About Portsmouth

Find out more about Portsmouth

The historical naval port of Portsmouth dates back to 1180, when its believed a merchant, Jean De Gisors, decided it would be an ideal place to start a town due to the sheltered places available to dock ships. By 1185, Portsmouth was a predominant market town, attracting merchants and craftsmen from across the country. The parish church, which later would become known as Portsmouth Cathedral, was also near completion.

By the early 13th Century, Portsmouth was one of the most important ports in the United Kingdom, dealing with exports of wool and grain and imports of wine, woad for dyeing, iron and wax. The docklands was also a place where from the beginning of the 14th century royal warships were built or repaired. It wasn’t too long before Portsmouth became one of the most important naval ports in the country.

During the rein of Henry VIII, Southsea Castle was built in 1544, as part of a series of fortifications constructed around England’s coastline to protect the country and the Harbour from invaders.

Between the late 16th Century and 17th Century, Portsmouth saw a massive decline in shipbuilding and saw a move in concentration to ship repairs. The Docklands however continued to expand during the 18th century and so did the city of Portsmouth, which gained the charter for city status in 1926.

Today Portsmouth is known as the world’s oldest dry dock, which is still in use and the home of many famous ships, including HMS Victory, Nelson’s famous flagship, HMS Warrior, Britain’s first iron warship, which was moved to Portsmouth in 1987 and the Mary Rose, a Tudor Warship, which was raised from the seabed in 1982 and turned into a museum.

Portsmouth’s importance as a naval base has declined over recent years but still remains an important dockyard and base for the Royal Navy and the Royal Marine Commandos whose headquarters are based in the region.

Tourism has become a major industry and has seen the opening of a new shopping centre at Gunwharf, the Millennium Promenade in 2001 and the Pompey Centre, which was completed in 2003. The newest attraction to the area is the Spinnaker Tower, which was opened in 2005 and has become a real iconic symbol of the city, offering 310° views from the 170m tall sky tower.

Education is another attraction to the city, with the University of Portsmouth gaining university status in 1992 and is one of the best universities to read pharmacology, biosciences, mathematics and computer engineering.

Fratton Park Stadium is the home to premiership football club, Portsmouth City Football Club, who attract thousands of fans from across the country to their home fixtures.

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