of Wight operated by Wightlink is nearby. Britain's longest-standing commercial hovercraft service, begun in the 1960's, still runs from near Clarence Pier to Ryde, Isle of Wight, operated by Hovertravel.
Local Bus services are provided by First in Hampshire & Dorset and Stagecoach serving the City of Portsmouth and the surroundings of Havant, Leigh Park, Waterlooville, Fareham and long distance service 700 to Chichester, Worthing and Brighton
There are three road links to the mainland. These are the M275, A3 (London Road) and A2030 (Eastern Road).
Portsmouth Continental Ferry Port has links to Caen, Cherbourg, St Malo and Le Havre in France, Bilbao in Spain and the Channel Islands. Ferry services from the port are operated by Brittany Ferries, P&O Ferries, Condor Ferries and LD Lines. From 18 May 2006 Acciona Trasmediterranea will start a service to Bilbao in competition with P&O’s existing service. The port is the second busiest ferry port in the UK after Dover handling around 3 million passengers a year and has direct access to the M275.
The telephone area code for Portsmouth is (023), and was previously (01705), and before that (0705).
Future developments
Image:Portsmouth.naval.750pix.jpg There is an ongoing debate on the development of public transport structure, with monorails and underground trains both being considered. A light rail link to Gosport has been authorised but is unlikely to go ahead due to lack of funding; presently there is a link via passenger ferry.
The Portsmouth Harbour rail & ferry terminal is due a face-lift.
Portsmouth's regeneration is being continued in the city centre with the controversial demolition of the Tricorn Centre, a long abandoned shopping mall and car park, described as a "concrete monstrosity".
The site is due to be transformed by 2010 to include shops, cafés and restaurants, a four-star 150-bed hotel, 200 residential apartments, and a 2,300-space car park.
The rebuilding of Fratton Park, home to Portsmouth Football Club is set to hold 35,000 fans. The stadium will be built to allow Portsmouth to compete successfully in the English Football's Premier League. Along with the stadium, 500 houses will be built in a development called Pompey Village. This is currently at a planning stage.
Lists
Chronology
- 1181 - Establishment of a church.
- 1194 - Portsmouth awarded its 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 Second Barons' War.
- 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 Adam Moleyns 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.
- 1732 - Establishment of Portsmouth Grammar School.
- 1760 - The modern Landport Gate built.
- 1806 - Birth of Isambard Kingdom Brunel in Portsmouth.
- 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 Southampton jurisdiction of the port.
- 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.
- 1966 - Tricorn Centre opened.
- 1966 - HMS Andromeda is the last warship launched at Portsmouth Royal Dockyard.
- 1971 - Portsmouth Airport closes after a series of accidents.
- 1974 - Portsmouth becomes local government district within county of Hampshire.
- 1991 - Portsmouth Cathedral nave completed.
- 1994 - Portsmouth was the start and end point for a stage of the Tour de France.
- 1997 - City of Portsmouth becomes unitary authority.
- 2000 - Portsmouth suffers flooding due to failure of the emergency water drainage system during heavy rainfall.
- 2001 - MyTV (later renamed PortsmouthTV) launches.
- 2002 - Gunwharf Quays opened.
- 2003 - Spinnaker Tower construction begins.
- 2004 - Tricorn Centre demolished, with its last shops closed in 2002.
- 2005 - Spinnaker Tower opened on October 18.
Famous residents
- Admiral George Anson
- Sir Francis Austen (Brother of Jane Austen)
- Henry Ayres (former premier of Australia)
- Walter Besant was born in Portsmouth
- Roger Black (Olympic medalist) was born in Portsmouth
- Isambard Kingdom Brunel was born in Portsmouth
- James Callaghan (former British prime minister) was born in Portsmouth
- Charles Dickens was born in Portsmouth
- Arthur Conan Doyle
- Helen Duncan (last woman charged with witchcraft in the UK)
- Christopher Hitchens was born in Portsmouth
- Brian Howe (vocalist Bad Company) was born in Portsmouth
- Joe Jackson
- Paul Jones (vocalist Manfred Mann)
- Rudyard Kipling
- Alan Pascoe (Olympic medalist) was born in Portsmouth
- Peter Sellers was born in Southsea
- Alison Shaw (vocals, bass) and Jim Shaw (guitar) of the band Cranes
- Nevil Shute (also known as Nevil Shute Norway)
Population
| 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) |
See also
- HMNB Portsmouth
- Southsea
- El Ferrol Spanish Armada (1588)
External links
- List of all Southern Rowing Clubs
- University of Portsmouth Rowing Club - UPRC
- Portsmouth City Council
- University of Portsmouth
- Southsea Rowing Club
- Portsmouth International Folk Dancing
- Portsmouth Football Club
- Newcomers Guide To Portsmouth
- Portsmouth City Guide
- Portsmouth Records Office
- Portsmouth Virtual Tour
- City Growth Portsmouth
- Chat portal for Portsmouth students
- Portsmouth Directory
- Collecting Old Postcard images of Portsmouth
- City of Portsmouth Unit of the Maritime Volunteer Service
- List of blogs in Portsmouth and the surrounding areas
History
- Timeline
- http://homepage.ntlworld.com/stephen.pomeroy/local/local.htm
- http://www.portsdown.demon.co.uk/
- http://www.portsmouth.history.cwc.net/
- http://www.envf.port.ac.uk/geo/research/portsmouth/
- http://www.palmerstonforts.org.uk/
Media
- 107.4 The Quay (local radio station)
- The News (local newspaper)
- BBC Hampshire website
- PURE:FM (local student-orientated radio station)
Museums
- http://www.maryrose.org/
- http://www.flagship.org.uk/
- http://www.portsmouthnaturalhistory.co.uk/
- http://www.portsmouthcitymuseums.co.uk/
- http://www.southseacastle.co.uk/
- http://www.charlesdickensbirthplace.co.uk/
- http://www.ddaymuseum.co.uk/
Transport
- Portsmouth bus services
- [1]
- SWT train series from Portsmouth
- Southern train services from Portsmouth
- First Great Western services from Portsmouth
- Wightlink Portsmouth - Isle of Wight ferry services
- Brittany Ferries to Caen, Cherbourg and St Malo from Portsmouth
- LD Lines ferry services to Le Havre
- P&O Ferries service to Bilbao
- Ferry service to the Channel Islands
- Acciona Trasmediterranea service to Bilbao
- Multimap
Webcams
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