Portsmouth
Port and administrative centre of Portsmouth City unitary authority in south England, on the peninsula of Portsea Island opposite the Isle of Wight, 118 km/73 mi southwest of London; population (2001) 187,050. Famed for its naval history, some naval facilities remain despite the closure of the dockyard in 1981. It is also a ferry port, with links to the Channel Islands, France, and the Isle of Wight. Industries are based around high technology and manufacturing, including aircraft engineering, electronics, and shipbuilding and maintenance.
History
Portsmouth was a port by the 9th century, but was formally founded in 1170 when wealthy landowner and merchant Jean de Gisors was attracted to the area by the natural harbour and the possibilities for trade. A planned town, the medieval gridded street pattern remains. However, de Gisors supported an unsuccessful rebellion against Richard I and, as punishment, had his land confiscated. Richard recognized the town's strategic importance, and continued the creation of a settlement on Portsea Island; he also granted the town its first charter. By the beginning of the 13th century Portsmouth had become an important naval station, and the docks were fortified. In 1585 adventurer Walter
Raleigh berthed in the town with the first tobacco, potatoes, and oranges ever seen in England. George Villiers, 1st Duke of
Buckingham was assassinated in Portsmouth in 1628. The marriage of Charles II with Catherine of Braganza took place here in 1662. The port was the first embarkation point for the convicts who were transported to Australia in 1787. Admiral Horatio
Nelson and his fleet departed for Cape Trafalgar, Spain, from Portsmouth in 1805. Because of Portsmouth's naval importance it was a major military target during World War II, and of the 70,000 buildings there at the time 65,000 suffered some damage in air raids, of which 6,650 were totally destroyed. However, Portsmouth was still a principal embarkation point in the
D-day Normandy invasions.
Features Portsmouth was made a city in 1926 and now includes Landport, Portsea, Southsea, Cosham, Paulsgrove, and Farlington. The harbour itself has a narrow entrance, but expands into a basin 6 km/4 mi by 3 km/2 mi. The Tudor warship Mary Rose and Admiral Nelson's flagship HMS Victory are exhibited here, and the Historic Ships complex includes HMS Warrior (1860), which was Britain's |
| first armoured battleship. In 1545 the English fleet assembled at Portsmouth prior to the naval engagement with the French off Spithead, and the flagship Mary Rose sank with the loss of several hundred men. The Royal Naval Museum illustrates naval history from the 16th century onwards. Near the museum is the Double Ropehouse, which was the longest building in the world when it was completed in 1776. Novelist Charles Dickens was born here, and his birthplace now houses a museum. Nearby, Porchester Castle is the site of a 3rd-century Roman fort. There is also a chain-link sculpture, The Australian Settlers Memorial, which commemorates the departure of the first convict ships to Australia. The world's first dry dock was constructed in Portsmouth in 1495. At nearby Gosport, a Living History Village depicts village life in 17th-century England. Portsmouth University (formerly Portsmouth Polytechnic) was established in 1992. |
| To re-develop the harbour, a Millennium project at Gunwharf Quays and Promenade, with a retail, leisure, and residential complex, opened in 2001. |
Portsmouth
| Port in Rockingham County, southeastern New Hampshire, USA, on the estuary of the Piscataqua River; the state's only seaport; population (2000) 20,800. Founded 1623, Portsmouth was the state capital 1679–1775. |
| The nearby US Navy Yard (on Seavy's Island) dates from the 1790s and specializes in submarine construction and maintenance. |
| The John Paul Jones House is here. The treaty ending the Russo-Japanese War was signed here in 1905. |
Portsmouth
| Port and independent city in southeast Virginia, USA, on the Elizabeth River; population (2000) 100,600. Situated near the mouth of Chesapeake Bay, on the southern shore of a natural deepwater harbour, it forms the Port of Hampton Roads together with Newport News and Norfolk, headquarters of the US Navy Atlantic Fleet. It is a US naval training centre and has the largest naval shipbuilding yard in the world. Manufactured goods include electronic equipment, chemicals, clothing, and processed food. |
| Founded in 1752, it was named after Portsmouth in England. Portsmouth's first boatyard was built in 1767, and first US naval shipyard in 1801. The port was a British naval base during the American Revolution. During the Civil War, the Confederates held the shipyard from 1861 to 1862, and converted and armoured the Virginia from a former steamship, the USS Merrimack. It exchanged fire with the Monitor, a Union warship, on March 6 1862 at the historic Battle of Hampton Roads, the first engagement between ironclad battleships. |
| Sites of interest include Trinity Episcopal Church (1762), and the Naval Shipyard Museum. |
