Descriptive Gazetteer Entry for PORTSEA

PORTSEA, a town, a parish, a sub-district, and a district, in Hants. The town stands on Portsea island, immediately N of Portsmouth town, and contiguous on the E to Land port suburb; is bounded, on the E, by strongramparts, on the N and the W, by Portsmouth harbour; is divided from Portsmouth by a creek, with communicating bridge; has separate ramparts from those of Portsmonth, but connected with them by an extensive ravelinat the head of the dividing creek; was originally called Portsmouth Common, and did not acquire the name of Portsea till 1792; was allowed to be erected, at first, on the express condition that the houses should be throwndown on the landing of an enemy; began soon to sharein the characteristics of Portsmouth, its trade, its commerce, its fortifications, and its government works; rosethence into much prosperity; is now occupied, to theextent of more than one-third of its area, by the naval dock-yard; has a principal street, called Queen-street, about ½ a mile in length; presents, on the whole, acrowded, mean, and dingy appearance; contains a number of public edifices, serving for Portsmouth and thesuburbs as well as for itself; enjoys ready access to thetermini of the Portsmouth railway s; and has a post-office† under Portsmouth.

The ramparts were begun in 1770; were about ¾ of a mile long; had ditches, outworks, and 5 bastions; werepierced with the Lion and the Unicorn gates; and wererazed in 1868. The gun-wharf barracks were constructed for the royal marine artillery; are now occupied by the royal artillery; and, at the census of 1861, had 455 inmates. The Anglesey barracks are a vastrange of building, with the figure of a lion over thesummit; form a fine specimen of military architecture; and, at the census of 1861, had 1,097 inmates. The convict prison also is a vast pile; and, at the census of 1861, had 1,015 inmates. The gun wharf occupies anarea of 14 acres; comprises a large open space, with arrangements of guns, mortars, cannon, shot, and shells; and includes an armoury with 25,000 stand of smallarms, a factory for the making and repair of war-materials, and well-arranged storehouses filled with thevarious munitions of war, and forming a conspicuousedifice with a clock-turret. The dock-yard occupies anarea of 118½ acres; has acquired its present extent by enlargements at various periods; suffered great injuryfrom fires in 1760, 1770, 1776, and 1860; includes a basin of 2½ acres, nine docks of from 223 to 295 feet inlength, five building-slips covering, with their appurtenances, about 15 acres, and a steam-basin 900 feet long and 400 feet wide; contains mast-house, new boat-house, ropery, tarring-house, anchor-rack, steam-factory, foundry, smithery, guard-house, pay-office, muster-house, Port-Admiral's residence, a row of well-built residences of the principal officers, a statue of William III., a church in the Venetian style erected in 1785, and the royal naval college, a handsome edifice in the form of the letter H, founded by George II. for 70 students, much improved in the time of George III., and re-opened on thebasis of a new constitution in 1838. Nearly 6,000 work-men have been simultaneously employed in the dock-yard in times of war; and upwards of 2,000 in times ofpeace.

The sailors' home stands at the end of Queen-street;was built by subscription; is an asylum for sailors of theroyal navy and other sailors, when on shore; and, at the census of 1861, had 89 inmates. The seamen and marines' orphan school stands in the centre of a row ofhandsome buildings, called the Esplanade; and gives industrial training to about 60 boys and 35 girls. The military hospital is in the same locality; serves for sick and wounded soldiers; and, at the census of 1861, had271 inmates. The athenæum stands in Bishop-street; was originally established in 1825, at the old town hall in Portsmouth; was re-established in 1841, in itspresent position; and contains a good lecture-room, a good library, and a laboratory. The parish churchor St. Mary's, is in Kingston; was erected in the time of Edward I.; and, excepting the tower, was rebuilt.in 1847-8. The churchyard-around it comprises 8acres, and contains the remains of some of the crew of the Royal George, lost at Spithead in 1782. The newcemetery comprises about 16 acres; adjoins an extensiveplot, which can be added to it when required; containstwo neat chapels; and is ornamentally laid out. St.George's church stands at the W end of St. George's-square; was built in 1753; and is a brick structure, 64feet square. St., John's church stands in Prince George's-street; was built in 1789; has a good front, with large Venetian window; and is fitted interiorly in florid Venetian style. Trinity church stands in North-street. The Independent chapel in King-street is a spacious edifice, with about 2,000 sittings. Baptist chapels are in Kent-street and Whites-row; a Wesleyan chapel, in Daniel-street; and a Brethren's chapel, in Hay-street. The Roman Catholic chapel, in Prince George's-street, is a neat edifice, and has a fine altar-piece by Sir R. Kerr Porter. There are several public schools, an hospital, adispensary, an eye and ear infirmary, a female penitentiary, and charities £570. The town derives its mainprosperity from the government works, and from thetrade and commerce of Portsmouth; has large breweries, and three banking offices; and publishes two weeklynewspapers. Pop. in 1851, 17, 698; in 1861, 19, 938. Houses, 2, 654.

The parish contains also the suburbs of Landport and Southsea, and the hamlet of Copnor. Acres, 6, 891; of which 1, 968 are water. Real property in 1860, £188, 788; of which £3, 554 were in gas-works. Pop. in 1851, 61, 767; in 1861, 83, 966. Houses, 14, 700. The manor was given, by Queen Ethelfleda, to Winchester college. The ecclesiastical arrangement cuts the parish into the ten sections of St. Mary, St. George, St. John, Trinity, Southsea, St. Paul, Southsea, St. Jude, Land port, St. Luke, Land port-All Saints, Milton, St. James, and Havelock-Park, St. Bartholomew; and there is a temporary church of St. Simon, annexed to the charge of St. Jude. The living of St. Mary is a vicarage, and the other livings are p. curacies, in the diocese of Winchester. Value of St. Mary, £696; * of St. George, £45; * of St. John, Trinity, and St. Luke, each £300; * of St. Paul, £150; of St. Jude, £650; * of All Saints, £301; of St. James, £100; * of St. Bartholomew, not reported.* Patron of St. Mary, Winchester College; of St. George, Trinity, St. Paul, All Saints, and St. James, the Vicar of Portsea; of St. John, Five Trustees; of St. Luke and St. Bartholomew, the Bishop of Winchester; of St. Jude, the Executors of the late T. E. Owen, Esq.

The sub-district comprises Portsea town and a pen-dicle of Portsmouth parish. Pop. in 1851, 17, 735; in 1861, 19, 967. Houses, 2, 662. The district comprehends also the sub-district of Portsmouth town, conterminate with that town; the sub-district of Land port, containing the Land port and Southsea portions of Portsea parish; and the sub-district of Kingston, containing the parts of Portsea parish not in the other sub-districts, a small part of Portsmouth parish, and the extra-parochial tract of Great Salterns. The district is conterminate with Portsea island, and bears its name. The island is enclosed by Langstone harbour on the E, Spithead-road on the S, Portsmouth harbour on the E, and a creek extending from Portsmouth harbour to Langstoneharbour on the N; has an irregularly oval outline, with the longer axis extending from N by E to S by W; is alla flat tract, indebted for its insularity as much to mudas to water; was naturally engirt, except on the beach, by mud and marsh; and is accessible by land only by anarrow roadway over the N creek at Hilsea. The creekis of various width, but in some places not many yardswide; is so muddy as to be more difficult to cross at lowwater than at high water; and is called the Portsbridgecanal. The entire island is defended by fortifications, noticed in the article Portsmouth and in other articles. The district or island comprises 5, 568 acres of land, and 2, 238 of water or foreshore. Poor-rates in 1863, £47, 336. Pop. in 1861, 72, 126; in 1861, 94, 828. Houses, 15, 823. Marriages in 1863, 1,082; births, 3, 560, of which 159were illegitimate; deaths, 1, 954, of which 855 were at ages under 5 years, and 46 at ages above 85. Marriagesin the ten years 1851-60, 8, 950; births, 28, 407; deaths, 19,017. The places of worship, in 1851, were 12 of the Church of England, with 12, 230 sittings; 6 of Independents, with 4, 563 s.; 11 of Baptists, with 3, 770 s.; 1 of Unitarians, with 600 s.; 6 of Wesleyans, with 2, 901 s.; 1 of Primitive Methodists, with 240 s.; 2 of Bible Christians, with 558 s.; 1 of Brethren, with 100 s.; 1undefined, with 40 s.; 1 of Latter Day Saints, with 250s.; 1 of Roman Catholics, with 601 s.; and 1 of Jews, with 160 s. The schools were 32 public day-schools, with 4, 585 scholars; 234 private day-schools, with 4, 929s.; 31 Sunday schools, with 4, 625 s.; and 7 eveningschools for adults, with 253 s. The workhouse is in Kingston sub-district; and, at the census of 1861, had1, 174 inmates.


(John Marius Wilson, Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales (1870-72))

Linked entities:
Feature Description: "a town, a parish, a sub-district, and a district"   (ADL Feature Type: "cities")
Administrative units: Portsea CP/AP       Hampshire AncC
Place names: PORTSEA     |     PORTSMOUTH COMMON
Place: Portsea

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