Return of the First Settlers

In 1586 Sir Fancis Drake sailed into Portsmouth carrying home the disillusioned settlers from Sir Walter Raleigh's first settlement to Virginia. Their leader, Ralph Lane, is credited with bringing potatoes and tobacco into the Town. Lane and his crew smoked the tobacco to the wonder of the local inhabitants. The collections of the Portsmouth Museum Service include a pipe from this date possibly manufactured at nearby Oyster Street where archeological excavations have discovered one of the earliest pipe manufacturers in the country. To find out more about this ill fated colony: http://www.btinternet.com/~richard.towers/jim/raleigh1.html Ralph Lane was knighted and in 1588 appointed Captain of Southsea Castle.

Preparations for the Spanish Armada

The Earl of Sussex, the Governor of Portsmouth in 1588, was very concerned about the threat of invasion by the Spanish Armada. He had good cause. A pilot’s survey used by the Spanish gave detailed information about the depth of the water at the harbour entrance and stated, ‘Between the two ports (Portsmouth and Southampton) there is a very fine bay where one can cast anchor at all winds apart from the South West.’ This referred to Stokes Bay. Fire beacons were lit on Southsea Castle, St Thomas’s tower and the Isle of Wight. Thousands of part time local militia men mustered to ward off any invasion. These men, although loyal and courageous, would have been ill equipped and poorly trained to against the professional Spanish army. Probably fortunately, they were never tested as the magnificent Armada sailed on by heading for Flanders, and the danger passed.