Portsea Island
Portsea Island is a flat, low-lying island measuring in area, just off the southern coast of England. The island is located within the traditional and ceremonial county of Hampshire and contains the vast majority of the city of Portsmouth.
Portsea Island has the third-largest population of all the islands in the British Isles after the mainlands of Great Britain and Ireland; it also has the highest population density.
To the east of Portsea Island lies Hayling Island, separated by Langstone Harbour. To the west is the peninsular mainland town of Gosport, separated by Portsmouth Harbour. To the south, it faces into the Spithead area of the wider Solent. A narrow tidal channel along the northern edge of Portsea Island, known as Portsbridge Creek, separates Portsea Island from the mainland.
Three main road bridges connect the island to the mainland road network. There is also a minor pedestrian and bicycle bridge at Hilsea Lines. In Portsmouth Harbour, a road bridge connects Portsea Island to Whale Island, a restricted Royal Navy shorebase establishment.
Portsea Island has four railway stations connected by an island branchline to the mainland railway network via a short railway bridge at Portsbridge Creek. In addition there are ferry services to Gosport, Hayling Island and the Isle of Wight. There are also ferries to the Channel Islands, northern France and northern Spain.
Portsea Island gives its name to a relatively commercial and historic neighbourhood of Portsmouth known as Portsea, which has had variable use in local government but has long been a parish of the island.
History
Two Bronze Age hoards and a hoard of Roman coins have been found on the island. In 979 AD the island was raided by Danes. At the time of the Domesday Book 3 manors were recorded as being on the island.Localities (A-Z)
Anchorage Park
A modern development adjoined by one of the island's largest green buffers consisting allotments, the sports fields of a Portsmouth Academy and Great Salterns Golf Course, Anchorage Park occupies a north-eastern portion of the island. Anchorage Park was formerly the location of Portsmouth Airport, which closed in 1973.Baffins
Adjoining the eastern green belt, this extends into the heart of the Baffins neighbourhood which has a large pond and the grounds of Portsmouth College.Buckland
Buckland is a central neighbourhood at the heart of the island, directly south of Kingston and north-east of Landport.Copnor
Copnor is an area on the eastern side of Portsea Island. As Copenore, it was one of the three villages listed as being on Portsea Island in the Domesday book.In the late 19th and early 20th century the rapid expansion of Portsmouth saw the original village engulfed. The west of the district is now a predominantly residential area of 1930s housing, while the east is an industrial and commercial area.
It was originally intended to have a railway station; the intermediate station between Havant and Portsmouth Town stations when the line opened. However, this never materialised, in spite of the large gap between stations, and the existence of a signalled level crossing for many years. A "Station Road" was laid out, and still exists, however construction on the station never began.
Eastney
Fronting the beach along the southern shore is the promenade road of Eastney, which includes is punctuated by three forts, small Eastney Fort West, Eastney Fort East and large Fort Cumberland, which occupies a modest peninsula. Eastney is the most south-eastern area of Portsea island and forms part of the entrance into Langstone Harbour. Eastney offers a marina and also a foot-passenger ferry service across Langstone Harbour to neighbouring Hayling Island.Eastney Lake, a natural tidal inlet of Langstone Harbour is located on the northern side of the Eastney peninsular, with Milton on the opposite northern side of Eastney Lake. A small enclosed lagoon nicknamed 'The Glory Hole' is located on the southern side of Eastney Lake, and is refilled with Langstone Harbour's salt-water on high spring tides. Eastney Lake is also known by locals as 'Eastney Creek' or 'The Creek'.
Fratton
Fratton is a residential and light industrial area of Portsmouth. It consists mostly of Victorian terraced houses, and is typical of the residential areas in the city. There is also a modest shopping centre on Fratton Road, The Bridge Centre, built on the site of a large former Co-op department store, now dominated by a large Asda supermarket, which reflects the working-class naval and industrial heritage of the Fratton district, with localised rather than centralised low-budget shops and cafés.Fratton railway station is one of four stations remaining on Portsea Island and forms part of the Portsmouth Direct line. To the east of Fratton railway station there is Fratton Traincare Depot, a train maintenance depot. The large former Fratton railway goods yard was cleared in the late 1990s and early 2000s, making way for a retail park.
Gunwharf
Gunwharf is a modern retail and residential district of Portsmouth that was previously known as, the Royal Navy torpedo school and a 'stone frigate' shore establishment, before its closure and redevelopment in the late 1990s.Her Majesty's Naval Base, Portsmouth
Hilsea
Hilsea is the north-western district of the city, with a mixture of residential and industrial/retail/distribution areas. It is home to one of Portsmouth's main sports and leisure facilities, the Mountbatten Centre and Trafalgar School. Among its small green belt to the north and west is Portsmouth rugby football club.Kingston
This small central, typical, terraced district of the city has a few high-rise developments and is entirely residential.Landport
Residential parts of Landport are separated from its trade and distribution premises alongside its Albert Johnson Quay by the M275/A3 where the roads change designation. In the westernmost street of this residential side is a large old listed horse trough and row of listed four homes, the Charles Dickens Birthplace Museum in his birthplace home, and Mile End Chapel.Milton
Milton is a suburban residential district of the city of Portsmouth with two large public parks, named Milton Park and Bransbury Park, which were both once farms. Milton is located on the south eastern side of Portsea Island and is bordered on the east by Langstone Harbour. Eastney lies to the south, Southsea to the south west, Baffins to the north and Fratton to the west. Milton was originally a small farming village on Portsea Island, surrounded by farmland until it was swallowed up by city expansion in the early years of the 20th century. Portsmouth Football Club's Fratton Park stadium, despite its name, was built on land purchased from Milton Farm and is still located in the Milton Ward area of Portsmouth, south of the city's railway line, the boundary of the neighbouring Fratton Ward area.North End
North End is a mainly residential area to the centre-north of the island. Its name reflects its origin as a northern expansion of the village of Kingston, forming the "northern end" of Kingston.Old Portsmouth
Old Portsmouth lies on the south west corner of Portsea Island and forms the eastern side of the narrow entrance to Portsmouth Harbour at the ports mouth. Old Portsmouth contains most of the traditional High Street and heritage of the original old town of Portsmouth, including Portsmouth Point and the Camber Dock.Portsea
Portsea is a parish of the city of Portsmouth, occupying much of the south-west area around the naval base and gives Portsea island its name. In its past, Portsea was a separate settlement to the north of the town of Portsmouth before being integrated into the larger city of Portsmouth in 1926.Engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel was born in Britain Street in 1806; and the professor William Garnett was born in Portsea on 30 December 1850.
The area was originally known as the "Common" and lay between the town of Portsmouth and the nearby dockyard. The Common started to be developed at the end of the 17th century as a response to overcrowding within the walls of the old town. This development worried the governor of the dockyard, as he feared that the new buildings would provide cover for any forces attempting to attack. In 1703, he threatened to demolish any buildings within range of the cannons mounted on the dockyard walls. However, after a petition to Queen Anne, royal consent for the development was granted in 1704. In 1792 the name of the area was changed from the Common to Portsea, and by then it had a mixed dockside population.
William Tucker, baptised there in 1784, was convicted of shoplifting from a Portsea tailor, William Wilday, in 1798 and transported to New South Wales on the "death ship" Hillsborough which took convicts and typhus with it from Portsmouth to the colony. Tucker escaped and made it all the way back to Britain in 1803, only to be taken to Portsmouth for re-embarkation to Australia. He was later a sealer, established the retail trade in preserved Maori heads and settled in Otago, New Zealand where he became that country's first art dealer before falling victim to his hosts in 1817 and being eaten. The novelist Sarah Doudney was born in Portsea on 15 January 1841.
Hertha Ayrton, British engineer, mathematician, physicist and inventor, was born there in 1854.
By the start of the 20th century, Portsmouth council had started to clear much of the slum housing in Portsea. The city's first council houses were built in the district in 1911. The 1920s and 1930s saw extensive redevelopment of the area, with many of the older slums being replaced by new council houses.
The area's proximity to the dockyard resulted in its taking massive bomb damage during World War II. After the war the area was redeveloped as all council housing, in a mixture of houses, maisonettes and tower blocks.
Rudmore
Rudmore is the name of a former residential district on the western side of Portsea Island near to the naval base and the present-day Portsmouth International Port. Rudmore was heavily bombed during World War II and was reduced to rubble. After the war, Rudmore was cleared to make way for the M275 motorway spur and the intersection junction now known as the "Rudmore Roundabout".Somerstown
Somerstown is an inner city residential district of Portsmouth that was first founded in the early nineteenth century on land owned by a Mr. Somers, in whose name the district is now named.Southsea
Southsea occupies the southern end of Portsea Island, within a mile of Portsmouth's city centre and Portsmouth Harbour. Originally named Croxton Town after the land owner, a Mr. Croxton, Southsea grew into a popular Victorian seaside resort in the nineteenth century. Southsea has a thriving commercial area which includes two national department stores and many other well-known high street chains. It combines these large stores with numerous independent traders which includes charity shops, food retailers and furniture/household goods shops. From 1999, Southsea had its own separate town council, but was reintegrated back into Portsmouth City Council in 2010.From 1885, Southsea had its own railway branch line, named the Southsea Railway. The Southsea Railway incorporated three stations at Jessie Road Bridge Halt, Albert Road Bridge Halt and a terminus station called East Southsea at Granada Road. The railway line ran south off a branch line from Platform 3 at Fratton Station. The Southsea Railway was closed in 1914 due to economic competition from trams. Railway track and stations were subsequently removed and replaced with roads and housing. On a modern map of Portsmouth, the route of the Southsea Railway can still clearly be seen from the arrangement of the newer housing and roads which replaced it.
Stamshaw
This residential area of terraced streets includes Alexandra Park, and the Mountbatten Sports Centre. To the north lie Tipner and Hilsea, and to the south are Kingston, Buckland and Commercial Road, the main retail area of the city. Stamshaw is bounded to its west by the M275 motorway and Whale Island, and to the east is North End. The main thoroughfares of Stamshaw, Twyford Avenue and Stamshaw Road, are two axes of a one-way traffic system.An infant and junior school serve it. Its park adjoining the feeder road terminating at the city centre has large fields and an adventure playground.