Pesthouse Field

In 1693, prompted by the plague visiting Portsmouth, an isolation hospital was built in one of the communal fields outside the town walls. Henceforth known as Pesthouse Field, in this field the bodies of the many victims were hastily interred. According to William Gates, the graves were so shallow that, ‘they are commonly covered with crows and ravens except when the grave-digger is at work’. This field was situated between Unicorn Road, Commercial Road and the Dockyard wall, an area much in use today.