Southsea Common

Southsea Common was originally known as Froddington Heath. The earliest records show this area under the control of the Domus Dei, a religious institution on the site of today's Garrison Church. After the Dissolution, it was granted to the Leeke family, Lords of the Manor, who were paid £5,000 by the Government when when they took it over for military use in 1785. When no longer strategically important, in 1922, the local council brought it, also paying £5,000 to Mr Leeke for outstanding manorial rights. It briefly reverted to the army during World War II and the Common remains an extraordinary freely accessible recreational facility for people of Portsmouth today.