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History of Portsmouth

Portsmouth is an island port city situated on Portsea Island in the county of Hampshire, England. Its history has been influenced by its association with the sea, and its proximity to London, and mainland Europe.

Roman[edit]

Portus Adurni which later became known as Portchester Castle, was one of the Saxon Shore forts and was a major base of the Classis Britannica and possibly its Headquarters.

Pre-Norman[edit]

Although there have been settlements in the area since before Roman times, mostly being offshoots of Portchester, Portsmouth is commonly regarded as having been founded in 1180 by John of Gisors (Jean de Gisors). Most early records of Portsmouth are thought to have been destroyed by Norman invaders following the Norman Conquest. The earliest detailed references to Portsmouth can be found in the Southwick Cartularies.[1]


However, the Oxford Dictionary of British Place Names gives the Anglo-Saxon name "Portesmūða" as late as the 9th century, meaning "mouth [of the harbour called] Portus" (from Latin). In Anglo-Saxon times a folk etymology "[harbour] mouth belonging to a man called Port" arose, which caused a statement in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle that in 501 AD "Port and his 2 sons, Bieda and Mægla, came with 2 ships to Britain at the place which is called Portsmouth". It has been suggested that this is more likely to refer to the area around Portchester.[1]

Medieval[edit]

Norman[edit]

In the Domesday Book there is no mention of Portsmouth. However, settlements that later went on to form part of Portsmouth are listed. These are Buckland, Copnor, Fratton on Portsea Island and Cosham, Wymering and Drayton on the mainland. At this time it is estimated the Portsmouth area had a population not greater than two or three hundred.


While in the primary diocese of Portsea there was a small church prior to 1166 (now St Mary's in Fratton) Portsmouth's first real church came into being in 1181 when John of Gisors granted an acre (4,000 m2) of land to Augustinian monks at the Southwick Priory to build a chapel dedicated to Thomas Becket. This chapel continued to be run by the monks of Southwick Priory until the Reformation after which its possession was transferred to Winchester College. The modern Portsmouth Anglican Cathedral is built on the original location of the chapel.[1] The original grant referred to the area as Sudewde however a later grant a few years later used the name Portsmouth.[1]

Growth of the city[edit]

In 1194, after he returned from being held captive by Duke Leopold V of Austria, King Richard I (The Lionheart) set about summoning a fleet and an army to Portsmouth, which he had taken over from John of Gisors.[2] On 2 May 1194 the king gave Portsmouth its first royal charter granting permission for the city to hold a fifteen-day annual fair (which became known as the Free Market Fair), weekly markets (on Thursdays), to set up a local court to deal with minor matters,[2] and exemption from paying the annual tax ("farm") of £18 a year—instead the money would be used for local matters. The actual physical charter was handed over by the Bishop of Ely William de Longchamps.[2] The present location of the charter is currently unknown but its text survives, as when later royal charters were granted to the city reaffirming and extending its privileges large parts of the original charter were quoted verbatim.


As a crescent and an eight-point star (as appear on the city's coat of arms) were to be found on both the seals of King Richard and William de Longchamps it is commonly thought that this may have been the source of them, although there is no known documentary evidence for this.


King Richard later went on to build a number of houses and a hall in Portsmouth.[3] The hall is thought to have been at the current location of the Clarence Barracks (the area was previously known as Kingshall Green).


In 1200 King John issued another charter to Portsmouth reaffirming the rights and privileges awarded by King Richard.[3] Acquiring this second charter cost Portsmouth ten marks and a type of riding horse known as a Palfrey.[3] King John's desire to invade Normandy resulted in the establishment of Portsmouth as a permanent naval base.[4]


In 1212 William of Wrotham (Archdeacon of Taunton, Keeper of the King's Ships) started constructing the first docks of Portsmouth. At about the same time Pierre des Roches, Bishop of Winchester, founded Domus Dei (Hospital of St Nicholas) which performed its duties as an almshouse and hospice until 1540 when like other religious buildings it was seized by King Henry VIII.


During the 13th century, Portsmouth was commonly used by King Henry III and Edward I as a base for attacks against France.


In 1265, the city was on the receiving end of a serious raid by the Barons of the Cinque Ports.[5] After scattering the defenders, they seized various ships and cargo and burned the town.[5]


By the 14th century, commercial interests had grown considerably, despite rivalry with the dockyard of nearby Southampton. Common imports included wool, grain, wheat, woad, wax and iron, however the port's largest trade was in wine from Bayonne and Bordeaux.

14th century[edit]

In 1313, the town received a charter from Edward II.[6] This is the oldest of the city's charters that is known to have survived.[6]


In 1338, a French fleet led by Nicholas Béhuchet arrived at Portsmouth docks flying English flags before anyone realised that they were a hostile force. The French burned down most of the buildings in the town; only the local church and Domus Dei survived. The population was subjected to rape and slaughter. As a result of this, King Edward III gave the remaining townsfolk exemption from national taxes so that they could afford to rebuild the town.


Only ten years after this devastation, the town for the first time was struck by the plague known as the Black Death. In order to prevent the regrowth of Portsmouth as a threat, the French again sacked the city in 1369, 1377 and 1380.

15th century[edit]

In 1418, King Henry V ordered a wooden Round Tower be built at the mouth of the harbour, which was completed in 1426.


In 1450, Adam Moleyns Bishop of Chichester was murdered while in Portsmouth.[7]

Stuart period[edit]

During the English Civil War, the city was initially held by the royalist faction before falling to parliament after the Siege of Portsmouth in September 1642.[11]


In 1665, Charles II of England ordered Bernard de Gomme to begin the reconstruction of Portsmouth's fortifications a process which was to take many years.[12]


Portsmouth's overland links to London started to be improved with an early turnpike trust being set up to improve the road where it passed Butser Hill.[13]


In 1714, the crown purchased the two mills at the entrance to the millpond.[10]

1181 – The chapel of is established on the site of the current Portsmouth Cathedral.

Southwick Priory

1194 – 2 May: Portsmouth is awarded its (town status) by Richard I.

royal charter

docks

1256 – Portsmouth is given permission to form a local guild of merchants.

1265 – The town is sacked and burnt during the .

Second Barons' War

1338 – invaders burn down most of the town.

French

1348 – The strikes Portsmouth for the first time.

Black Death

1426 – The , which is Portsmouth's first permanent defensive works, is completed.

Round Tower

1449 – Portsmouth is placed under Greater as a result of the murder of Adam Moleyns, Bishop of Chichester.

Excommunication

1729 – The is established.

Royal Naval Academy

1732 – is established.

Portsmouth Grammar School

1747 – is built in Eastney.

Fort Cumberland

1753 – in Virginia is founded.

Portsmouth

1760 – The modern is built.

Landport Gate

1787 – The of ships depart from Portsmouth bound for Australia.

First Fleet

1805 – Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson sails from Portsmouth for the Battle of Trafalgar on HMS Victory, where he dies in battle.

Vice-Admiral

1806 – The engineer is born in Portsmouth.

Isambard Kingdom Brunel

1809 – The development of begins.

Southsea

1811 – Piped water is introduced in Portsmouth.

1812 – The author is born in Landport.

Charles Dickens

1820 to 1823 - The Little Morass marsh near Old Portsmouth is drained.

1823 – The is completed, but then it closes in 1827 after being used for only 4 years due to a lack of use.

Portsmouth and Arundel Canal

1831? – is laid out.

Southsea Common

1834 – Portsmouth is hit by an earthquake.

1835 – The abolishes Southampton's jurisdiction of the port.

Municipal Corporations Act 1835

1847 – The (L&SWR) opens to Portsmouth station, which then changes its name to Portsmouth & Southsea in 1925.

London and South Western Railway

Portsmouth Corporation Transport

1911 – The National Museum of the Royal Navy and the Royal Naval Museum opens, which later merge and is renamed .

Portsmouth Historic Dockyard

Labour

1916 - Portsmouth experiences its first aerial bombardment when a airship bombed it during World War I.

Zeppelin

1918 – Southsea Lifeboat Station closes.

HMS Victory

1924 – 15 October: The is unveiled by Albert, Duke of York (Later George VI) to commemorate the 24,591 seamen who died during the 1st World War. This was then extended to commemorate the seamen who died during the 2nd World War, which was unveiled by the Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother, on 29 April 1953.

Portsmouth Naval Memorial

Peter Sellers

1926 – 21 April: Portsmouth is elevated to city status.

1927 – The parish church of St Thomas of Canterbury is elevated to the status of Portsmouth Cathedral.

Anglican

1929 – Portsmouth F.C. play in their first , but they lose 2–0 to the Bolton Wanderers.

FA Cup Final

1932 – opens, which then closes in 1971 after a series of accidents.

Portsmouth Airport

1934 – The first operate in Portsmouth.

trolleybuses

1936 – runs the trams for the last time.

Portsmouth Corporation Transport

1939 – Portsmouth F.C. win the for the first time.

FA Cup

1941 – Large areas of the city are destroyed in air raids, which results in the deaths of 930 people. Then in 1944, Southsea Beach and Portsmouth Harbour used as embarkation points for the invasion force.

D-Day landings

1949 – Portsmouth F.C. are crowned as the Champions of England for the first time, and then for the second time in 1950.

Portsmouth Historic Dockyard

HMS Vernon

Spinnaker Tower

2004 – The is demolished after the last shops were closed in 2002.

Tricorn Centre

International Fleet Review

2006 – The launch of marks the return of shipbuilding to the city.

HMS Clyde

2008 – Portsmouth F.C. win the for the second time, but they then enter administration in 2010 due to mounting debts.

FA Cup

2011 – The census taken this year shows that Portsmouth's population density is 11 times greater than that of , making it the most densely populated city in the UK.

London's

2014 – 28 August: , which is the 5th ship and 2nd aircraft carrier to bear the name, is decommissioned in Portsmouth, where she spends the rest of her retirement. Then in 2016, she gets towed away to Turkey, where she's scrapped.

HMS Illustrious (R06)

Ben Ainslie

2016 – Portsmouth's Hot Walls are converted into artist's studios and a cafe after having been abandoned and left empty for a few decades.

World War 2

2018 – Portsmouth's Wightlink terminal undergoes a major upgrade in preparation for the arrival of its newest ship, '', which started service between Portsmouth and Fishbourne on 26 August of that year.

Victoria of Wight

D-Day landings

Quail, Sarah (1994). The Origins of Portsmouth and the First Charter. City of Portsmouth.  0-901559-92-X.

ISBN

Webb, J; Quail, S; Haskell, P; Riley, R (1997). The Spirit of Portsmouth: A history. Phillimore & Co.  0-85033-617-1.

ISBN

, Black's Picturesque Tourist and Road-book of England and Wales (3rd ed.), Edinburgh: Adam and Charles Black, 1853

"Portsmouth"

(1853), "Portsmouth", Official Illustrated Guide to the Brighton and South Coast Railways, London: H.G. Collins

George S. Measom

, Great Britain (4th ed.), Leipsic: Karl Baedeker, 1897, OCLC 6430424

"Portsmouth"

. Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 22 (11th ed.). 1910. p. 132.

"Portsmouth (England)" 

(PDF). Visit Portsmouth. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 October 2005.

"Timeline"

. Archived from the original on 14 May 2007.

"Portsmouth Local History"

. Little Woodham.

"Research"

. Archived from the original on 19 August 2007.

"Portsmouth History"

. Archived from the original on 27 October 2006.

"The Portsmouth Harbour Project"

.

"Palmerston Forts Society"