The Strongest Fortified Town in England

‘Portsmouth, the strongest fortified town in England, … Ramparts, bastions, moats, drawbridges, intersect and encircle the whole in a manner peculiarly perplexing to the professional eye. May they prove as difficult of comprehension to an enemy, if England’s first line of defence should ever fail her! Let us now return to the town, but not wander through its streets for any length of time. With the exception of the High Street they are mostly narrow, miry, and squalid; crowded with small beer-shops and public houses; and always thronged by soldiers, seamen and marines. The streets and open places, the buildings and visible objects generally, are not such as to induce one to linger amongst them.’ Taken from Black’s Guide to Hampshire 1885