A Terrible Fire

A terrible fire swept through the huge storehouses near the Camber in 1557.  So great were the losses to the people of Portsmouth that Queen Elizabeth I authorised a nationwide collection for their relief.

The Cenotaph

Portsmouth lost an estimated 6,000 men and women in World War I. A Mayor's appeal was launched to comemorate this loss and as a result the Cenotaph, detailing the names of the local fallen, was unveiled on the 19 October 1921 before a local crowd of 30,000.

 A third of the appeal money was also given to the Royal Hospital for the building of new wards.

Edward IV

In 1475, in the year he declared war on France, Edward IV reviewed 30,000 military troops on Southsea Common.

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.

The Mint

'... in Gold Steet new sovereigns would be tarnished; in Silver Street, silver would rapidly assume the colour of pewter or lead; in Steel Street, steel would be rusted by the noxious vapours arising from accumulations of all kinds of filth and deleterious gases.'

Quoted by J R Martin, 1845

Farlington Marshes

This marshland area on the outskirts of Portsmouth was saved from develoment in 1970 when Portsmouth City Council compulsorily purchased the area for £43,500. It was feared that it may have been sold for development land. Shortly afterwards a lease was given tothe local Wildlife Trust and Farlington has remained one of the most treasured refuges for birds in the country ever since.

The Return of a Warrior

In May 1987 crowds lined the harbour entrance to watch the return of HMS Warrior. She had been based in Portsmouth for most of her life. Being the Royal Navy's first ironclad, she was built in 1860 with revolutionary defensive armour plating. She is reputed to have kept the peace on the seas throughout the Empire without ever firing a shot in anger. In later life she became a torpedo training hulk in Portsmouth Harbour. She was rescued in 1979, and restored at a cost of £7,000,000 before becoming the picturesque toursit attraction she is today.

The Portsmouth and South Hampshire Eye and Ear Infirmary

This hospital, which was situated on the corner of Clarence View and Pembroke Road, was opened in 1884. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, then practising as a doctor in Portsmouth, was instrumental in its establishment. The building was gutted during the Blitz in 1941 and the hospital was moved to temporarily to Liss before returning after the War to Grove Road North. It finally became apart of  Queen Alexandra Hospital in 1971.

Preparations for D Day

‘Police calling… All members of the public must leave sea front and immediate vicinity at once, and those without special permits or temporary passes must go outside the barriers.’

This ban on visiting Southsea seafront was issued on 17 August 1943. Boarding house and hotel keepers had been forewarned by the Police that all guests who were not in the area for an approved purpose must be out by this date, and that no more visitors were to be accepted.

Rebuilding Allocation

Portsmouth’s share of the Government’s allocation of a £4,000,000 fund for the rebuilding of central areas following civic damage in the Blitz was announced in 1950 to be £450,000, less than expected. Of the 18 cities and towns eligible for the monies, only Coventry and Plymouth were granted more. The money was for building and civil engineering works.

Elizabeth I

In 1591 Elizabeth I visited Portsmouth and worshipped in St Thomas's church, now the Cathedral.

Young men sea-bathing

It is .. necessary to caution young men against too frequent sea bathing, and continuing in the water too long: every beneficial purpose is answered by one immersion at a time.

Taken from Lake Allen's History of Portsmouth, 1817

Richard the Lionheart

On 2 May 1194 Richard I gave Portsmouth its first Royal Charter granting permission for the borough to: hold a fifteen day annual "Free Market Fair"; have weekly markets; set up a local court to deal with minor matters; and exemption from paying the government annual tax with the money instead used for local matters.

King Richard later went on to build a number of houses and a hall in Portsmouth. He is known to have spent much time in the new settlement but the whereabouts of his Kings Hall has never been determined for certain. It is thought to have been in the vicinity of the current Grammar School.

The Bonham Carter family

By the middle of the eighteenth century the Carter family were well established in the Portsmouth area. Despite being a non-conformist family they held various local civic offices including burgess, alderman and mayor.

They were a brewers, first appearing in local records when John Carter married a Mary White in 1710. By marriage they later become linked to other local brewing families when their son married Susannah Pike, daughter of William Pike, and a daughter Ann married John Bonham, whose descendants still carry the name Bonham-Carter. They also became relations again through marriage with the Nightingale family of which Florence was a descendant.

There are numerous family papers deposited and freely available to view at the Hampshire Record Office.

William Penn

William Penn, father of William Penn the Quaker founder of Pennsylvania, was made a Burgess of Portsmouth in 1654. He was ‘One of the Admirals and Generals of ye ffleete of this Commonwealth'.

Celebrated Fortifications

 

‘The celebrated fortifications surround the town on the land side, and command the whole island. The ramparts, entered by several handsome gateways, form a semicircular terrace upwards of a mile in length, which is planted with trees, and affords a delightful promenade with varied and extensive views. They are fortified by strong bastions and batteries of heavy ordnance, and still further defended by broad deep ditches. Here are several guard houses in different parts of the town and three regiments of foot constitute the usual garrison.’

 Description of Portsmouth in the Post Office Hampshire Trades’ Directory 1847

Portsmouth children in World War II

Portsmouth suffered very heavy bombardment at the beginning of World War II. The local children spent much of their free time playing on bombsites and many built collections of shrapnel, parachute cord and other debris. Some learnt to swim in bomb craters left in the harbour.

There was a mandatory evacuation of children. They were sent generally to the country side, although some inexplicably went to nearby towns such as Winchester and Bournemouth. They were billeted with strangers. As could be expected, for some it was a wonderful experience, for others completely miserable. The education they received was hit and miss with often small country schools having to accommodate double the number of pupils they were used to.

The vacated buildings in Portsmouth were taken over for the war effort. There was considerable controversy in the City when these buildings weren’t given back immediately. Following agitation by parents, the children were allowed to come home officially in 1946, although many had made their way back before then.

Relief from Cholera

The day of 26 September 1849 was designated in Portsmouth a day of humilation and prayer for relief from the scourge of cholera. The Dockyard and other local businesses were closed for the day while special prayers were said in all the local chapels.

Raging through the summer, at the height of the epidemic mass burials for the victims were being held before 8am in the churchyard of St Thomas's Church, now the cathedral.

The epidemic had run its course by November and on the 15th general celebratory and thanksgiving services were held across the town.

Early Street cleaning

‘That the common gutter and other gutters in the strets of the towne shuld be kept cleane and scowrid evry wyk the Friday nyght begynyng at the uppend fist and so downeward, this order is also not kept, but s’tayne swepe it downe before there neybors dores and so let it ly, and some carie away nothing at all.’
Presentment made in the local Portsmouth court, 1562

An Explosion

‘An explosion has occurred at Gosport. There is no cause for alarm. You are however advised to keep open your windows to avoid damage in the event of further explosions.’

This was broadcast by police cars touring Portsmouth after two huge explosions in Gosport on the evening of 14 July 1950. They had been inundated by 999 calls after six lighters being loaded with depth charges and 1,000 ton bombs blew up at Bedenham Pier. Fortunately there were no fatalities but many of the shops as far away as Commercial and London Roads had their windows blown out.