Portsmouth
Portsmouth Harbour 1782
The artist Dominic Serres painted the scene at Portsmouth Harbour in 1782 as HMS Foudroyant and Pegase come into the harbour after their battle in the English Channel.
Read MorePortchester Castle As A Prison
Portchester Castle has undertaken many roles in its 1500 year history but none more colourful than when, in the C18th, it held prisoners of war.
Read MoreBuilding the Mary Rose
The Mary Rose was built in the great dock in Portsmouth that King Henry VII had constructed. She was King Henry VIII’s flagship until that fateful day in July 1545 when she heeled over and sank quickly in sight of her King
Read MoreCowdray Engravings of Portsmouth
The Cowdray Engravings reveal great detail of King Henry VIII’s French campaign and the sinking of the Mary Rose but it is the work done by a team from the Geography department of the University of Portsmouth that has revealed even more
Read MoreThe Roanoke Voyages and Portsmouth 1587
In 1587 a ship left the Portsmouth bound for the New World. They would be the amongst the first colonists of Roanoke Island, the ‘lost colony’.
Read MorePortsmouth and King Charles I
What is the connection between Prince Charles (later King Charles I) and Portsmouth?
Read MoreThe Port of Portsmouth Hampshire
Why did Portsmouth become the home of England’s Royal Navy, it had an inauspicious start as a swampy disease ridden island but it grew into an important first line defence against French invasions
Read MoreLandport Gate and Area 1760
The iconic Landport Gate in Portsmouth This gate maybe attributed to a design by Nicholas Hawksmoor, it is the Landport gate that formed part of the old Portsmouth defences. Thae “Land Port” gate still stands as the gateway to the dockyard and it was named thus and then attributed to the surrounding area around 1831,…
Read MoreSamuel Pepys and the Commissioner of The Dockyard Portsmouth 1665
This snippet relates to correspondence written by Thomas Middleton in 1665 (the time Of Newton) regarding the lack of seamen to man the ships in Portsmouth, as with many correspondents throughout the ages Mr Middleton appeared to actively dislike Portsmouth… “For my part to you as a frinde I declayre I intend not to make…
Read MoreSouthsea Castle and The Battle of the Solent
Southsea Castle owes its existence to the French and King Henry VIII, as he set about building a series of fortifications to defend the southern coasts
Read MoreKing Arthur, Gereint ab Erbin and Portsmouth
What is the possible link between Portsmouth and a character from Arthurian legends Gerren, leader of the Dumnonia?
Read MoreFort Cumberland Bombed 1940
Fort Cumberland has stood sentinel at the entrance to Langstone Harbour for 150 years but in 1940 it was heavily bombed. A fascinating map showing the exact location of the dropped bombs shows the extent of the German attack on this fortification.
Read MoreDesmaretz Map Portsmouth 1744
Demaretz was an engineer and map maker who spent most of his career fortifying the south east coast of England
Read MoreAntarctic Expeditions and the Hampshire Connection
Hampshire had strong connections with the heroic expeditions to the Antarctic in the early C20th with William Lashley, one of the most stoical and steady hands of the Terra Nova expedition from the village of Hambledon
Read MoreCharles Dickens in Portsmouth
John Dickens brought his family to Portsmouth where he worked in the Dockyard for the Navy Pay Office. Charles Dickens was born in Portsmouth in 1812.
Read MoreRoyal Garrison Church Portsmouth
The Royal Garrison Church in Portsmouth is the oldest garrison church in the world but it started life as the ‘Domus Dei’, a place of respite for those on pilgrimage and a hospital for the local old and needy.
Read MoreMurder of Duke of Buckingham
The Duke of Buckingham was murdered in Portsmouth on a fine Summer’s morning in 1628
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