View source for Portsmouth

{{Short description|City in Hampshire, England}}
{{About|the city in Hampshire, England}}
{{Good article}}
{{Use British English|date=July 2022}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Infobox settlement
<!-- See Template:Infobox Settlement for additional fields that may be available -->
<!-- See the Table at Infobox Settlement for all fields and descriptions of usage -->
<!-- Basic info  -------------- -->| name               = Portsmouth
| nickname           = Pompey
| settlement_type    = [[City status in the United Kingdom|City]] & [[Unitary authorities of England|unitary authority area]]
| total_type         = <!-- to set a non-standard label for total area and population rows -->
| motto              = ''Heaven's Light Our Guide''
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 |image1 = Portsmouth_Waterfront.jpg
 |caption1 = [[Portsmouth Harbour]], including [[Spinnaker Tower]]
 |image2 = Portsmouth Guildhall - geograph.org.uk - 5431834.jpg
 |caption2 = [[Portsmouth Guildhall|The Guildhall]] 
 |image3 = Southsea Beach New Sea Defences 7.jpg
 |caption3 = [[Southsea|Southsea Beach]] 
 |image4 = HMS-Victory - panoramio.jpg
 |caption4 = {{HMS|Victory}}
 |image5 = Mary_rose_museum_exterior.JPG
 |caption5 = [[Mary Rose Museum]]
| image6 = Gunwharf_Quays,_Canalside.jpg
| caption6 = [[Gunwharf Quays]]
| image7 = Clarence Pier - geograph.org.uk - 4316914.jpg
| caption7 = [[Clarence Pier]]
}}
| imagesize          = 280px
| image_caption      = 
| image_flag         = City Flag of Portsmouth.svg
| flag_size          = 150px
| image_seal         = 
| seal_size          = 
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| shield_size        = 
| image_blank_emblem = Coat of Arms of Portsmouth.svg
| blank_emblem_type  = Coat of Arms
| blank_emblem_size  = 116px
| image_map          = Portsmouth UK locator map.svg
| mapsize            = 200px
| map_caption        = Shown within Hampshire
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| pushpin_map        = United Kingdom
| pushpin_map_caption = Location within the United Kingdom
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<!-- Location ---------------- -->| subdivision_type   = Sovereign state
| subdivision_name   = {{flag|United Kingdom}}
| subdivision_type1  = {{nowrap|[[Countries of the United Kingdom|Country]]}}
| subdivision_name1  = {{flag|England}}
| subdivision_type2  = [[Regions of England|Region]]
| subdivision_name2  = [[South East England]]
| subdivision_type3  = {{nowrap|[[Ceremonial counties of England|Ceremonial county]]}}
| subdivision_name3  = {{flag|Hampshire}}
<!-- Politics --------------- -->| government_footnotes = 
| government_type    = [[Unitary authority]], [[City status in the United Kingdom|city]]
| leader_title       = Governing&nbsp;body
| leader_name        = [[Portsmouth City Council]]
| leader_title1      = [[Local government in England#Councillors and mayors|Leadership]]
| leader_name1       = Leader and Cabinet ([[No overall control|No overall council control]])
| leader_title2      = [[List of mayors of Portsmouth|Lord Mayor]]
| leader_name2       = [[Gerald Vernon-Jackson]]
| leader_title3      = [[List of MPs elected in the 2024 United Kingdom general election|Members of Parliament]]
| leader_name3       = [[Stephen Morgan (British politician)|Stephen Morgan]] ([[Labour Party (UK)|L]])<br />[[Amanda Martin]] ([[Labour Party (UK)|L]])<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.bbc.com/news/election/2024/uk/results | title=UK election results 2024 &#124; Constituency map }}
</ref>
<!-- Area    ------------------- -->| area_magnitude     = 
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| area_footnotes     = 
| area_total_km2     = 40.25
| area_land_km2      = <!-- See table @ Template:Infobox Settlement for details on unit conversion -->
| area_water_km2     = 
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| area_water_percent = <!-- Elevation ------------------------ -->
| elevation_footnotes = <!-- for references: use tags -->
| elevation_m        = 
| elevation_ft       = <!-- Population   --------------------- -->
| population_as_of   = 2011, 2021
| population_footnotes = 
| population_note    = 
| population_total   = 208,100<ref>{{cite web |title=Portsmouth, 2021 UK Census 
                                  |url=https://www.ons.gov.uk/visualisations/censuspopulationchange/E06000044/}}</ref>{{efn|2021 census}}
| population_urban   = 238,137<ref>{{NOMIS2011|id=E35001312|title=Portsmouth Built-up area sub division}}</ref>{{efn|2011 census}}
| population_metro   = 855,679 ([[South Hampshire]])<ref>{{NOMIS2011|id=E34004977|title=South Hampshire Built-up area}}</ref>{{efn|2011 census}}
| population_est     = 
| pop_est_as_of      = <!-- demographics (section 1) -->
| demographics_type1 = Ethnicity <span style="font-weight:normal;">([[2021 United Kingdom census|2021]])</span>
| demographics1_footnotes = <ref name="2021 Nomis">{{NOMIS2021|id=E06000044|title=Portsmouth Local Authority|access-date=5 January 2024}}</ref>
| demographics1_title1 = [[Ethnic groups in the United Kingdom|Ethnic groups]]
| demographics1_info1 = {{Collapsible list
 | 85.2% [[White people in the United Kingdom|White]]
 | 6.9% [[British Asians|Asian]]
 | 3.4% [[Black British people|Black]]
 | 2.6% [[Mixed (United Kingdom ethnicity category)|Mixed]]
 | 1.8% [[Ethnic groups in the United Kingdom|other]]
 }}
<!-- demographics (section 2) -->| demographics_type2 = Religion <span style="font-weight:normal;">(2021)</span>
| demographics2_footnotes = <ref name="2021 Nomis"/>
| demographics2_title1 = [[Religion in England|Religion]]
| demographics2_info1 = {{Collapsible list
 | 47.1% [[Irreligion in the United Kingdom|no religion]]
 | 39.4% [[Religion in England#Christianity|Christianity]]
 | 6.4% not stated
 | 4.9% [[Islam in England|Islam]]
 | 0.8% [[Hinduism in England|Hinduism]]
 | 0.6% [[Religion in England|other]]
 | 0.5% [[Buddhism in England|Buddhism]]
 | 0.2% [[Sikhism in England|Sikhism]]
 | 0.1% [[History of the Jews in England|Judaism]]
 }}
| population_density_km2 = <!-- For automatic calculation, any density field may contain: auto -->
| population_density_sq_mi = <!-- General information  ------------- -->
| timezone1          = GMT
| utc_offset1        = +0
| timezone1_DST      = BST
| utc_offset1_DST    = +1
| coordinates        = {{Coord|50|48|21|N|01|05|14|W|region:GB_type:city|display=inline,title}}
<!-- Area/postal codes & others ------ -->| postal_code_type   = Postal code
| postal_code        = [[PO postcode area|PO]]
| area_code          = 023
| blank_name         = [[ISO 3166|ISO 3166 code]]
| blank_info         = [[ISO 3166-2:GB|GB-POR]]
| blank1_name        = Police
| blank1_info        = [[Hampshire Constabulary|Hampshire and Isle of Wight]]
| blank2_name        = Ambulance
| blank2_info        = [[South Central Ambulance Service|South Central]]
| blank3_name        = Fire
| blank3_info        = [[Hampshire and Isle of Wight Fire and Rescue Service|Hampshire and Isle of Wight]]
| website            = {{URL|https://portsmouth.gov.uk}}
| footnotes          = 
}}

'''Portsmouth''' ({{IPAc-en|audio=en-uk-Portsmouth.ogg|ˈ|p|ɔr|t|s|m|ə|θ}} {{respell|PORTS|məth}}) is a [[port]] [[city status in the United Kingdom|city]] and [[unitary authority]] in [[Hampshire]], England. Most of Portsmouth is located on [[Portsea Island]], off the south coast of England in the [[Solent]], making Portsmouth the only city in England not located primarily on the [[Great Britain|mainland]]. The city is located {{convert|22|mi}} south-east of [[Southampton]], {{convert|50|mi}} west of [[Brighton and Hove]] and {{convert|74|mi}} south-west of [[London]].  With a population last recorded at 208,100, it is the most densely populated city in the [[United Kingdom]].<ref name="auto">{{Cite web|url=https://www.ons.gov.uk/visualisations/censuspopulationchange/E06000044/|title=How the population changed in Portsmouth, Census 2021 - ONS|website=www.ons.gov.uk}}</ref> Portsmouth forms part of the [[South Hampshire]] urban area with [[Gosport]], [[Borough of Fareham|Fareham]], [[Borough of Havant|Havant]], [[Borough of Eastleigh|Eastleigh]] and Southampton.

Portsmouth's history can be traced to [[Roman Britain|Roman times]] and it has contained a significant Royal Navy dockyard and base for centuries. Portsmouth was founded {{Circa|1180}} by Anglo-Norman merchant [[Jean de Gisors]] in the south-west area of Portsea Island, a location now known as [[Old Portsmouth]].<ref name="portsmouth-guide_co_uk">{{cite web | url=http://www.portsmouth-guide.co.uk/local_f/history/history3.htm | title=The History of Portsmouth 1164AD - 1417AD }}</ref> Around this time, de Gisors ordered the construction of a chapel dedicated to [[Thomas Becket|St Thomas Becket]].<ref name="portsmouth-guide_co_uk" /> This became a parish church by the 14th century. Portsmouth was established as a town with a royal charter on 2 May 1194.<ref name=history3/>{{sfn|Quail|1994|pp=14–18}} The city is home to the first drydock ever built. It was constructed by [[Henry VII of England|Henry VII]] in 1496.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://portsmouthdockyard.org.uk/timeline/details/1495-worlds-first-dry-dock | title=1495 - Worlds First Dry Dock - Portsmouth Royal Dockyard Historical Trust }}</ref>

Portsmouth has the world's oldest [[dry dock]], ''"The Great Stone Dock"''; originally built in 1698, rebuilt in 1769 and presently known as "No.5 Dock".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://portsmouthdockyard.org.uk/Page%206.htm |title=Portsmouth Royal Dockyard History |publisher=Portsmouthdockyard.org.uk |date= |accessdate=2022-06-08}}</ref> The world's first mass [[production line]] was established at the naval base's [[Portsmouth Block Mills|Block Mills]] which produced pulley blocks for the [[Royal Navy]] fleet. By the early-19th century, Portsmouth was the most heavily [[Fortification|fortified]] city in the world, and was considered "the world's greatest naval port" at the height of the [[British Empire]] throughout ''[[Pax Britannica]]''. By 1859, a ring of defensive land and sea forts, known as the [[Palmerston Forts, Portsmouth|Palmerston Forts]], had been built around Portsmouth in anticipation of an invasion from continental Europe.

In the 20th century, Portsmouth achieved [[City status in the United Kingdom|city status]] on 21 April 1926.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://portsmouthdockyard.org.uk/timeline/details/1926-portsmouth-created-a-city |title=1926 – Portsmouth Created a City – Portsmouth Royal Dockyard Historical Trust |publisher=Portsmouthdockyard.org.uk |date= |accessdate=2022-06-08}}</ref> During the [[Second World War]], the city was bombed extensively in the [[Portsmouth Blitz]], which resulted in the deaths of 930 people, and it was a pivotal embarkation point for the [[D-Day landings]].  In 1982, a large Royal Navy task force departed from Portsmouth for the [[Falklands War]]. [[HMY Britannia|Her Majesty's Yacht ''Britannia'']] was formerly based in Portsmouth and oversaw the [[Transfer of sovereignty over Hong Kong|transfer of Hong Kong]] in 1997, after which ''Britannia'' was retired from royal service, decommissioned and relocated to [[Leith]] as a museum ship.

[[HMNB Portsmouth]] is an operational Royal Navy base and is home to two-thirds of the UK's surface fleet. The base has long been nicknamed "Pompey", a nickname it shares with the wider city of Portsmouth and [[Portsmouth Football Club]]. The naval base also contains the [[National Museum of the Royal Navy]] and [[Portsmouth Historic Dockyard]]; which has a collection of historic warships, including the ''Mary Rose'', [[Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson|Lord Nelson]]'s flagship, {{HMS|Victory}} (the world's oldest naval ship still in commission), and {{HMS|Warrior|1860|6}}, the Royal Navy's first [[ironclad warship]].

The former {{HMS|Vernon|shore establishment|6}} shore establishment has been redeveloped into a large retail [[Outlet store|outlet]] destination known as [[Gunwharf Quays]] which opened in 2001.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.portsmouth.co.uk/news/new-era-dawns-portsmouth-gunwharf-quays-opens-1267913 |title=New era dawns for Portsmouth as Gunwharf quays opens |newspaper=[[The News (Portsmouth)|The News]] |date=15 February 2016 |location=Portsmouth}}</ref> Portsmouth is among the few British cities with two cathedrals: the [[Portsmouth Cathedral|Anglican Cathedral of St Thomas]] and the [[Roman Catholic]] [[Cathedral of St John the Evangelist, Portsmouth|Cathedral of St John the Evangelist]]. The waterfront and [[Portsmouth Harbour]] are dominated by the [[Spinnaker Tower]], one of the [[List of tallest structures in the United Kingdom|United Kingdom's tallest structures]] at {{convert|560|feet}}.

[[Southsea]] is Portsmouth's [[British coastal resort|seaside resort]], which was named after Southsea Castle. Southsea has two piers; [[Clarence Pier]] amusement park and [[South Parade Pier]]. The world's only regular hovercraft service operates from [[Southsea Hoverport]] to [[Ryde]] on the [[Isle of Wight]]. [[Southsea Common]] is a large open-air public recreation space which serves as a venue for a wide variety of annual events.

The city has several mainline railway stations that connect to [[London Victoria railway station|London Victoria]] and [[London Waterloo railway station|London Waterloo]] amongst other lines in southern England. [[Portsmouth International Port]] is a commercial cruise ship and ferry port for international destinations. The port is the second busiest in the United Kingdom after [[Port of Dover|Dover]], handling around three million passengers a year. The city formerly had its own airport, [[Portsmouth Airport (Hampshire)|Portsmouth Airport]], until its closure in 1973. The [[University of Portsmouth]] enrolled 23,000 students.

Portsmouth is the birthplace of notable people such as author [[Charles Dickens]], engineer [[Isambard Kingdom Brunel]], former Prime Minister [[James Callaghan]], actor [[Peter Sellers]] and author-journalist [[Christopher Hitchens]].

== History ==
{{Main|History of Portsmouth}}

=== Early history ===

The [[Roman Britain|Romans]] built [[Portus Adurni]] (now called [[Portchester Castle]]), a [[Castra|fort]], at nearby [[Portchester]] in the late 3rd century.<ref>{{cite web |first1=Robert |last1=Amy |url=http://www.pompeymarkets.com/Historic%20Portsmouth.html |title=Classic Britannica – the home of the Roman Fleet |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090417083255/http://www.pompeymarkets.com/historic%20portsmouth.html |archive-date=17 April 2009 |website=Pompeymarkets |publisher=PM Ltd |access-date=8 March 2011 |url-status=dead}}</ref> The city's [[Old English]] (Anglo-Saxon) name, "Portesmuða", is derived from ''port'' (a haven) and ''muða'' (the mouth of a large river or estuary).<ref>{{cite web |title=Portsmouth name origin |url=http://kepn.nottingham.ac.uk/map/place/Hampshire/Portsmouth |website=Key to English Place-names |publisher=University of Nottingham |access-date=11 August 2016}}</ref> In the ''[[Anglo-Saxon Chronicle]]'', a warrior named Port and his two sons killed a noble Briton in Portsmouth in 501.<ref>{{cite web |title=Vortigern in the Sources: Anglo-Saxon Chronicle |url=http://www.vortigernstudies.org.uk/arthist/vortigernquotesasc.htm |website=VortigernStudies |publisher=Robert Vermaat |access-date=8 August 2016}}</ref> [[Winston Churchill]], in ''[[A History of the English-Speaking Peoples]]'', wrote that Port was a pirate who founded Portsmouth in 501.{{sfn|Churchill|2015|p=41}}<ref>{{cite news |title=See Portsmouth through history |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/commercial/holidaysthroughhistory/see-portsmouth-through-history-9309890.html |newspaper=[[The Independent]] |access-date=8 August 2016 |date=6 May 2014}}</ref>

England's southern coast was vulnerable to [[Danes (Germanic tribe)|Danish Viking]] invasions during the eighth and ninth centuries, and was conquered by Danish pirates in 787.{{sfn|Allen|2015|p=26}} In 838, during the reign of [[Æthelwulf, King of Wessex]], a Danish fleet landed between Portsmouth and Southampton and plundered the region.{{sfn|Allen|2015|p=27}} Æthelwulf sent Wulfherd and the governor of [[Dorset]]shire to confront the Danes at Portsmouth, where most of their ships were docked. Although the Danes were driven off, Wulfherd was killed.{{sfn|Allen|2015|p=27}} The Danes returned in 1001 and pillaged Portsmouth and the surrounding area, threatening the English with extinction.{{sfn|Allen|2015|p=29}}{{sfn|Allen|2015|p=30}} They were massacred by the English survivors the following year; rebuilding began, although the town experienced further attacks until [[Battle of Stamford Bridge|1066]].{{sfn|Allen|2015|p=31}}

=== Norman to Tudor ===

[[File:Round Tower (Portsmouth)2009.jpg|thumb|The [[Round Tower (Portsmouth)|Round Tower]] was built in 1418 to defend the entrance to [[Portsmouth Harbour]].|alt=A front facing view of Portsmouth's Round Tower, which once guarded the entrance to Portsmouth Harbour. The Round Tower itself is made of stone and has a large circular base.]]
Although Portsmouth was not mentioned in the 1086 [[Domesday Book]], ''Bocheland'' ([[Buckland, Portsmouth|Buckland]]), ''Copenore'' ([[Copnor]]), and ''Frodentone'' ([[Fratton]]) were.<ref name=history3>{{cite web |url=http://www.portsmouth.gov.uk/yourcouncil/6408.html |title=History of Portsmouth |publisher=Portsmouth Council |access-date=12 March 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100513023331/http://www.portsmouth.gov.uk/yourcouncil/6408.html |archive-date=13 May 2010}}</ref> According to some sources, it was founded in 1180 by the Anglo-Norman merchant [[Jean de Gisors]].<ref name="history2"/>

King [[Henry II of England|Henry II]] died in 1189; his son, [[Richard I of England|Richard I]] (who had spent most of his life in France), arrived in Portsmouth en route to his coronation in London.{{sfn|Allen|2015|p=32}} When Richard returned from captivity in [[Duchy of Austria|Austria]] in May 1194, he summoned an army and a fleet of 100 ships to the port.{{sfn|Allen|2015|p=33}} Richard gave Portsmouth market-town status with a royal charter on 2 May, authorising an annual fifteen-day free-market fair, weekly markets and a local court to deal with minor matters, and exempted its inhabitants from an £18 annual tax.<ref name=history3/>{{sfn|Quail|1994|pp=14–18}} The 1194 royal charter's 800th anniversary was celebrated in 1994 with ceremonies at the city museum.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Portsmouth 800 |url=https://www.portsmouth-guide.co.uk/local/port800.htm |access-date=2024-05-26 |website=www.portsmouth-guide.co.uk}}</ref>

[[John, King of England|King John]] reaffirmed Richard{{nbsp}}I's rights and privileges, and established a permanent naval base. The first docks were begun by [[William of Wrotham]] in 1212,<ref name=history3/>{{sfn|Allen|2015|p=33}} and John summoned his earls, barons, and military advisers to plan an invasion of [[Duchy of Normandy|Normandy]].{{sfn|Allen|2015|p=34}} In 1229, declaring war against France, [[Henry III of England|Henry{{nbsp}}III]] assembled a force described by historian Lake Allen as "one of the finest armies that had ever been raised in England".{{sfn|Allen|2015|p=36}} The invasion stalled, and returned from France in October 1231.{{sfn|Allen|2015|p=37}} Henry{{nbsp}}III summoned troops to invade [[Guienne]] in 1242, and [[Edward I of England|Edward{{nbsp}}I]] sent supplies for his army in France in 1295.{{sfn|Allen|2015|pp=37, 39}} Commercial interests had grown by the following century, and its exports included wool, corn, grain, and livestock.{{sfn|Allen|2015|p=43}}

[[Edward II of England|Edward II]] ordered all ports on the south coast to assemble their largest vessels at Portsmouth to carry soldiers and horses to the [[Duchy of Aquitaine]] in 1324 to strengthen defences.{{sfn|Allen|2015|p=44}} A French fleet commanded by [[David II of Scotland]] attacked in the [[English Channel]], ransacked the [[Isle of Wight]] and threatened the town. [[Edward III of England|Edward{{nbsp}}III]] instructed all maritime towns to build vessels and raise troops to rendezvous at Portsmouth.{{sfn|Allen|2015|p=44}} Two years later, a French fleet led by [[Nicholas Béhuchet]] [[Raid on Portsmouth (1338)|raided Portsmouth]] and destroyed most of the town; only the stone-built church and hospital survived.{{sfn|Sumption|1990|pp=395, 396}}{{sfn|Seward|1988}}{{page needed|date=May 2020}} After the raid, Edward{{nbsp}}III exempted the town from national taxes to aid its reconstruction.<ref name="porthis">{{cite web |title=Portsmouth port history |url=http://www.worldportsource.com/ports/review/GBR_Portsmouth_Continental_Ferry_Port_1368.php |publisher=World Post Source |access-date=19 July 2016 |archive-date=14 May 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160514064951/http://www.worldportsource.com/ports/review/GBR_Portsmouth_Continental_Ferry_Port_1368.php |url-status=dead }}</ref> In 1377, shortly after Edward died, the French landed in Portsmouth. Although the town was plundered and burnt, its inhabitants drove the French off to raid towns in the [[West Country]].{{sfn|Allen|2015|p=48}}

[[File:Map of portsmouth a bit before 1540.PNG|thumb|right|Portsmouth {{circa}} 1540|alt=A black and white map of Portsmouth dated around 1540]]

[[Henry V of England|Henry V]] gathered his forces in Portsmouth for an invasion of France in 1415, it was while staying at Portchester Castle that the Southampton plot was uncovered. This campaign would culminate with victory at the battle of Agincourt.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/portchester-castle/history-and-stories/history/ | title=History of Portchester Castle }}</ref> He also built Portsmouth's first permanent [[fortifications of Portsmouth|fortifications]]. In 1416, a number of French ships blockaded the town (which housed ships which were set to invade Normandy); Henry gathered a fleet at Southampton, and invaded the Norman coast in August that year.{{sfn|Allen|2015|p=49}} Recognising the town's growing importance, he ordered a wooden [[Round Tower (Portsmouth)|Round Tower]] to be built at the mouth of the harbour; it was completed in 1426.{{sfn|Hewitt|2013|p=27}} [[Henry VII of England|Henry VII]] rebuilt the fortifications with stone, assisted Robert Brygandine and Sir [[Reginald Bray]] in the construction of the world's first [[dry dock]],{{sfn|Hewitt|2013|p=33}} and raised the [[Square Tower]] in 1494.{{sfn|Hewitt|2013|p=27}} He made Portsmouth a Royal Dockyard, England's only dockyard considered "national".{{sfn|Allen|2015|p=53}} Although [[Alfred the Great|King Alfred]] may have used Portsmouth to build ships as early as the ninth century, the first warship recorded as constructed in the town was the [[Sweepstake (warship)|''Sweepstake'']] (built in 1497).<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-hampshire-24836582 |title=Portsmouth's long shipbuilding history comes to an end |access-date=9 November 2013 |publisher=BBC |date=6 November 2013}}</ref>

[[Henry VIII of England|Henry VIII]] built [[Southsea Castle]], financed by the [[Dissolution of the Monasteries]], in 1539 in anticipation of a French invasion.{{sfn|Allen|2015|p=143}}<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00792h2 |title=Two Programmes – Coast, Shorts, Cuttlefish and Pompey |publisher=BBC |access-date=9 August 2011 |url-access=subscription}}</ref> He also invested heavily in the town's dockyard, expanding it to {{convert|8|acres}}.{{sfn|Hewitt|2013|p=23}} Around this time, a Tudor [[Boom (navigational barrier)|defensive boom]] stretched from the Round Tower to Fort Blockhouse in Gosport to protect Portsmouth Harbour.<ref name="boom">{{cite web|url=http://www.portsmouth.gov.uk/yourcouncil/1090.html |title=Portsmouth's Coat of Arms |publisher=Portsmouth City Council |date=29 May 2007 |access-date=7 November 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110707023533/http://www.portsmouth.gov.uk/yourcouncil/1090.html |archive-date=7 July 2011 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

From Southsea Castle, Henry witnessed his flagship ''Mary Rose'' sink in action against the French fleet in the 1545 [[Battle of the Solent]] with the loss of about 500 lives.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.southseacastle.co.uk/tudor-castle/about-the-castle |title=Southsea Castle History |publisher=Portsmouth Museums |date=2015 |access-date=26 March 2015 |archive-date=9 October 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181009152010/http://southseacastle.co.uk/tudor-castle/about-the-castle |url-status=dead }}</ref> Some historians believe that the ''Mary Rose'' turned too quickly and submerged her open gun ports; according to others, it sank due to poor design.{{sfn|Hewitt|2013|p=37}} Portsmouth's fortifications were improved by successive monarchs. The town experienced an outbreak of [[plague (disease)|plague]] in 1563, which killed about 300 of its 2,000 inhabitants.<ref name="history2"/>

=== Stuart to Georgian ===

[[File:Old Portsmouth.jpg|thumb|right|View of [[Old Portsmouth]] from the [[Spinnaker Tower]]|alt=A view of Old Portsmouth taken from the viewing deck of the Spinnaker Tower. Old buildings, cobbled streets and a small island can be seen in the frame.]]
In 1623, [[Charles I of England|Charles I]] (then Prince of Wales) returned to Portsmouth from France and Spain.{{sfn|Allen|2015|p=54}} His unpopular military adviser, [[George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham]], was stabbed to death in an [[Old Portsmouth]] pub by war veteran [[John Felton (assassin)|John Felton]] five years later.<ref name="history3"/>{{sfn|Allen|2015|pp=54, 55}} Felton never attempted to escape, and was caught walking the streets when soldiers confronted him; he said, "I know that he is dead, for I had the force of forty men when I struck the blow".{{sfn|Allen|2015|p=56}} Felton was hanged, and his body chained to a [[gibbet]] on Southsea Common as a warning to others.<ref name="history2"/>{{sfn|Allen|2015|p=56}} The murder took place in the Greyhound public house on High Street, which is now Buckingham House and has a commemorative plaque.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.memorials.inportsmouth.co.uk/old-portsmouth/buckingham.htm |title=Old Portsmouth—Duke of Buckingham |last=Backhouse |first=Tim |work=Memorials and Monuments in Portsmouth |access-date=28 August 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080216004829/http://www.memorials.inportsmouth.co.uk/old-portsmouth/buckingham.htm |archive-date=16 February 2008 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

Most residents (including the mayor) supported the [[roundhead|parliamentarians]] during the [[English Civil War]], although military governor [[George Goring, Lord Goring|Colonel Goring]] supported the [[cavalier|royalists]].<ref name="history2"/> The town, a base of the parliamentarian navy, was blockaded from the sea. Parliamentarian troops were sent to [[Siege of Portsmouth|besiege it]], and the guns of Southsea Castle were fired at the town's royalist garrison. Parliamentarians in [[Gosport]] joined the assault, damaging [[Portsmouth Cathedral|St Thomas's Church]].<ref name="history2"/><ref name="siege">{{cite web |title=The Siege of Portsmouth |url=http://www.welcometoportsmouth.co.uk/the%20siege%20of%20portsmouth.html |publisher=Portsmouth History |access-date=20 July 2016}}</ref> On 5 September 1642, the remaining royalists in the garrison at the Square Tower were forced to surrender after Goring threatened to blow it up; he and his garrison were allowed safe passage out of the city.<ref name="siege"/><ref name="siege1"/>

After the end of the [[English Civil War|Civil War]], Portsmouth was among the first towns to declare [[Charles II of England|Charles{{nbsp}}II]] king and began to prosper.{{sfn|Allen|2015|p=57}} The first ship built in over 100 years, {{ship|English ship|Portsmouth|1650|2}}, was launched in 1650; twelve ships were built between 1650 and 1660. Under the [[Commonwealth of England]], [[Robert Blake (admiral)|Robert Blake]] used the harbour as his base during the [[First Anglo-Dutch War]] in 1652 and the [[Anglo-Spanish War (1654–1660)|Anglo-Spanish War]]. He died within sight of the town, returning from [[Cádiz]] in 1657.<ref name="siege1">{{cite web |title=The Siege of Portsmouth, August to September 1642 |url=http://www.littlewoodham.org.uk/research/cwp.htm |publisher=Little Woodham |access-date=21 July 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100603053505/http://www.littlewoodham.org.uk/research/cwp.htm |archive-date=3 June 2010}}</ref> After [[Stuart Restoration|the Restoration]], Charles{{nbsp}}II married [[Catherine of Braganza]] at the [[Domus Dei|Royal Garrison Church]] on 14 May 1662.<ref name="garr"/>{{sfn|Hewitt|2013|p=57}} Catherine was reputed to have introduced the cultural practice of [[Tea culture#United Kingdom|tea drinking]] to England at this event.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.rmg.co.uk/stories/blog/very-royal-wedding-charles-ii-catherine-braganza | title=A very Royal Wedding - Charles II and Catherine of Braganza &#124; Royal Museums Greenwich }}</ref>

During the late 17th century, Portsmouth continued to grow; a new wharf was constructed in 1663 for military use, and a [[Mast (sailing)|mast]] pond was dug in 1665. In 1684, a list of ships docked in Portsmouth was evidence of its increasing national importance.{{sfn|Allen|2015|p=58}} Between 1667 and 1685, the town's fortifications were rebuilt; new walls were constructed with [[bastion]]s and two moats were dug, making Portsmouth one of the world's most heavily fortified places.<ref name="history2"/>

In 1759, General [[James Wolfe]] sailed to capture [[Quebec]]; the expedition, although successful, cost him his life. His body was brought back to Portsmouth in November, and received high naval and military honours.{{sfn|Allen|2015|p=65}} Two years later, on 30 May 1775, Captain [[James Cook]] arrived on {{HMS|Endeavour}} after circumnavigating the globe.<ref name="history3"/>{{sfn|Collingridge|2003|p=311}} The 11-ship [[First Fleet]] left on 13 May 1787 to establish the first European colony in [[Australia]], the beginning of prisoner transportation;<ref name="Gutenberg FF">{{cite web |title=The First Fleet |url=http://gutenberg.net.au/first-fleet.html |publisher=Project Gutenberg |access-date=24 November 2013}}</ref>{{sfn|Frost|2012|p=165}} Captain [[William Bligh]] of {{HMS|Bounty}} also sailed from the harbour that year.<ref name="history3"/>{{sfn|Hewitt|2013|p=223}} After the 28 April 1789 [[Mutiny on the Bounty|mutiny on the ''Bounty'']], {{HMS|Pandora|1779|6}} was dispatched from Portsmouth to bring the mutineers back for trial. The [[court-martial]] opened on 12 September 1792 aboard {{HMS|Duke|1777|6}} in Portsmouth Harbour; of the ten remaining men, three were sentenced to death.{{sfn|Hewitt|2013|pp=223, 224}}{{sfn|Hough|1972|p=276}} In 1789, a chapel was erected in Prince George's Street and was dedicated to [[John the Apostle|St John]] by the Bishop of Winchester. Around this time, a [[bill (law)|bill]] was passed in the House of Commons on the creation of a canal to link Portsmouth to Chichester; however, the project was abandoned.{{sfn|Allen|2015|p=130}}

The city's nickname, Pompey, is thought to have derived from the log entry of [[Portsmouth Point]] (contracted "Po'm.P." – ''Po'''rts''m''outh ''P.''oint) as ships entered the harbour; navigational charts use the contraction.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.royalnavalmuseum.org/info_sheets_nicknames.htm |title=Pompey, Chats and Guz: the Origins of Naval Town nicknames |publisher=[[Royal Naval Museum]] |year=2000 |access-date=7 June 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110808021811/http://www.royalnavalmuseum.org/info_sheets_nicknames.htm |archive-date=8 August 2011 |url-status=dead}}</ref> According to one historian, the name may have been brought back from a group of Portsmouth-based sailors who visited [[Pompey's Pillar (column)|Pompey's Pillar]] in [[Alexandria]], Egypt, around 1781.{{sfn|Hewitt|2013|p=98}} Another theory is that it is named after the harbour's guardship, {{HMS|Pompee|1793|2}}, a 74-gun French [[ship of the line]] captured in 1793.{{sfn|Breverton|2010|p=282}}

Portsmouth's coat of arms is attested in the early 19th century as "azure a crescent or, surmounted by an estoile of eight points of the last."{{sfn|Berry|Glover|1828}}{{page needed|date=June 2020}} Its design is apparently based on 18th-century mayoral seals.{{sfn|East|1891|p=656}} A connection of the coat of arms with the Great Seal of Richard I (which had a separate star and crescent) dates to the 20th century.<ref>Valentine Dyall, ''Unsolved Mysteries: A Collection of Weird Problems from the Past'', 1954, p. 14). <!-- serious heraldic literature of the early 20th century does *not* make this claim, but lists the Portsmouth star and crescent simply as one of several examples of this charge. See here: https://books.google.com/books?hl=de&id=7ZAwAQAAMAAJ&q=Portsmouth
The medieval seal showed no such design (Henry Press Wright, ''The Story of the 'Domus Dei' of Portsmouth: Commonly Called the Royal Garrison Church'', 1873, [https://books.google.com/books?id=NQ3JaxBA_YkC&pg=PA12 p. 12]). -->
</ref>

=== Industrial Revolution to Edwardian ===

[[File:Warrior 1.JPG|thumb|right|{{HMS|Warrior|1860|6}} (launched in 1860) has been restored to its original Victorian condition.|alt=A picture of the iron-clad HMS Warrior docked in Portsmouth's historic harbour. The ship has since been restored to its original Victorian condition.]]
[[Marc Isambard Brunel]] established the world's first mass-production line at [[Portsmouth Block Mills]], making [[pulley]] [[block (sailing)|blocks]] for [[rigging]] on the navy's ships.<ref name="royal">{{cite web |title=Portsmouth Royal Dockyard history: 1690–1840 |url=http://portsmouthdockyard.org.uk/Page%206.htm |publisher=Portsmouth Royal Dockyard |access-date=22 July 2016}}</ref> The first machines were installed in January 1803, and the final set (for large blocks) in March 1805. In 1808, the mills produced 130,000 blocks.<ref name="block">{{cite web |title=Portsmouth Dockyard Block Mills history |url=http://www.portsmouth-guide.co.uk/local/blockmills.htm |website=Portsmouth Guide |publisher=Portsmouth Council |access-date=22 July 2016}}</ref> By the turn of the 19th century, Portsmouth was the largest industrial site in the world; it had a workforce of 8,000, and an annual budget of £570,000.<ref>{{cite web |title=Shipbuilding & The Dockyard |url=http://www.ataleofonecity.portsmouth.gov.uk/topic/shipbuilding-the-dockyard/ |website=A Tale of One City |publisher=Portsmouth City Council |access-date=22 July 2016 |archive-date=20 August 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160820101524/http://www.ataleofonecity.portsmouth.gov.uk/topic/shipbuilding-the-dockyard/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>

In 1805, [[Horatio Nelson|Admiral Nelson]] left Portsmouth to command the fleet which defeated France and Spain at the [[Battle of Trafalgar]].<ref name="history3"/> The Royal Navy's reliance on Portsmouth led to its becoming the most fortified city in the world.{{sfn|Pevsner|1967|p=422}} The Royal Navy's [[West Africa Squadron]], tasked with halting the slave trade, began operating out of Portsmouth in 1808.<ref name="BBC slave trade">{{cite news |title=From slave trade to humanitarian aid |work=[[BBC News]] |date=19 March 2007 |url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/hampshire/6430401.stm |access-date=2 April 2007}}</ref>  A network of forts, known as the [[Palmerston Forts, Portsmouth|Palmerston Forts]], was built around the town as part of a programme led by Prime Minister [[Lord Palmerston]] to defend British military bases from an inland attack following an Anglo-French war scare in 1859. The forts were nicknamed "Palmerston's Follies" because their armaments were pointed inland and not out to sea.{{sfn|Hewitt|2013|p=79}}

In April 1811, the Portsea Island Company constructed the first piped-water supply<ref name="water">{{cite web |title=A History of Portsmouth Water Supply |url=http://www.welcometoportsmouth.co.uk/portsmouth%20water.html |website=Welcome to Portsmouth |publisher=Portsmouth City Council |access-date=10 August 2016 |archive-date=20 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160320130502/http://www.welcometoportsmouth.co.uk/portsmouth%20water.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> to upper- and middle-class houses.<ref name="history2"/> It supplied water to about 4,500 of Portsmouth's 14,000 houses, generating an income of £5,000 a year.<ref name="water"/> HMS ''Victory''{{'}}s active career ended in 1812, when she was moored in Portsmouth Harbour and used as a [[depot ship]]. The town of Gosport contributed £75 a year to the ship's maintenance.{{sfn|Hewitt|2013|p=39}} In 1818, [[John Pounds]] began teaching working-class children in the country's first [[ragged school]].<ref>{{cite web |title=John Pounds Memorial Church |url=http://www.memorials.inportsmouth.co.uk/old-portsmouth/john-pounds.htm |website=InPortsmouth |publisher=CIS |access-date=14 January 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120410154507/http://www.memorials.inportsmouth.co.uk/old-portsmouth/john-pounds.htm |archive-date=10 April 2012 |url-status=dead}}</ref>{{sfn|Hewitt|2013|pp=66, 67}} The Portsea Improvement Commissioners installed gas street lighting throughout Portsmouth in 1820,<ref name="history3"/> followed by Old Portsmouth three years later.<ref name="history2"/>

During the 19th century, Portsmouth expanded across Portsea Island. [[Buckland, Portsmouth|Buckland]] was merged into the town by the 1860s, and Fratton and [[Stamshaw]] were incorporated by the next decade. Between 1865 and 1870, the council built sewers after more than 800 people died in a [[cholera]] epidemic; according to a [[by-law]], any house within {{convert|100|ft}} of a sewer had to be connected to it.<ref name="history3"/> By 1871 the population had risen to 100,000,<ref name="history2"/> and the national census listed Portsmouth's population as 113,569.<ref name="history3"/> A working-class suburb was constructed in the 1870s, when about 1,820 houses were built, and it became [[Somerstown, Hampshire|Somerstown]].<ref name="history3"/> Despite public-health improvements, 514 people died in an 1872 [[smallpox]] epidemic.<ref name="history3"/> On 21 December of that year, the [[Challenger expedition|''Challenger'' expedition]] embarked on a {{convert|68890|nmi|km|adj=on}} circumnavigation of the globe for scientific research.{{sfn|Rice|1999|pp=27–48}}<ref>{{cite web|title=The Voyage of the Challenger |url=http://life.bio.sunysb.edu/marinebio/challenger.html |publisher=Stony Brook University |access-date=22 July 2016 |archive-date=14 May 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120514202553/http://life.bio.sunysb.edu/marinebio/challenger.html |url-status=dead}}</ref>

When the [[British Empire]] was at its height of power, covering a quarter of Earth's total land area and 458&nbsp;million people at the turn of the 20th century, Portsmouth was considered "the world's greatest naval port".{{sfn|Hewitt|2013|p=24}} In 1900, Portsmouth Dockyard employed 8,000 people{{nbsp}}– a figure which increased to 23,000 during the [[First World War]].<ref name="history2"/>{{sfn|Hewitt|2013|p=91}} The whole of Portsea Island came united under the control of Portsmouth borough council in 1904.<ref name="portsenc"/>

In 1906, {{HMS|Dreadnought|1906|6}} was launched from Portsmouth Dockyard.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Johnston|first1=Ian|last2=Buxton|first2= Ian|title=The Battleship Builders - Constructing and Arming British Capital Ships|publisher=Naval Institute Press|date=2013|page=134|name-list-style=amp|isbn=978-1-59114-027-6}}</ref> The ship revolutionised naval warfare and began an arms race with Germany. The ship's entry into service in 1906 represented such an advance in naval technology that her name came to be associated with an entire generation of battleships.

=== 1913 terrorist attack ===
{{see also|Suffragette bombing and arson campaign}}

[[File:Portsmouth Semaphore Tower.jpg|thumb|right|A fire started by [[suffragettes]] at the [[semaphore tower]], [[Portsmouth dockyard]], in December 1913, killed two men.]]
A major [[terrorist]] incident occurred in the city in 1913, which led to the deaths of two men. During the [[suffragette bombing and arson campaign]] of 1912–1914, [[militant]] [[suffragettes]] of the [[Women's Social and Political Union]] carried out a series of politically motivated bombing and arson attacks nationwide as part of their campaign for [[women's suffrage]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Suffragettes, violence and militancy |url=https://www.bl.uk/votes-for-women/articles/suffragettes-violence-and-militancy |website=British Library |access-date=8 October 2021 |date=6 February 2018 |archive-date=10 September 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210910203912/https://www.bl.uk/votes-for-women/articles/suffragettes-violence-and-militancy |url-status=dead }}</ref> In one of the more serious suffragette attacks, a fire was purposely started at [[Portsmouth dockyard]] on 20 December 1913, in which two sailors were killed after it spread through the industrial area.<ref name="Portsmouth">{{Cite news |last=New York Times |date=22 December 1913 |title=Big Portsmouth Fire Loss; $1,000,000 Damage and Two Deaths – Suffragettes Suspected |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1913/12/22/archives/big-portsmouth-fire-loss-1000000-damage-and-two-deaths-suffragettes.html |access-date=8 October 2021 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref><ref name="Webb">{{Cite book |last=Webb |first=Simon |title=The Suffragette Bombers: Britain's Forgotten Terrorists |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0xrVzQEACAAJ |year=2021 |publisher=Pen and Sword |isbn=978-1-78340-064-5 |language=en |pages=133–135}}</ref><ref name="Bearman">{{Cite journal |last=Bearman |first=C. J. |year=2005 |title=An Examination of Suffragette Violence |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/3490924 |journal=The English Historical Review |volume=120 |issue=486 |page=383 |doi=10.1093/ehr/cei119 |jstor=3490924 |issn=0013-8266|url-access=subscription }}</ref> The fire spread rapidly as there were many old wooden buildings in the area, including the historic semaphore tower which dated back to the eighteenth century, which was completely destroyed.<ref name="Webb"/> The damage to the dockyard area cost the city £200,000 in damages, equivalent to £23,600,000 today.<ref name="Webb"/> In the midst of the firestorm, a battleship, {{HMS|Queen Mary}}, had to be towed to safety to avoid the flames.<ref name="Webb"/> The two victims were a pensioner and a signalman.<ref name="Webb"/>

The attack was notable enough to be reported on in the press in the [[United States]], with the ''[[New York Times]]'' reporting on the disaster two days after with the headline "Big Portsmouth Fire Loss".<ref name="Portsmouth"/> The report also disclosed that at a previous police raid on a suffragette headquarters, "papers were discovered disclosing a plan to fire the yard".<ref name="Portsmouth"/>

=== First and Second World Wars ===

[[File:George VI inspecting the crew of HNoMS Draug.jpg|thumb|[[George VI]] inspecting the crew of the [[HNoMS Draug (1908)|HNoMS ''Draug'']] in Portsmouth during the Second World War|alt=In this photograph, King George VI is inspecting the crew of the Norwegian ship HNoMS Draug, which was docked in Portsmouth sometime during the war.]]
On 1 October 1916, Portsmouth was bombed by a [[Zeppelin]] airship.<ref name="nazi1">{{cite web |url=http://www.richthofen.com/dark_autumn/ |title=Portsmouth Zeppelin air raid |publisher=Richthofen.com |access-date=8 March 2011 |archive-date=9 October 1999 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/19991009205758/http://www.richthofen.com/dark_autumn/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> Although the [[Oberste Heeresleitung]] (German Supreme Army Command) said that the town was "lavishly bombarded with good results", there were no reports of bombs dropped in the area.<ref>{{cite web |title=Portsmouth Dockyard, Hampshire: Mystery Zeppelin Attack |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p022ycdl |publisher=BBC |access-date=29 September 2016 |date=30 July 2014}}</ref> According to another source, the bombs were mistakenly dropped into the harbour rather than the dockyard.<ref name="nazi1"/> About 1,200 ships were refitted in the dockyard during the war, making it one of the empire's most strategic ports at the time.{{sfn|Hewitt|2013|p=91}}

Portsmouth's boundaries were extended onto the mainland of [[Great Britain]] between 1920 and 1932 by incorporating [[Paulsgrove]], [[Wymering]], [[Cosham]], [[Drayton, Hampshire|Drayton]] and [[Farlington, Hampshire|Farlington]] into Portsmouth.<ref name="portsenc">{{cite web |title=The Portsmouth Encyclopaedia: A History of Places and People in Portsmouth, with an Index to Streets |url=https://www.portsmouth.gov.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/lib-portsmouth-encyclopaedia-2011.pdf |publisher=Portsmouth City Libraries |date=2011 |access-date=26 July 2021 }}</ref> Portsmouth was granted [[city status in the United Kingdom|city status]] in 1926 after a long campaign by the borough council.<ref name="portsenc"/> The application was made on the grounds that it was the "first naval port of the kingdom".<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=33154|pages=2776–2777|date=23 April 1926}}</ref> In 1929, the city council added the [[motto]] "Heaven's Light Our Guide" to the medieval coat of arms. Except for the celestial objects in the arms, the motto was that of the [[Order of the Star of India|Star of India]] and referred to the troopships bound for [[British India]] which left from the port.<ref name="blu">{{cite web |title=Portsmouth's Coat of Arms history |date=27 November 2013 |url=https://www.portsmouth.gov.uk/ext/the-council/lord-mayor/portsmouths-coat-of-arms.aspx |publisher=Portsmouth City Council |access-date=23 July 2016 |archive-date=20 August 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160820123211/https://www.portsmouth.gov.uk/ext/the-council/lord-mayor/portsmouths-coat-of-arms.aspx |url-status=dead }}</ref> The crest and [[supporter]]s are based on those of the [[royal arms of the United Kingdom|royal arms]], but altered to show the city's maritime connections: the lions and unicorn have fish tails, and a [[naval crown]] and a representation of the Tudor defensive boom which stretched across Portsmouth Harbour are around the unicorn's neck.<ref name="boom"/><ref name="blu"/>

During the [[Second World War]], the city (particularly the port) was bombed extensively by the [[Luftwaffe]] in the Portsmouth Blitz.<ref name="history3"/> Portsmouth experienced 67 air raids between July 1940 and May 1944, which destroyed 6,625 houses and severely damaged 6,549.<ref name="history2"/> The air raids caused 930 deaths and wounded almost 3,000 people,<ref name="guild"/><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.portsmouthnowandthen.com/galleries-and-articles-01/gallery-guildall-area.html |title=Portsmouth Guildhall bombed during WWII |publisher=Portsmouthnowandthen.com |access-date=8 March 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120720222101/http://www.portsmouthnowandthen.com/galleries-and-articles-01/gallery-guildall-area.html |archive-date=20 July 2012 |url-status=dead}}</ref> many in the dockyard and military establishments.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.welcometoportsmouth.co.uk/the%20blitz.html |title=The Blitz, Portsmouth |publisher=Welcometoportsmouth.co.uk |access-date=10 August 2010}}</ref> On the night of the city's heaviest raid (10 January 1941), the Luftwaffe dropped 140 tonnes of high-explosive bombs which killed 171 people and left 3,000 homeless.{{sfn|Hewitt|2013|p=151}} Many of the city's houses were damaged, and areas of [[Landport]] and Old Portsmouth destroyed; the future site of [[Gunwharf Quays]] was razed to the ground.{{sfn|Hewitt|2013|p=186}} The [[Portsmouth Guildhall|Guildhall]] was hit by an incendiary bomb which burnt out the interior and destroyed its inner walls,{{sfn|Hewitt|2013|p=147}} although the civic plate was retrieved unharmed from the vault under the front steps.<ref name="guild">{{cite web |title=Guildhall History – Portsmouth Guildhall |url=http://www.portsmouthguildhall.org.uk/about-us/guildhall-history |website=www.portsmouthguildhall.org.uk |publisher=Portsmouth City Council |access-date=25 July 2016}}</ref> After the raid, Portsmouth mayor Denis Daley wrote for the ''Evening News'':

{{blockquote|We are bruised but we are not daunted, and we are still as determined as ever to stand side by side with other cities who have felt the blast of the enemy, and we shall, with them, persevere with an unflagging spirit towards a conclusive and decisive victory.|Sir Denis Daley, January 1941{{sfn|Hewitt|2013|p=146}}}}

Portsmouth Harbour was a vital military embarkation point for the 6 June 1944 D-Day landings. [[Southwick House]], just north of the city, was the headquarters of Supreme Allied Commander [[Dwight D. Eisenhower]].{{sfn|Hewitt|2013|pp=155, 156}}<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.historyarticles.com/southwick.htm |title=Southwick House |publisher=Historyarticles.com |access-date=8 March 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060427021314/http://www.historyarticles.com/southwick.htm |archive-date=27 April 2006 |last1=O'Connor |first1=Jerome |url-status=dead}}</ref> A [[V-1 flying bomb]] hit Newcomen Road on 15 July 1944, killing 15 people.<ref name="history2"/>

=== {{anchor|Post-war}}1945 to present ===

Much of the city's housing stock was damaged during the war. The wreckage was cleared in an attempt to improve housing quality after the war; before permanent accommodations could be built, Portsmouth City Council built [[Prefabs in the United Kingdom|prefabs]] for those who had lost their homes. More than 700 prefab houses were constructed between 1945 and 1947, some over bomb sites.<ref name="history2"/> The first permanent houses were built away from the city centre, in new developments such as Paulsgrove and [[Leigh Park]];{{sfn|Hewitt|2013|p=160}}<ref name="Leigh Park history">{{cite web |url=http://www.localhistories.org/leigh.html |title=Leigh Park history |publisher=Localhistories.org |access-date=8 March 2011}}</ref> construction of council estates in Paulsgrove was completed in 1953. The first Leigh Park housing estates were completed in 1949, although construction in the area continued until 1974.<ref name="history2"/> Builders still occasionally find [[unexploded ordnance|unexploded bombs]], such as on the site of the destroyed Hippodrome Theatre in 1984.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Hind |first1=Bob |title=Last bomb of the war found in Guildhall Walk |url=http://www.portsmouth.co.uk/heritage/last-bomb-of-the-war-found-in-guildhall-walk-1-4648626 |publisher=Portsmouth City Council |access-date=25 July 2016 |date=3 January 2013 |archive-date=13 August 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160813034641/http://www.portsmouth.co.uk/heritage/last-bomb-of-the-war-found-in-guildhall-walk-1-4648626 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Despite efforts by the city council to build new housing, a 1955 survey indicated that 7,000 houses in Portsmouth were unfit for human habitation. A controversial decision was made to replace a section of the central city, including Landport, Somerstown and Buckland, with council housing during the 1960s and early 1970s. The success of the project and the quality of its housing are debatable.<ref name="history2"/>

[[File:The Royal Yacht Britannia in Portsmouth - geograph.org.uk - 1702549.jpg|thumb|left|[[HMY Britannia|Her Majesty's Yacht ''Britannia'']] in Portsmouth Harbour during the 50th anniversary of the D-Day Landings in 1994. The masts of {{HMS|Victory}} can be seen in the background.|alt=Her Majesty's Yacht Britannia is docked in Portsmouth Harbour for the 50th anniversary of the D-Day Landings in 1994. More modern Royal Navy ships are docked in behind her, and the masts of the HMS Victory can be seen in the far background.]]

Portsmouth was affected by the decline of the British Empire in the second half of the 20th century. Shipbuilding jobs fell from 46&nbsp;per cent of the workforce in 1951 to 14 per cent in 1966, drastically reducing manpower in the dockyard. The city council attempted to create new work; an industrial estate was built in Fratton in 1948, and others were built at Paulsgrove and Farlington during the 1950s and 1960s.<ref name="history2"/> Although traditional industries such as brewing and corset manufacturing disappeared during this time, electrical engineering became a major employer. Despite the cutbacks in traditional sectors, Portsmouth remained attractive to industry. [[Zurich Insurance Group]] moved their UK headquarters to the city in 1968, and [[IBM]] relocated their European headquarters in 1979.<ref name="history2"/> Portsmouth's population had dropped from about 200,000 to 177,142 by the end of the 1960s.{{sfn|Hewitt|2013|p=161}} Defence Secretary [[John Nott]] decided in the early 1980s that of the four home dockyards, Portsmouth and [[Chatham Dockyard|Chatham]] would be closed. The city council won a concession, however, and the dockyard was downgraded instead to a naval base.{{sfn|Hewitt|2013|p=92}}

In 1956, the Soviet cruiser [[Indonesian cruiser Irian|Ordzhonikidze]] docked in Portsmouth harbour on a diplomatic mission that had taken head of state [[Nikita Khrushchev]] and [[Nikolai Bulganin]] to Britain. Naval intelligence was interested in the design of the ship and [[MI6]] recruited diver [[Lionel Crabb]] to collect intelligence on the ship particularly its propulsion. After diving into the harbour Crabb was never seen again. This led to a diplomatic incident with the Soviet Union and scandal in British domestic politics.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-06-16 |title=True Crime: Mysterious case of spy Buster Crabb last seen in Portsmouth |url=https://www.portsmouth.co.uk/news/crime/true-crime-case-of-british-spy-buster-crabb-last-seen-in-portsmouth-is-one-of-uks-most-mysterious-disappearances-4186178 |access-date=2025-01-26 |website=The News |language=en}}</ref>

On 2 April 1982, Argentine forces invaded two British territories in the South Atlantic: the [[Falkland Islands]] and [[South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands]]. The British government's response was to dispatch a [[British logistics in the Falklands War|naval task force]], and the aircraft carriers {{HMS|Hermes|R12|6}} and {{HMS|Invincible|R05|6}} sailed from Portsmouth for the South Atlantic on 5&nbsp;April. The successful outcome of the war reaffirmed Portsmouth's significance as a naval port and its importance to the defence of British interests.{{sfn|Hewitt|2013|p=93}} In January 1997, [[HMY Britannia|Her Majesty's Yacht ''Britannia'']] embarked from the city on her final voyage to oversee the handover of Hong Kong; for many, this marked the end of the empire.{{sfn|Brendon|2007|p=660}}<ref>{{cite web |title=Duke of Edinburgh slams move to decommission the Royal Yacht Britannia |url=https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/duke-of-edinburgh-slams-move-to-decommission-180047 |work=Daily Mirror |access-date=20 July 2016 |date=15 May 2011}}</ref> She was decommissioned on 11 December of that year at Portsmouth Naval Base in the presence of [[Elizabeth II]], the [[Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh|Duke of Edinburgh]], and twelve senior members of the royal family.<ref>{{cite web |title=Learn About The Decommissioning of the Royal Yacht Britannia |url=http://www.royalyachtbritannia.co.uk/about-the-royal-yacht/royal-residence/decommissioning/ |publisher=The Royal Yacht Britannia Trust |access-date=11 August 2016 |archive-date=18 August 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160818174556/http://www.royalyachtbritannia.co.uk/about-the-royal-yacht/royal-residence/decommissioning |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Alderson |first1=Andrew |title=Queen blamed Major for royal yacht fiasco |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1427992/Queen-blamed-Major-for-royal-yacht-fiasco.html |newspaper=The Telegraph |access-date=11 August 2016 |date=20 April 2003}}</ref>

Redevelopment of the naval shore establishment {{HMS|Vernon|shore establishment|6}} began in 2001 as a complex of retail outlets, clubs, pubs, and a shopping centre known as Gunwharf Quays.<ref name=history2>{{cite web |title=A History of Portsmouth |url=http://www.localhistories.org/portsmouth.html |publisher=Local Histories |access-date=29 October 2015}}</ref> Construction of the {{convert|552|feet|m|adj=mid|-tall}} [[Spinnaker Tower]], sponsored by the [[National Lottery (United Kingdom)|National Lottery]], began at Gunwharf Quays in 2003.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mcdoa.org.uk/Millennium_Spinnaker_Tower.htm |title=Construction of the Spinnaker Tower |publisher=Mcdoa.org.uk |access-date=8 March 2011}}</ref> The [[Tricorn Centre]], called "the ugliest building in the UK" by the BBC, was demolished in late 2004 after years of debate over the expense of demolition and whether it was worth preserving as an example of 1960s [[brutalist architecture]].<ref>{{cite news |title=R.I.P. Britain's Ugliest Building |url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/3561069.stm |work=BBC News |access-date=26 July 2016 |date=24 March 2004}}</ref>{{sfn|Clark|2009}}{{page needed|date=May 2020}} Designed by [[Owen Luder]] as part of a project to "revitalise" Portsmouth in the 1960s, it consisted of a shopping centre, market, nightclubs, and a [[multistorey car park]].{{sfn|Hewitt|2013|p=164}} Portsmouth celebrated the 200th anniversary of the [[Battle of Trafalgar]] in 2005, with Queen Elizabeth II present at a [[fleet review]] and a mock battle.<ref name=history2/> The naval base is home to two-thirds of Britain's surface fleet.<ref name="RN1">{{cite web |url=http://www.royalnavy.mod.uk/our-organisation/where-we-are/naval-base/portsmouth |title=HMNB Portsmouth |publisher=Royal Navy |access-date=1 April 2015}}</ref> The city also hosted international commemorations for 50th, 75th and 80th anniversaries of the D-Day landings, these were attended by international leaders and remaining veterans.

== Geography ==

[[File:Aerial photograph of Portsmouth Dockyard taken during a Photex, taken from 2,000 feet. MOD 45144955.jpg|thumb|Aerial view of Portsmouth and Portsmouth Harbour|alt=An aerial view of western side of Portsmouth (including Gunwharf Quays, the dockyard and the Spinnaker tower), the harbour itself, and the town of Gosport]]
[[File:London, Great Britain Population Density and Low Elevation Coastal Zones (5457306673).jpg|thumb|England population density and low elevation coastal zones. Portsmouth is particularly vulnerable to [[sea level rise]].]]
Portsmouth is {{convert|73.5|mi}} by road from central London, {{convert|49.5|mi}} west of [[Brighton]], and {{convert|22.3|mi}} east of [[Southampton]].<ref name="GM">{{Google maps|url =https://www.google.co.uk/maps/dir/Portsmouth,+UK/London/@51.1511947,-1.2804238,154981m/data=!3m2!1e3!4b1!4m13!4m12!1m5!1m1!1s0x487442a41814f1e9:0x45b683ea03373b79!2m2!1d-1.0879769!2d50.8197675!1m5!1m1!1s0x47d8a00baf21de75:0x52963a5addd52a99!2m2!1d-0.1277583!2d51.5073509 |access-date=1 October 2016}}</ref> It is located primarily on [[Portsea Island]] and is the United Kingdom's only island city, although the city has expanded to the mainland.{{sfn|Hewitt|2013|pp=14, 16}} [[Gosport]] is a town and borough to the west.<ref name="GM"/> Portsea Island is separated from the mainland by [[Portsbridge Creek]],{{sfn|Vine|1990}}{{page needed|date=May 2020}} which is crossed by three road bridges (the [[M275 motorway]], the [[A3 road]], and the [[A2030 road]]), a railway bridge, and two footbridges.<ref>{{cite web |title=Ports Bridge, Portsmouth information |url=http://www.envf.port.ac.uk/hantsgaz/hantsgaz/s0005406.htm |publisher=Old Hampshire Gazetteer |access-date=25 July 2016}}</ref> Portsea Island, part of the [[Hampshire Basin]],<ref>Melville, R.V. & Freshney E.C. (4th Ed 1982), ''The Hampshire Basin and adjoining areas'', British Regional Geology series, Institute of Geological Sciences, London: [[HMSO]]</ref> is low-lying; most of the island is less than {{convert|3|metres}} [[Height above sea level|above sea level]].<ref name="rising">{{cite web|title=Landscape Character Assessment – Portsea Island Coastal Defence Flood Risk Areas |url=https://www.portsmouth.gov.uk/ext/documents-external/dev-seafront-masterplan-portseaisland-landscape-character-assessment.pdf |publisher=Portsmouth City Council |access-date=12 August 2016 |archive-date=26 August 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160826024358/https://www.portsmouth.gov.uk/ext/documents-external/dev-seafront-masterplan-portseaisland-landscape-character-assessment.pdf |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.buildingfutures.org.uk/assets/downloads/Facing_Up_To_Rising_Sea_Levels.pdf |title=Rising Sea Levels: Case Study – Portsmouth (see page 13) |publisher=Building Futures |access-date=1 April 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304203928/http://www.buildingfutures.org.uk/assets/downloads/Facing_Up_To_Rising_Sea_Levels.pdf |archive-date=4 March 2016 |url-status=dead}}</ref> The island's highest natural elevation is the Kingston Cross road junction, at {{convert|21|ft}} above ordinary spring tide.<ref name="highpoint">{{cite web|url=https://www.portsmouth.co.uk/lifestyle/heritage/the-high-point-of-my-childhood-1-4676993 |title=The high point of my childhood |website=The News |last1=Hind |first1=Bob |access-date=6 October 2019 |archive-date=6 October 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191006050819/https://www.portsmouth.co.uk/lifestyle/heritage/the-high-point-of-my-childhood-1-4676993 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

[[Old Portsmouth]], the original town, is in the south-west part of the island and includes [[Portsmouth Point]] (nicknamed Spice Island).<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.portsmouth-guide.co.uk/local/old-port.htm |title=Spice island gates |publisher=Portsmouth City Council |access-date=8 March 2011}}</ref> The main channel entering Portsmouth Harbour, west of the island,{{sfn|Vine|1990}}{{page needed|date=May 2020}} passes between Old Portsmouth and Gosport.<ref name="GM"/> Portsmouth Harbour has a series of lakes, including Fountain Lake (near the commercial port), Portchester Lake (south central), Paulsgrove Lake (north), Brick Kiln Lake and Tipner (east), and Bombketch and Spider Lakes (west). Further northwest, around Portchester, are Wicor, Cams, and Great Cams Lakes.<ref name="GM"/> The large tidal inlet of [[Langstone Harbour]] is east of the island. The [[Farlington Marshes]], in the north off the coast of [[Farlington, Hampshire|Farlington]], is a {{convert|125|ha|acre|abbr=off}} [[grazing marsh]] and saline lagoon. One of the oldest [[Local nature reserve|local reserves]] in the county, built from reclaimed land in 1771, it provides a habitat for migratory wildfowl and [[wader]]s.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.visitportsmouth.co.uk/things-to-do/farlington-marshes-wildlife-reserve-p60153 |title=Farlington Marshes Wildlife Reserve |website=Visit Portsmouth |publisher=Portsmouth City Council |access-date=1 October 2016}}</ref>

[[File:SelseyHaylingPortsea.JPG|thumb|left|Portsea Island and Hayling Island|upright|alt=A high aerial view of Portsea Island (the island which Portsmouth is situated on), and neighbouring Hayling Island]]

South of Portsmouth are [[Spithead]], the [[Solent]], and the [[Isle of Wight]]. Its southern coast was fortified by the [[Round Tower (Portsmouth)|Round Tower]], the [[Square Tower]], Southsea Castle, [[Lumps Fort]] and [[Fort Cumberland (England)|Fort Cumberland]].{{sfn|Patterson|1985}}{{page needed|date=May 2020}} Four sea forts were built in the Solent by [[Henry John Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston|Lord Palmerston]]: [[Spitbank Fort]], [[St Helens Fort]], [[Horse Sand Fort]] and [[No Man's Land Fort]].

The resort of [[Southsea]] is on the central southern shoreline of Portsea Island,<ref name="pissea">{{cite web |title=A History of Southsea |url=http://www.localhistories.org/southsea.html |publisher=Local History |access-date=25 July 2016}}</ref> and [[Eastney]] is east.<ref name="eastney">{{cite web |title=History of Eastney |url=http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/place/20909 |website=A Vision of Britain Through Time |publisher=University of Portsmouth |access-date=25 July 2016}}</ref> Eastney Lake covered nearly {{convert|170|acres|abbr=off}} in 1626.{{sfn|Webb|1989|p=11}} North of Eastney is the residential [[Milton, Portsmouth|Milton]] and an area of reclaimed land known as Milton Common (formerly Milton Lake),<ref name="GM"/> a "flat scrubby land with a series of freshwater lakes".{{sfn|Long|2007|p=188}} Further north on the east coast is [[Baffins]], with the Great Salterns recreation ground and golf course around [[Portsmouth College]].<ref name="GM"/>

The [[Hilsea Lines]] are a series of defunct fortifications on the island's north coast, bordering Portsbridge Creek and the mainland.{{sfn|Hewitt|2013|p=80}}{{sfn|Mitchell|1988}}{{page needed|date=May 2020}} [[Portsdown Hill]] dominates the skyline in the north, and contains several large [[Palmerston Forts, Portsmouth|Palmerston Forts]]{{efn|These were part of a network of fortifications intended to guard military bases on the British coastline from an inland attack. They were built in the 19th century by order of Lord Palmerston.{{sfn|Hewitt|2013|p=79}}}} such as [[Fort Fareham]], [[Fort Wallington]], [[Fort Nelson, Hampshire|Fort Nelson]], [[Fort Southwick]], [[Fort Widley]], and [[Fort Purbrook]].{{sfn|Patterson|1985}}{{page needed|date=May 2020}}{{sfn|Hewitt|2013|pp=79, 80}} Portsdown Hill is a large band of [[chalk]]; the rest of Portsea Island is composed of layers of [[London Clay]] and [[sand]] (part of the [[Bagshot Formation]]), formed principally during the [[Eocene]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.southampton.ac.uk/~imw/Solent-Introduction.htm |title=Solent Geology |publisher=University of Southampton |last1=West |first1=Ian |access-date=1 April 2015}}</ref>

Northern areas of the city include [[Stamshaw]], [[Hilsea]] and [[Copnor]], [[Cosham]], [[Drayton, Hampshire|Drayton]], [[Farlington, Hampshire|Farlington]], Paulsgrove and [[Port Solent]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Electoral areas in Portsmouth |url=https://www.portsmouth.gov.uk/ext/the-council/voting-and-elections/electoral-areas-in-portsmouth.aspx |publisher=Portsmouth City Council |access-date=25 July 2016 |archive-date=12 August 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160812035408/https://www.portsmouth.gov.uk/ext/the-council/voting-and-elections/electoral-areas-in-portsmouth.aspx |url-status=dead }}</ref> Other districts include [[North End, Hampshire|North End]] and Fratton.<ref>{{cite web |title=A History of North End |url=http://www.localhistories.org/northend.html |publisher=Local Histories |access-date=25 July 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=A History of Fratton |url=http://www.localhistories.org/fratton.html |publisher=Local Histories |access-date=25 July 2016}}</ref> The west of the city contains [[Public housing in the United Kingdom|council estates]], such as [[Buckland, Portsmouth|Buckland]], [[Landport]], and Portsea, which replaced Victorian terraces destroyed by Second World War bombing.<ref name="history2"/> After the war, the {{convert|2000|acre|adj=on}} [[Leigh Park]] estate was built to address the chronic housing shortage during post-war reconstruction.{{sfn|Hewitt|2013|p=160}} Although the estate has been under the jurisdiction of [[Borough of Havant|Havant Borough Council]] since the early 2000s, Portsmouth City Council remains its landlord (the borough's largest landowner).<ref name="Leigh Park history"/>

The city's main station, [[Portsmouth and Southsea railway station]],<ref>{{cite web |title=History in Portsmouth: Southsea Railway Line |url=http://historyinportsmouth.co.uk/places/southsea-railway.htm |website=History in Portsmouth |publisher=University of Portsmouth |access-date=25 July 2016}}</ref> is in the city centre near the [[Portsmouth Guildhall|Guildhall]] and the [[Portsmouth Civic Offices|Civic Offices]].<ref name="guild"/><ref>{{cite web |title=Getting Here – Portsmouth Guildhall |url=http://www.portsmouthguildhall.org.uk/your-visit/getting-here |website=Portsmouth Guildhall |publisher=Portsmouth City Council |access-date=12 August 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160409112701/http://www.portsmouthguildhall.org.uk/your-visit/getting-here |archive-date=9 April 2016 |url-status=dead}}</ref> South of the Guildhall is Guildhall Walk, with a number of pubs and clubs.<ref>{{cite web |title=Portsmouth's Guildhall Walk among 'violent' streets |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-hampshire-12332347 |work=BBC News |access-date=25 July 2016 |date=1 February 2011}}</ref> The city's other railway station, [[Portsmouth Harbour railway station]], is located on a pier at the harbour's edge, near Old Portsmouth.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.thetrainline.com/stations/portsmouth-harbour |title=Portsmouth Harbour station |publisher=The Train Line |access-date=9 May 2022}}</ref> Edinburgh Road contains the city's Roman Catholic cathedral and [[Victoria Park, Portsmouth|Victoria Park]], a {{convert|15|acre|adj=on}} park which opened in 1878.<ref name="vic">{{cite web |title=Victoria Park history |url=http://www.welcometoportsmouth.co.uk/victoria%20park%20portsmouth.html |website=Welcome to Portsmouth |publisher=Portsmouth City Council |access-date=25 July 2016 |archive-date=31 October 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151031102611/http://www.welcometoportsmouth.co.uk/victoria%20park%20portsmouth.html |url-status=dead }}</ref>

{{wide image|Portsmouth panorama from Portsdown Hill.jpg|2000px|align-cap=center|alt=See caption|South-facing panorama of Portsmouth from [[Portsdown Hill]]. [[Langstone Harbour]] and [[Hayling Island]] are on the left, and Portsmouth Harbour is on the right.}}

{{Geographic Location
| title     = '''Neighbouring towns, villages, and places'''
| Northwest = [[Portchester]]
| North     = [[Waterlooville]]
| Northeast = [[Havant]]
| West      = [[Portsmouth Harbour]], [[Gosport]]
| Centre    = Portsmouth
| East      = [[Langstone Harbour]], [[Hayling Island]]
| Southwest = The [[Solent]], [[Isle of Wight]]
| South     = [[Isle of Wight]], [[Spithead]], [[English Channel]]
| Southeast = [[English Channel]]
}}

=== Climate ===

Portsmouth has a mild [[oceanic climate]], with more sunshine than most of the British Isles.<ref>{{cite web |title=GCSE Bitesize: UK climate |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/guides/zpykxsg/revision/3 |website=BBC Bitesize |publisher=BBC |access-date=12 August 2016}}</ref> Frosts are light and short-lived and snow is quite rare in winter, with temperatures rarely dropping below freezing.<ref name="rising"/> The average maximum temperature in January is {{convert|10|°C|0|abbr=on}}, and the average minimum is {{convert|5|°C|0|abbr=on}}. The lowest recorded temperature is {{convert|-8|°C|0|abbr=on}}.<ref name=metextreme>{{cite web|url=http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/weather/uk/se/portsmouth_forecast_temp.html |title=Portsmouth record temperatures |publisher=Metoffice.gov.uk |date=19 November 2008 |access-date=8 March 2011}}</ref> In summer, temperatures sometimes reach {{convert|30|°C|0|abbr=on}}. The average maximum temperature in July is {{convert|22|°C|0|abbr=on}}, and the average minimum is {{convert|15|°C|0|abbr=on}}. The highest recorded temperature is {{convert|35|°C|0|abbr=on}}.<ref name=metextreme/> The city gets about {{convert|645|mm|in}} of rain annually, with a minimum of {{convert|1|mm|2|abbr=on}} of rain reported 103 days per year.<ref name="weather">{{cite web|url=http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/public/weather/climate/gcp0zn6wn |title=Portsmouth Climate, Met Office |access-date=1 April 2015}}</ref>

{{Weather box|width=auto
|metric first=y
|single line=y 
|collapsed = Y
|location =  [[Thorney Island (West Sussex)|Thorney Island]],{{efn|Weather station is located {{convert|8.0|mi|1|abbr=out}} from the Portsmouth city centre.}} (1991–2020 normals, extremes 1957–present)
|Jan record high C = 13.6
|Feb record high C = 15.8
|Mar record high C = 20.7
|Apr record high C = 24.2
|May record high C = 27.2
|Jun record high C = 34.1
|Jul record high C = 34.1
|Aug record high C = 33.3
|Sep record high C = 29.0
|Oct record high C = 25.2
|Nov record high C = 17.9
|Dec record high C = 14.9
|Jan record low C = -9.2
|Feb record low C = -7.0
|Mar record low C = -6.9
|Apr record low C = -3.8
|May record low C = -1.6
|Jun record low C = 1.4
|Jul record low C = 6.0
|Aug record low C = 3.6
|Sep record low C = 2.2
|Oct record low C = -2.8
|Nov record low C = -6.3
|Dec record low C = -8.7
|Jan high C = 8.3
|Feb high C = 8.6
|Mar high C = 11.0
|Apr high C = 13.7
|May high C = 16.7
|Jun high C = 19.7
|Jul high C = 21.8
|Aug high C = 21.8
|Sep high C = 19.4
|Oct high C = 15.6
|Nov high C = 11.7
|Dec high C = 9.0
| year high C = 14.8
|Jan mean C = 5.6
|Feb mean C = 5.7
|Mar mean C = 7.5
|Apr mean C = 9.7
|May mean C = 12.7
|Jun mean C = 15.7
|Jul mean C = 17.7
|Aug mean C = 17.8
|Sep mean C = 15.5
|Oct mean C = 12.3
|Nov mean C = 8.7
|Dec mean C = 6.2
| year mean C = 
|Jan low C = 2.8
|Feb low C = 2.7
|Mar low C = 4.0
|Apr low C = 5.7
|May low C = 8.7
|Jun low C = 11.6
|Jul low C = 13.6
|Aug low C = 13.7
|Sep low C = 11.5
|Oct low C = 8.9
|Nov low C = 5.6
|Dec low C = 3.3
| year low C = 7.7
|precipitation colour = green
|Jan precipitation mm = 84.5
|Feb precipitation mm = 57.7
|Mar precipitation mm = 49.9
|Apr precipitation mm = 49.6
|May precipitation mm = 43.3
|Jun precipitation mm = 48.2
|Jul precipitation mm = 46.9
|Aug precipitation mm = 57.2
|Sep precipitation mm = 61.4
|Oct precipitation mm = 86.0
|Nov precipitation mm = 90.6
|Dec precipitation mm = 92.6
|year precipitation mm = 767.7
|unit precipitation days = 1.0 mm
| Jan precipitation days = 13.0
| Feb precipitation days = 10.1
| Mar precipitation days = 9.2
| Apr precipitation days = 9.1
| May precipitation days = 8.0
| Jun precipitation days = 7.7
| Jul precipitation days = 7.5
| Aug precipitation days = 8.4
| Sep precipitation days = 8.1
| Oct precipitation days = 11.3
| Nov precipitation days = 12.9
| Dec precipitation days = 12.8
| year precipitation days =118.1
|Jan sun = 64.9
|Feb sun = 85.1
|Mar sun = 129.7
|Apr sun = 186.5
|May sun = 221.8
|Jun sun = 217.8
|Jul sun = 232.1
|Aug sun = 213.5
|Sep sun = 163.1
|Oct sun = 118.1
|Nov sun = 78.1
|Dec sun = 61.1
|year sun = 1771.7
| source 1 = [[Met Office]]<ref name="MetOffice">{{cite web
|url = https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/research/climate/maps-and-data/location-specific-long-term-averages/gcp34fxfu
|title = Station: Thorney Island, Climate period: 1991–2020
|publisher = Met Office
|access-date = 15 December 2024}}</ref>
| source 2 = Starlings Roost Weather<ref>{{cite web
|url= http://starlingsroost.ddns.net/weather/ukobs/temp_month_record_tmax_map.php
|title= Monthly Extreme Maximum Temperature, Monthly Extreme Minimum Temperature
|publisher= Starlings Roost Weather
|access-date= 16 December 2024
|archive-date= 1 February 2023
|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20230201173843/http://starlingsroost.ddns.net/weather/ukobs/temp_month_record_tmax_map.php
|url-status= dead
}}</ref>
}}

== {{anchor|Demography}}Demography ==
[[File:Portsmouth population pyramid.svg|thumb|Population pyramid of Portsmouth (unitary authority) in 2021]]
Portsmouth is the second-most densely populated city in the [[United Kingdom]], after [[London]].<ref name="PortsmouthCouncil">{{cite web |title=Portsmouth demography – JSNA report|url=https://www.portsmouth.gov.uk/services/health-and-care/health/joint-strategic-needs-assessment/portsmouth-demography/ |publisher=Portsmouth City Council |access-date=25 January 2024}}</ref><ref name="OffNatStat">{{cite web |title=Estimates of the population for the UK, England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland|url=https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/populationandmigration/populationestimates/datasets/populationestimatesforukenglandandwalesscotlandandnorthernireland |publisher=Office for National Statistics |access-date=25 January 2024}}</ref> In the [[2021 United Kingdom census|2021 census]], the city had 208,100 residents.<ref name="auto"/> The city used to be even more densely populated, with the 1951 census showing a population of 233,545.{{sfn|Dickinson|p=390|1998}}{{page needed|date=May 2020}}<ref>{{cite web |title=Population Of Portsmouth In 2016 |url=http://ukpopulation2016.com/population-of-portsmouth-in-2016.html |publisher=UK Population 2016 |access-date=11 August 2016}}</ref> In a reversal of that decrease, its population has been gradually increasing since the 1990s.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www3.hants.gov.uk/portsmouth_historical_profile-3.pdf |title=A demographic profile of Portsmouth Past, Hampshire County Council |access-date=29 March 2015 |archive-date=2 April 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402101742/http://www3.hants.gov.uk/portsmouth_historical_profile-3.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref> With about 860,000 residents, [[South Hampshire]] is the [[List of urban areas in the United Kingdom|fifth-largest urban area in England]] and the largest in [[South-East England]] outside London; it is the centre of one of the United Kingdom's most-populous metropolitan areas.<ref>{{cite web |title=United Kingdom: Urban Areas in England – Population Statistics in Maps and Charts |url=http://www.citypopulation.de/UK-EnglandUA.html |website=City Population |publisher=Office for National Statistics |access-date=3 October 2016}}</ref>

The city is predominantly white (85.3% of the population). However, Portsmouth's long association with the Royal Navy ensures some diversity.<ref name="hant">{{cite web |url=http://www3.hants.gov.uk/planning/factsandfigures/population-statistics/census_pages/census_information/pop_ethnicity.htm |title=Portsmouth Census and Ethnicity Information |access-date=29 March 2015 |publisher=Hampshire County Council |archive-date=16 December 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141216010931/http://www3.hants.gov.uk/planning/factsandfigures/population-statistics/census_pages/census_information/pop_ethnicity.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref> Some large, well-established non-white communities have their roots in the Royal Navy, particularly the [[Chinese people|Chinese]] community from [[British Hong Kong]].<ref name="hant"/><ref>{{cite web |title=A Review of A Glorious 25 years |url=http://www.portsmouthchinese.org.uk/attachments/article/5/25GloriousYearsEN.pdf |website=Portsmouth Chinese Association |publisher=Portsmouth City Council |access-date=26 July 2016 |archive-date=10 May 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170510220739/http://www.portsmouthchinese.org.uk/attachments/article/5/25GloriousYearsEN.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref> Portsmouth's long industrial history with the Royal Navy has drawn many people from across the British Isles (particularly Irish Catholics) to its factories and docks.{{sfn|Daly|2011|p=27}}{{Efn|Portsmouth is one of 34 British towns and cities with a Catholic cathedral.<ref name="cathhh">{{cite web |title=Non-Anglican cathedrals |url=http://www.cbcew.org.uk/CBCEW-Home/Dioceses |publisher=English Cathedrals |access-date=12 August 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.lovemytown.co.uk/Cathedrals/CathedralsTable5.asp |title=List of Catholic Cathedrals in the UK |publisher=Love My Town |access-date=19 July 2009}}</ref>}} According to the 2021 census, Portsmouth's population was 78% [[White British]], 6.8% [[other White]],  2.3% [[British Bangladeshi|Bangladeshi]], 2.6% [[Mixed (United Kingdom ethnicity category)|mixed race]], 1.5% [[British Indians|Indian]], 1.0% [[British Chinese|Chinese]], 1.8% [[2001 United Kingdom census|other]], 0.5% [[Black British people|Black African]], 0.5% [[Irish migration to Great Britain|white Irish]], 1.8% [[British Asian|other Asian]], 0.3% [[British Pakistanis|Pakistani]], 2.6% [[British African-Caribbean people|Black Caribbean]] and 0.4% other Black.<ref name=":0" />

<div style="overflow:auto">

{| class="wikitable" style="border:0; text-align:center; line-height:120%;"
|+[[Population growth]] in Portsmouth since 1310{{sfn|Patterson|1976}}
|-
!  Year
! 1310
! 1560
! 1801
! 1851
! 1901
! 1951
! 1961
! 1971
! 1981
! 1991
! 2001
! 2011
! 2021
|- style="text-align:center;"
!  Population
| 740 (est)
| 1000 (est)
| 32,160
| 72,096
| 188,133
| 233,545
| 215,077
| 197,431
| 175,382
| 177,142
| 186,700
| 205,400
| 208,100
|}

</div>

=== Ethnicity ===
{| class="wikitable sortable mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="font-size:85%;"
! rowspan="3" |Ethnic<br />Group
! colspan="10" |Year
|-
! colspan="2" |1981 estimations<ref>{{Cite journal |date=1985 |title=Ethnic minorities in Britain: statistical information on the pattern of settlement |url=https://jstor.org/stable/community.28327806 |journal=Commission for Racial Equality |language=English |pages=Table 2.2|last1= Equality|first1= Commission for Racial}}</ref>
! colspan="2" |1991<ref name=":412">Data is taken from United Kingdom [http://casweb.ukdataservice.ac.uk/index.htm Casweb Data services] of the United Kingdom [http://casweb.ukdataservice.ac.uk/step1.cfm 1991 Census on Ethnic Data for England, Scotland and Wales] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220405213012/http://casweb.ukdataservice.ac.uk/step1.cfm |date=5 April 2022 }} (Table 6)</ref>
! colspan="2" |2001<ref>{{cite web |title=Office of National Statistics; 2001 Census Key Statistics |url=https://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/ukgwa/20160105160709/http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/census/census-2001-key-statistics/local-authorities-in-england-and-wales/local-authorities-ks06--ethnic-group.xls |access-date=2021-09-07 |website=webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk}}</ref>
! colspan="2" |2011<ref name=":36">{{Cite web |title=2011 Census: Ethnic Group, local authorities in England and Wales |url=https://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/ukgwa/20160105160709/http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/census/2011-census/key-statistics-for-local-authorities-in-england-and-wales/rft-table-ks201ew.xls |access-date=2021-12-15 |website=webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk}}</ref>
! colspan="2" |2021<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=Ethnic group - Office for National Statistics |url=https://www.ons.gov.uk/datasets/TS021/editions/2021/versions/1/filter-outputs/d2f0a39a-75b6-4995-b4bd-a5b68ff79027#get-data |access-date=2022-11-29 |website=www.ons.gov.uk}}</ref>
|-
!Number
!%
!Number
!%
!Number
!%
!Number
!%
!Number
!%
|-
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|-
![[White people in the United Kingdom|White]]: Total
!165,149
!97.5%
!170,210
!97.3%
!176,882
!94.7%
!181,182
!88.4%
!177,277
!85.3%
|-
|White: [[White British|British]]
|–
|–
|–
|–
|171,510
|91.9%
|172,313
|84%
|161,664
|77.7%
|-
|White: [[White Irish|Irish]]
|–
|–
|–
|–
|1,339
|
|1,071
|
|1,066
|0.5%
|-
|White: [[White Gypsy or Irish Traveller|Gypsy or Irish Traveller]]
|–
|–
|–
|–
|–
|–
|85
|
|118
|0.1%
|-
|White: Roma
|–
|–
|–
|–
|–
|–
|–
|–
|324
|0.2%
|-
|White: [[Other White|Other]]
|–
|–
|–
|–
|4,033
|
|7,713
|
|14,105
|6.8%
|-
![[British Asian|Asian or Asian British]]: Total
!–
!–
!2,879
!1.6%
!6,162
!3.3%
!12,474
!6.1%
!14,370
!6.9%
|-
|Asian or Asian British: [[British Indians|Indian]]
|–
|–
|702
|
|1,320
|
|2,911
|
|3,104
|1.5%
|-
|Asian or Asian British: [[British Pakistanis|Pakistani]]
|–
|–
|68
|
|215
|
|539
|
|603
|0.3%
|-
|Asian or Asian British: [[British Bangladeshis|Bangladeshi]]
|–
|–
|1,046
|
|2,522
|
|3,649
|
|4,742
|2.3%
|-
|Asian or Asian British: [[British Chinese|Chinese]]
|–
|–
|725
|0.4%
|1,607
|
|2,611
|
|2,116
|1.0%
|-
|Asian or Asian British: Other Asian
|–
|–
|338
|
|498
|
|2,764
|
|3,805
|1.8%
|-
![[Black British people|Black or Black British]]: Total
!–
!–
!778
!0.4%
!942
!0.5%
!3,777
!1.8%
!7,070
!3.5%
|-
|Black or Black British: [[British African-Caribbean people|Caribbean]]
|–
|–
|175
|
|219
|
|540
|
|5,369
|2.6%
|-
|Black or Black British: [[British African-Caribbean people|African]]
|–
|–
|246
|
|601
|
|2,958
|
|950
|0.5%
|-
|Black or Black British: [[Classification of ethnicity in the United Kingdom|Other Black]]
|–
|–
|357
|
|122
|
|279
|
|751
|0.4%
|-
![[Mixed (United Kingdom ethnicity category)|Mixed or British Mixed]]: Total
!–
!–
!–
!–
!1,859
!1%
!5,467
!2.7%
!5,487
!2.6%
|-
|Mixed: White and Black Caribbean
|–
|–
|–
|–
|414
|
|1,103
|
|1,176
|0.6%
|-
|Mixed: White and Black African
|–
|–
|–
|–
|235
|
|935
|
|1,244
|0.6%
|-
|Mixed: White and Asian
|–
|–
|–
|–
|560
|
|2,381
|
|1,540
|0.7%
|-
|Mixed: Other Mixed
|–
|–
|–
|–
|650
|
|1,048
|
|1,527
|0.7%
|-
!Other: Total
!–
!–
!830
!0.5%
!856
!0.5%
!2,156
!1.1%
!3,797
!1.8%
|-
|Other: Arab
|–
|–
|–
|–
|–
|–
|1,078
|
|1,007
|0.5%
|-
|Other: Any other ethnic group
|–
|–
|830
|
|856
|
|1,078
|
|2,790
|1.3%
|-
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|-
!Non-White: Total
!4,203
!2.5%
!4,487
!2.7%
!9,819
!5.3%
!23,874
!11.6%
!30,724
!14.3%
|-
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|-
!Total
!169,352 
!100%
!174,697
!100%
!186,701
!100%
!205,056
!100%
!208,001
!100%
|}

== Politics ==

[[File:Portsmouth Guildhall 2014.JPG|thumb|left|The neo-classical [[Portsmouth Guildhall]] and surrounding [[Portsmouth Civic Offices|Civic Offices]] are the centre of government.|alt=A front-facing view of Portsmouth Guildhall and the surrounding civic offices]]

[[File:PortsmouthNorth2007Constituency.svg|thumb|upright=0.5|right|[[Portsmouth North (UK Parliament constituency)|Portsmouth North]] ]]

[[File:PortsmouthSouth2007Constituency.svg|thumb|upright=0.5|right|[[Portsmouth South (UK Parliament constituency)|Portsmouth South]] ]]

[[File:Portsmouth UK ward map 2010 (blank).svg|thumb|upright=0.5|right|The 14 electoral wards of Portsmouth]]

The city is administered by [[Portsmouth City Council]], a [[unitary authority]] which is responsible for local affairs. Portsmouth was granted its first market town charter in 1194.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.history.inportsmouth.co.uk/events/coatofarms.htm |title=Portsmouth first charter |publisher=Portsmouth City Council |access-date=8 March 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091014180617/http://www.history.inportsmouth.co.uk/events/coatofarms.htm |archive-date=14 October 2009}}</ref> In 1904, its boundaries were extended to all of Portsea Island and were later expanded onto the mainland of [[Great Britain]] between 1920 and 1932 by incorporating Paulsgrove, [[Wymering]], [[Cosham]], [[Drayton, Hampshire|Drayton]] and [[Farlington, Hampshire|Farlington]] into Portsmouth.<ref name="portsmouth1">{{cite web |title=The Portsmouth Encyclopaedia |url=https://www.portsmouth.gov.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/lib-portsmouth-encyclopaedia-2011.pdf}}</ref> Portsmouth was granted [[City status in the United Kingdom|city status]] on 21 April 1926.<ref name="portsmouth1"/>

On 1 April 1974, it formed the second tier of local government (below [[Hampshire County Council]]);<ref>{{cite web |title=Local Government Review in England |url=https://www.parliament.uk/briefing-papers/RP95-84.pdf |publisher=Parliament UK |access-date=26 July 2016 |date=5 July 1995}}</ref> Portsmouth and Southampton became administratively independent of Hampshire with the creation of the unitary authority on 1 April 1997.{{sfn|Hewitt|2013|p=18}}

The city is divided into two parliamentary constituencies, [[Portsmouth South (UK Parliament constituency)|Portsmouth South]] and [[Portsmouth North (UK Parliament constituency)|Portsmouth North]], represented in the [[British House of Commons|House of Commons]] by [[Stephen Morgan (U.K. politician)|Stephen Morgan]] and [[Amanda Martin]], both of the [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour Party]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.portsmouth.gov.uk/ext/the-council/voting-and-elections/electoral-areas-in-portsmouth.aspx |title=Electoral areas in Portsmouth |publisher=Portsmouth City Council |access-date=29 March 2015 |archive-date=2 April 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402095029/https://www.portsmouth.gov.uk/ext/the-council/voting-and-elections/electoral-areas-in-portsmouth.aspx |url-status=dead }}</ref> The two Parliamentary constituencies each contain 7 electoral wards, giving an overall total of 14 electoral wards. Portsmouth's inner city centre is located in the Portsmouth South constituency.

Portsmouth City Council has 14 electoral wards, each ward returns three councillors, making 42 in total.<ref name="ward">{{cite web |title=Your Councillors by Ward |url=http://democracy.portsmouth.gov.uk/mgMemberIndex.aspx?FN=WARD&VW=TABLE&PIC=1 |website=Portsmouth Democracy |publisher=Portsmouth City Council |access-date=17 August 2018}}</ref> Each councillor serves a four-year term.<ref>{{cite web |title=Election Timetable in England |url=https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/487034/Electoral_cycles_-_from_May_2016.pdf |publisher=Gov UK |access-date=14 August 2016 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160411124643/https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/487034/Electoral_cycles_-_from_May_2016.pdf |archive-date=11 April 2016}}</ref> After the [[2018 United Kingdom local elections|May 2018 local elections]], the [[Liberal Democrats (UK)|Liberal Democrats]] formed a minority administration, they have run the city since then. The leader of the council is the Liberal Democrat, [[Gerald Vernon-Jackson]]. The lord mayor usually has a one-year term.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.portsmouth.gov.uk/ext/the-council/lord-mayor/the-current-lord-mayor-of-portsmouth.aspx |title=The Lord Mayor of Portsmouth |publisher=Portsmouth City Council |access-date=29 March 2015 |archive-date=18 February 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150218032204/https://www.portsmouth.gov.uk/ext/the-council/lord-mayor/the-current-lord-mayor-of-portsmouth.aspx |url-status=dead }}</ref>

The council is based in the [[Portsmouth Civic Offices|Civic Offices]], which house the tax support, housing-benefits, resident-services, and municipal-functions departments.<ref>{{cite web |title=Portsmouth Civic Offices contact directory |url=https://www.portsmouth.gov.uk/ext/the-council/contact-us.aspx |publisher=Portsmouth City Council |access-date=27 July 2016}}</ref> They are in Guildhall Square, with the [[Portsmouth Guildhall]] and Portsmouth Central Library. The Guildhall, a symbol of Portsmouth, is a cultural venue. It was designed by [[Leeds]]-based architect [[William Hill (English architect)|William Hill]], who began it in the [[Neoclassicism|neo-classical style]] in 1873 at a cost of £140,000.{{sfn|Hewitt|2013|p=146}}<ref>{{cite web |title=Fundraising and Campaigning |url=http://www.portsmouthguildhall.org.uk/userfiles/file/Fundraising%20and%20Campaign%20Director%20JD_website.pdf |publisher=Portsmouth Cultural Trust |access-date=14 August 2016 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160819195747/http://www.portsmouthguildhall.org.uk/userfiles/file/Fundraising%20and%20Campaign%20Director%20JD_website.pdf |archive-date=19 August 2016}}</ref> It was opened to the public in 1890.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.portsmouthguildhall.org.uk/about-us/guildhall-history |title=Portsmouth Guildhall History |access-date=29 March 2015 |website=Portsmouth Guildhall |publisher=Portsmouth City Council}}</ref>

=== Minister for Portsmouth ===
Between January 2014 and July 2016, Portsmouth uniquely had a dedicated government minister, the [[Minister for Portsmouth]], a position created in response to the loss of 900 jobs from BAE Systems within HMNB Portsmouth. The minister was charged with bringing economic growth to the city.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-hampshire-36904736 | title=Minister for Portsmouth job scrapped | work=BBC News | date=27 July 2016 }}</ref>

== Economy ==

[[File:Vehicles lining up to embark at the continental ferry port, Portsmouth - geograph.org.uk - 499738.jpg|thumb|right|[[Portsmouth International Port]] is a major employer.|alt=In this photograph, many large containers and other cargo are lined up in the city's ferry port. A ferry can be seen docked in the background.]]

Ten per cent of Portsmouth's workforce is employed at [[HMNB Portsmouth|Portsmouth Naval Dockyard]], which is linked to the city's biggest industry, defence; the headquarters of [[BAE Systems Surface Ships]] is in the city.<ref>{{cite web |title=Minister for Portsmouth to be Michael Fallon |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-hampshire-25753398 |work=BBC News |access-date=28 July 2016 |date=16 January 2014}}</ref> BAE's Portsmouth shipyard received construction work on the two new {{Sclass|Queen Elizabeth|aircraft carrier|1}}s.<ref>{{cite web |title=Queen Elizabeth Class Aircraft Carrier Project Information |publisher=Ministry of Defence |url=http://www.mod.uk/DefenceInternet/FactSheets/ProjectFactsheets/QueenElizabethClassAircraftCarrierProjectInformation.htm |access-date=24 October 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091123113202/http://www.mod.uk/DefenceInternet/FactSheets/ProjectFactsheets/QueenElizabethClassAircraftCarrierProjectInformation.htm |archive-date=23 November 2009}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=MoD confirms £3.8bn carrier order |work=BBC News |date=25 July 2007 |url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/6914788.stm |access-date=24 September 2009}}</ref><ref name="tel">{{cite news |last1=Tovey |first1=Andy |title=Inside Britain's biggest-ever aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2016/05/23/ship-ahoy-new-video-shows-scale-of-britains-new-aircraft-carrier/ |access-date=28 July 2016 |newspaper=The Telegraph |date=24 May 2016}}</ref> A £100&nbsp;million contract was signed to develop needed facilities for the vessels.<ref name="tel"/> However defence shipbuilding was ended in the city in favour of Glasgow during the 2014 Scottish Independence referendum. The Government was accused of making the decision to keep the more antiquated Glasgow shipyard over Portsmouth for political reasons as part of the pro union campaign. Ministers at the time did state shipbuilding would return to the city if Scotland left the UK. A minister for Portsmouth was established to help deal with the economic fallout of the decision.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.theguardian.com/business/2013/nov/06/bae-closure-portsmouth-shipyard-jobs#:~:text=The%20end%20of%20shipbuilding%20in,will%20be%20lost%20in%20Portsmouth | title=BAE ends shipbuilding in Portsmouth and axes 1800 jobs | newspaper=The Guardian | date=6 November 2013 | last1=Rankin | first1=Jennifer }}</ref>
A ferry port handles passengers and cargo,<ref>{{cite web |title=History and Heritage |url=http://www.portsmouth-port.co.uk/news/item-2093 |publisher=Portsmouth International Port |access-date=14 August 2016 |archive-date=26 August 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160826191610/http://www.portsmouth-port.co.uk/news/item-2093 |url-status=dead }}</ref> and a fishing fleet of 20 to 30 boats operates out of Camber Quay, [[Old Portsmouth]]; most of the catch is sold at the quayside fish market.<ref name="fish">{{cite web |title=Camber Dock and fishing fleet |url=http://www.portsmouth-port.co.uk/shipping/camber-dock |publisher=Portsmouth International Port |access-date=29 July 2016}}</ref>

The city is host to [[IBM]]'s UK headquarters and Portsmouth was also the UK headquarters of [[Zurich Financial Services]] until 2007.<ref name="history2"/><ref>{{cite web |title=IBM declares that Portsmouth is still its HQ despite job cuts |url=http://www.portsmouth.co.uk/business/ibm-declares-that-portsmouth-is-still-its-hq-despite-job-cuts-1-5984819 |website=The News |publisher=Portsmouth City Council |access-date=14 August 2016 |date=7 April 2014 |archive-date=20 September 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170920043848/http://www.portsmouth.co.uk/business/ibm-declares-that-portsmouth-is-still-its-hq-despite-job-cuts-1-5984819 |url-status=dead }}</ref> City shopping is centred on Commercial Road and the 1980s Cascades Shopping Centre.<ref>{{cite web |title=Portsmouth Shopping |url=https://www.virtualtourist.com/travel/Europe/United_Kingdom/England/Hampshire/Portsmouth-306849/Shopping-Portsmouth-TG-C-1.html |publisher=Virtual Tourist |access-date=29 July 2016 |archive-date=17 September 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160917112145/https://www.virtualtourist.com/travel/Europe/United_Kingdom/England/Hampshire/Portsmouth-306849/Shopping-Portsmouth-TG-C-1.html |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Cascades – Find Us |url=http://www.cascades-shopping.co.uk/find-us.html |publisher=Cascades Shopping |access-date=12 August 2016 |archive-date=23 August 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160823070155/http://www.cascades-shopping.co.uk/find-us.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> The shopping centre has 185,000 to 230,000 visitors weekly.<ref>{{cite web |title=Cascades Portsmouth – Shopping Centre in Commercial Road Portsmouth |url=http://www.welcometoportsmouth.co.uk/cascades%20shopping%20centre.html |website=Welcome to Portsmouth |publisher=Portsmouth City Council |access-date=15 August 2016}}</ref> Redevelopment has created new shopping areas, including the [[Gunwharf Quays]] (the repurposed {{HMS|Vernon|shore establishment|6}} shore establishment,<ref name="guns">{{cite web |title=Gunwharf Quays history |url=http://www.ataleofonecity.portsmouth.gov.uk/place/gunwharf-quays/ |website=A Tale of One City |publisher=Portsmouth City Council |access-date=25 July 2016 |archive-date=20 August 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160820075757/http://www.ataleofonecity.portsmouth.gov.uk/place/gunwharf-quays/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> with stores, restaurants and a cinema) and the Historic Dockyard, which caters to tourists and holds an annual Victorian [[Christmas market]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Victorian Festival of Christmas 2016 |url=http://www.historicdockyard.co.uk/tickets-and-offers/victorian-festival-of-christmas-2016 |publisher=Portsmouth Historic Dockyard |access-date=15 August 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160225214106/http://www.historicdockyard.co.uk/tickets-and-offers/victorian-festival-of-christmas-2016 |archive-date=25 February 2016 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="gun">{{cite web |title=Things To Do in Portsmouth |url=https://gunwharf-quays.com/leisure/things-to-do-in-portsmouth |website=Gunwharf Quays |publisher=Portsmouth City Council |access-date=29 July 2016}}</ref> Ocean Retail Park, on the north-eastern side of Portsea Island, was built in September 1985 on the site of a former metal-box factory.<ref>{{cite web |title=Ocean Retail Park in Portsmouth |url=http://www.welcometoportsmouth.co.uk/ocean%20retail%20park%20portsmouth.html |website=Welcome to Portsmouth |publisher=Portsmouth City Council |access-date=15 August 2016}}</ref>

[[File:Gunwharf Quays Vernon Avenue.JPG|thumb|left|[[Gunwharf Quays]] shopping centre|alt=A view of some shops in the Gunwharf Quays shopping centre.]]

Development of Gunwharf Quays continued until 2007, when the {{convert|330|ft|m|adj=mid|-tall|0}} No.{{nbsp}}1 Gunwharf Quays residential tower was completed.<ref>{{cite web|title=No 1 Gunwharf Quays, Portsmouth information |url=http://britishhomesawards.co.uk/2009/no-1-gunwharf-quays-portsmouth/ |publisher=British Home Awards |access-date=6 August 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160819192051/http://britishhomesawards.co.uk/2009/no-1-gunwharf-quays-portsmouth/ |archive-date=19 August 2016 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Property Full Details&nbsp;– No&nbsp;1 Gunwharf Quays |url=http://www.watersideproperties.com/full-details?profileID=100324003623 |publisher=Waterside Properties |access-date=6 August 2016 |date=5 April 2012 |archive-date=5 October 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161005185635/http://www.watersideproperties.com/full-details?profileID=100324003623 |url-status=dead}}</ref> The development of the former Brickwoods Brewery site included the construction of the 22-storey Admiralty Quarter Tower, the tallest in a complex of primarily low-rise residential buildings.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.findanewhome.com/south-east-england/hampshire/portsmouth/new-property-developments/admiralty-quarter/70e0d971-eaa8-4f76-ba1b-6cde79051673.fap |title=Admiralty Quarter, Portsmouth |website=Find A New Home |publisher=The Digital Property Group Limited |access-date=7 May 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090423022519/http://www.findanewhome.com/south-east-england/hampshire/portsmouth/new-property-developments/admiralty-quarter/70e0d971-eaa8-4f76-ba1b-6cde79051673.fap |archive-date=23 April 2009 |url-status=dead}}</ref> Number One Portsmouth, a proposed 25-storey {{convert|330|ft|0}} tower opposite Portsmouth & Southsea station, was announced at the end of October 2008.<ref>{{cite web|last1=French |first1=Claire |title=Five-star hotel developer considers Portsmouth sites |url=http://www.portsmouth.co.uk/business/five-star-hotel-developer-considers-portsmouth-sites-1-6237946 |publisher=Portsmouth City Council |access-date=6 August 2016 |date=14 August 2014 |archive-date=13 August 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160813215549/http://www.portsmouth.co.uk/business/five-star-hotel-developer-considers-portsmouth-sites-1-6237946 |url-status=dead}}</ref> In August 2009, internal demolition of the existing building had begun.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.portsmouth.co.uk/portsmouth/Hotel-bid-ready-to-reach.4644370.jp |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130421025126/http://www.portsmouth.co.uk/portsmouth/Hotel-bid-ready-to-reach.4644370.jp |url-status=dead |archive-date=21 April 2013 |title=Hotel bid ready to reach for the skies |publisher=Portsmouth City Council |access-date=9 August 2011 }}</ref> A high-rise student dormitory, nicknamed "The Blade", has begun construction on the site of the [[Swimming pool|swimming baths]] at the edge of Victoria Park. The {{convert|300|ft|adj=on|0}} tower will be Portsmouth's second-tallest structure, after the Spinnaker Tower.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Nimmo |first1=Joe |title=Hunt for company to build the Blade tower continues |url=http://www.portsmouth.co.uk/business/hunt-for-company-to-build-the-blade-tower-continues-1-4111135 |publisher=Portsmouth City Council |access-date=6 August 2016 |date=31 July 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170511021817/https://www.portsmouth.co.uk/business/hunt-for-company-to-build-the-blade-tower-continues-1-4111135 |archive-date=11 May 2017 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

In April 2007, Portsmouth F.C. announced plans to move from Fratton Park to a new stadium on reclaimed land next to the Historic Dockyard. The £600&nbsp;million mixed-use development, designed by [[Herzog & de Meuron]], would include shops, offices and 1,500 harbourside apartments.<ref name="SAA">{{cite web |author1=Staff and agencies |title=Portsmouth unveil plans for 36,000-seater stadium adjacent to city's naval dockyards |url=https://www.theguardian.com/football/2007/apr/25/newsstory.sport2 |website=The Guardian |access-date=29 May 2020 |language=en |date=25 April 2007}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Design: Portsmouth Dockland Stadium – StadiumDB.com |url=http://stadiumdb.com/designs/eng/portsmouth_dockland_stadium |publisher=Stadium DB |access-date=6 August 2016}}</ref> The scheme was criticised for its size and location, and some officials said that it would interfere with harbour operations.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://portsmouth.co.uk/stadium?articleid=2731927 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071013115644/http://portsmouth.co.uk/stadium?articleid=2731927 |title=Pie-in-the-sky or a real winner for our city? |archive-date=13 October 2007 |publisher=Portsmouth City Council}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://portsmouth.co.uk/stadium?articleid=2854279 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071013115656/http://portsmouth.co.uk/stadium?articleid=2854279 |title=Majority say it's a threat to harbour |archive-date=13 October 2007 |publisher=Portsmouth City Council}}</ref> The project was rejected by the city council due to the [[2008 financial crisis]].<ref>{{cite web |title=The best football stadiums that were never built |url=https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/best-football-stadiums-were-never-6750704 |work=The Mirror |access-date=2 September 2016 |date=4 November 2015}}</ref>

[[File:HMS Queen Elizabeth in Rosyth Dockyard MOD 45158229.jpg|thumb|Portsmouth is the home port of the two ''Queen Elizabeth''-class aircraft carriers.|alt=A Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carrier docked in Scotland. This ship is one of two aircraft carriers, Portsmouth is its home port.]]

Portsmouth's two Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carriers, {{HMS|Queen Elizabeth|R08|6}} and {{HMS|Prince of Wales|R09|6}}, were ordered by defence secretary [[Des Browne]] on 25 July 2007.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/6914788.stm |title=MOD confirms carrier order |work=BBC News |date=25 July 2007 |access-date=11 December 2008}}</ref> They were built in the Firth of Forth at [[Rosyth Dockyard]] and [[BAE Systems Surface Ships]] in Glasgow, [[Babcock International]] at Rosyth, and at HMNB Portsmouth.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/liverpool-news/local-news/2010/01/25/cammell-laird-wins-50m-royal-navy-warship-contract-100252-25676005/ |title=Cammell Laird wins £50m Royal Navy warship contract |date=25 January 2010 |newspaper=[[Liverpool Echo]] |access-date=5 August 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=New carriers being built at Portsmouth base |url=http://www.mod.uk/DefenceInternet/DefenceNews/EquipmentAndLogistics/ConstructionBeginsAtNavysNewCarriersPortsmouthBase.htm |publisher=Ministry of Defence |access-date=6 August 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161109194127/http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/tna/%2B/http%3A//www.mod.uk/DefenceInternet/DefenceNews/EquipmentAndLogistics/ConstructionBeginsAtNavysNewCarriersPortsmouthBase.htm |archive-date=9 November 2016 |url-status=dead }}</ref> The government announced before the [[2014 Scottish independence referendum]] that military shipbuilding would end in Portsmouth, with all UK surface-warship construction focused on the two older BAE facilities in Glasgow.<ref name="end">{{cite web |title=BAE Systems ends shipbuilding in Portsmouth |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-hampshire-28835583 |work=BBC News |access-date=6 August 2016 |date=18 August 2014}}</ref> The announcement was criticised by local politicians as a political decision to aid the referendum's "No" campaign.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Assinder |first1=Nick |title=Political Row as Portsmouth Shipyard 'Sacrificed' in Scottish Independence Campaign |url=http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/portsmouth-shipbuilding-govan-defence-cuts-scottish-independence-520037 |website=International Business Times |access-date=6 August 2016 |date=6 November 2013}}</ref>

== Culture ==

Portsmouth has several theatres. The [[New Theatre Royal]] in Guildhall Walk, near the city centre, specialises in professional drama.<ref>{{cite web |title=Visions and Values |url=http://www.newtheatreroyal.com/about-us/vision/ |website=New Theatre Royal |publisher=Portsmouth City Council |access-date=29 July 2016}}</ref> The restored Kings Theatre in Southsea features amateur musicals and national tours.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.theatresonline.com/theatres/southsea-theatres/kings-theatre/whats-on.html |title=Kings Theatre – What's On |publisher=London Theatre Direct |access-date=16 August 2016}}</ref> The Groundlings Theatre, built in 1784, is housed at the Old Beneficial School in Portsea.<ref>{{cite web |title=History of Groundlings Theatre |url=http://www.groundlings.co.uk/index.php/the-theatre/history-of-theatre |publisher=Groundlings Theatre |access-date=29 July 2016 |archive-date=29 May 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160529010455/http://www.groundlings.co.uk/index.php/the-theatre/history-of-theatre |url-status=dead }}</ref> New Prince's Theatre and Southsea's Kings Theatre were designed by Victorian architect [[Frank Matcham]].<ref>{{cite web |title=List of theatres designed by Frank Matcham |url=http://www.frankmatchamsociety.org.uk/about/list-of-theatres/ |publisher=Frank Matcham society |access-date=29 July 2016}}</ref>

The city has three musical venues: the Guildhall,<ref>{{cite web |title=Portsmouth Guildhall Music Events |url=http://www.portsmouthguildhall.org.uk/events/music |website=Portsmouth Guildhall |publisher=Portsmouth City Council |access-date=30 July 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160730185435/http://www.portsmouthguildhall.org.uk/events/music |archive-date=30 July 2016 |url-status=dead}}</ref> [[the Wedgewood Rooms]] (which includes Edge of the Wedge, a smaller venue),<ref>{{cite web |title=Wedgewood Rooms music venues |url=http://www.wedgewood-rooms.co.uk/Venue/tabid/94/Default.aspx |publisher=Wedgewood Rooms CIC |access-date=30 July 2016 |archive-date=12 August 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160812211641/http://www.wedgewood-rooms.co.uk/Venue/tabid/94/Default.aspx |url-status=dead }}</ref> and [[Portsmouth Pyramids Centre]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Pyramids Centre list of music events |url=http://pyramids-live.co.uk/events/ |publisher=Pyramids Live |access-date=30 July 2016 |archive-date=16 July 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160716135918/http://pyramids-live.co.uk/events/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> [[Portsmouth Guildhall]] is one of the largest venues in [[South East England]], with a [[seating capacity]] of 2,500.<ref name="guild"/><ref>{{cite web |title=Portsmouth Guildhall announce increased capacity&nbsp;– Portsmouth Guildhall |url=http://www.portsmouthguildhall.org.uk/news/portsmouth-guildhall-announce-increased-capacity |website=Portsmouth Guildhall |publisher=Portsmouth City Council |access-date=16 August 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Queen hears chimes on D-Day visit |url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/hampshire/8026235.stm |work=BBC News |access-date=30 July 2016 |date=30 April 2009}}</ref> A concert series is presented at the Guildhall by the [[Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Events – Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra at the Guildhall |url=http://www.bsolive.com/events/?Location=10039&t=Portsmouth |website=Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra |publisher=Arts Council England |access-date=30 July 2016}}</ref> The [[Portsmouth Sinfonia]] approached classical music from a different angle during the 1970s, recruiting players with [[outsider music|no musical training]] or who played an instrument new to them.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Real Godfathers of Punk |url=http://www.portsmouthsinfonia.com/media/sundaytimes.html |website=Portsmouth Sinfonia |publisher=Times Newspapers Ltd |access-date=30 July 2016 |date=30 May 2004}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Who were the Portsmouth Sinfonia? |url=http://classicalmusicreimagined.com/2016/03/15/the-portsmouth-sinfonia/ |website=Classical Music Reimagined |access-date=30 July 2016 |date=15 March 2016 |archive-date=8 June 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160608103637/http://classicalmusicreimagined.com/2016/03/15/the-portsmouth-sinfonia/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> The Portsmouth Summer Show is held at [[King George's Fields]]. The 2016 show held during the last weekend of April, featured [[cover band]]s such as the Silver Beatles, the Bog Rolling Stones, and Fleetingwood Mac.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.efestivals.co.uk/festivals/others2016/portsmouth |title=The Portsmouth Summer Show 2016 |publisher=Efestivals |access-date=1 October 2016}}</ref>

A number of musical works are set in the city. ''[[H.M.S. Pinafore]]'' is a comic opera in two acts set in Portsmouth Harbour, with music by [[Arthur Sullivan]] and libretto by [[W.S. Gilbert]].{{sfn|Stedman|1996|pp=157–158}} [[Portsmouth Point (Walton)|''Portsmouth Point'']] is a 1925 [[overture]] for orchestra by English composer [[William Walton]], inspired by [[Thomas Rowlandson]]'s etching of Portsmouth Point in Old Portsmouth.<ref>{{cite web |title=William Walton – general information |url=http://www.waltontrust.org/williamwalton/?p=639 |publisher=Walton Trust |access-date=30 July 2016 |archive-date=19 August 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160819122030/http://www.waltontrust.org/williamwalton/?p=639 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last=Pirie |first=Peter J. |title=Scapino. The Development of William Walton |journal=The Musical Times |volume=105 |issue=1454 |pages=258–259 |date=April 1964 |doi=10.2307/949354 |publisher=The Musical Times, Vol. 105, No. 1454 |jstor=949354}}</ref> The overture has been recorded many times,<ref>[https://www.discogs.com/search?q=portsmouth+point&type=all Selection of recordings of Portsmouth Point at Discogs] accessed 25 April 2025.</ref> and often played at the BBC [[The Proms|Proms]].<ref>[https://www.bbc.co.uk/proms/events/works/91b50d07-0d2a-42f9-9198-6c795031e7ca All Performances of William Walton: Overture ‘Portsmouth Point’ at BBC Proms (1927-2024)] at the Proms archive, accessed 25 April 2025.</ref> [[John Cranko]]'s 1951 ballet ''[[Pineapple Poll]]'', which features music from [[Gilbert and Sullivan]]'s operetta ''The Bumboat Woman's Story'', is also set in Portsmouth.<ref>{{cite web |title=Pineapple Poll |url=http://www.southernyouthballet.co.uk/page4.html |publisher=Southern Youth Ballet |access-date=30 July 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |title=The Royal Ballet in Pineapple Poll |journal=The Radio Times |date=30 October 1959 |issue=1877 |page=11 |url=http://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/d0eaf46616a34051a913b94cca100564 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151222083812/http://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/d0eaf46616a34051a913b94cca100564 |url-status=dead |archive-date=22 December 2015 |publisher=BBC |access-date=30 July 2016}}</ref>

Portsmouth hosts yearly remembrances of the D-Day landings, attended by veterans from Allied and Commonwealth nations.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.portsmouth.co.uk/portsmouth-and-southsea?articleid=2934161 |date=12 October 2006 |access-date=8 June 2007 |title=The pride and tears of D-Day |publisher=Portsmouth City Council |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927065035/http://www.portsmouth.co.uk/portsmouth-and-southsea?articleid=2934161 <!-- Bot retrieved archive --> |archive-date=27 September 2007}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=D-Day 70th anniversary: Ceremonies and staged landing held |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-27700479 |work=BBC News |access-date=30 July 2016 |date=5 June 2004}}</ref> The city played a major role in the 50th D-Day anniversary in 1994; visitors included US President [[Bill Clinton]], Australian Prime Minister [[Paul Keating]], King [[Harald V of Norway]], French President [[François Mitterrand]], New Zealand Prime Minister [[Jim Bolger]], Canadian Prime Minister [[Jean Chrétien]], Prime Minister [[John Major]], the Queen, and the Duke of Edinburgh.<ref>{{cite news |last=Vaidyanathan |first=Rajini |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-12500603 |title=Barack Obama's UK visit: Where did past presidents go? |work=BBC News |date=20 February 2011 |access-date=8 March 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=D-Day 50 Commemorations |url=http://www.portsmouth-guide.co.uk/local/dday50.htm |website=Portsmouth Guide |publisher=Portsmouth City Council |access-date=30 July 2016}}</ref> The 75th Anniversary of D-Day was similarly commemorated in the city. Prime Minister [[Theresa May]] led the event, and was joined by leaders of the US, Canada, Australia, France and Germany.<ref name="Mohan-Hickson">{{cite web |last1=Mohan-Hickson |first1=Matthew |title=REVEALED: Canadian Prime Minister is coming to Portsmouth for D-Day 75 ceremony |url=https://www.portsmouth.co.uk/news/people/d-day-75-candian-prime-minister-justin-trudeau-and-more-world-leaders-confirm-they-will-attend-portsmouth-ceremony-1315110 |website=Portsmouth |access-date=2 June 2020 |date=31 May 2019}}</ref>

The annual Portsmouth International Kite Festival, organised by the city council and the Kite Society of Great Britain, celebrated its 25th anniversary in 2016.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.portsmouthkitefestival.org.uk/ |title=About the Kite Festival |publisher=Portsmouthkitefestival.org.uk |access-date=1 October 2016}}</ref>

[[Victorious Festival]], the biggest metropolitan music festival in the UK takes place on Southsea Seafront in Portsmouth. It has been an annual event at this location since 2014. It is a large family-friendly music festival and has featured headliners including [[Stereophonics]], [[Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds]], [[The Prodigy]], and other prominent household names.<ref name="charity">[http://www.portsmouth.co.uk/our-region/portsmouth/music-festival-unveils-creation-of-victorious-foundation-to-support-most-vulnerable-children-in-portsmouth-1-7308292 Music festival unveils creation of Victorious Foundation to support most vulnerable children in Portsmouth], The News, 2 April 2016{{failed verification|date=August 2025}}</ref>

Portsmouth is frequently used as a filming location for television and film productions, especially the Historic Dockyard. Productions include [[Tommy (1975 film)|''Tommy'']], ''[[Tomorrow Never Dies]]'' (1997), [[Mansfield Park (1999 film)|''Mansfield Park'']] and the Hollywood adaptation of ''[[Les Miserables]]''.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.royalnavy.mod.uk/news-and-latest-activity/news/2013/january/11/130111-royal-navy-plays-part-in-les-miserables |title=Royal Navy Plays Part in Les Miserables |access-date=17 August 2020 |archive-date=11 August 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190811081526/https://www.royalnavy.mod.uk/news-and-latest-activity/news/2013/january/11/130111-royal-navy-plays-part-in-les-miserables |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.visitportsmouth.co.uk/explore/film-and-tv |title= Film and TV |access-date=15 September 2023}}</ref>

In 2005, Portsmouth featured in the first series of ITV's ''Britain's Toughest Towns''.<ref>{{cite web |title=Britains Toughest Towns, Season 1 Episode 5 |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0991619/ |website=IMDB |date=19 October 2005 |publisher=David Sumnall (director), David Sumnall (writer), Donal MacIntyre (star) |access-date=9 September 2020}}</ref> As this documentary also indicated, Portsmouth has issues with gangs and anti-social behaviour.<ref name="News May 2021">{{cite news |last1=Cotterill |first1=Tom |title=Fresh fury as more reckless gangs gather on Southsea Common 'putting lives at risk' |url=https://www.portsmouth.co.uk/health/coronavirus/fresh-fury-more-reckless-gangs-gather-southsea-common-putting-lives-risk-2862269 |access-date=18 June 2021 |work=Portsmouth News |date=22 May 2020 |ref=News May 2021}}</ref><ref name="News June 2021...">{{cite news |last1=Fishwick |first1=Ben |title=Southsea Common 'public order' incident involving 30 people sees man, 18, injured |url=https://www.portsmouth.co.uk/news/crime/southsea-common-public-order-incident-involving-30-people-sees-man-18-injured-3274260 |access-date=18 June 2021 |work=Portsmouth News |date=15 June 2021 |ref=News June 2021...}}</ref><ref name="News June 2021">{{cite news |title=Gangs of up to 20 yobs fighting in Buckland street, riding... |url=https://www.portsmouth.co.uk/news/crime/gangs-20-yobs-fighting-buckland-street-riding-motorbikes-paths-inhaling-laughing-gas-2882038 |access-date=18 June 2021 |work=Portsmouth News |date=12 June 2020 |ref=News June 2021}}</ref><ref name="HL June 2020">{{cite news |last1=Lewis |first1=Anna |title='They're laughing at police': Dispersal order in place at Southsea Common after gang of 200 teens fight, take drugs and intimidate residents |url=https://www.hampshirelive.news/news/hampshire-news/southsea-common-dispersal-order-fighting-4259999 |access-date=18 June 2021 |work=HampshireLive |date=24 June 2020 |ref=HL June 2020}}</ref><ref name="News Sept 2020">{{cite news |title=Gang with machete and knuckle duster seen fighting on... |url=https://www.portsmouth.co.uk/news/crime/gang-machete-and-knuckle-duster-seen-fighting-portsdown-hill-portsmouth-2972168 |access-date=18 June 2021 |work=Portsmouth News |date=16 September 2020 |ref=News Sept 2020}}</ref>

Portsmouth is home to Paul Stone, the street artist known as [[My Dog Sighs]].<ref>{{Cite news |last=Khomami |first=Nadia |date=2024-08-17 |title=Beyond Banksy: the other British street artists you should know |url=https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/article/2024/aug/17/beyond-banksy-the-other-british-street-artists-you-should-know |access-date=2024-12-16 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}</ref>  In 2021, for his INSIDE exhibition, he transformed a derelict ballroom into an immersive world inhabited by creatures that he called 'Quiet Little Voices'.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2021-07-04 |title=Derelict Southsea ballroom transformed by art project |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-hampshire-57712731 |access-date=2024-12-16 |work=BBC News |language=en-GB}}</ref>  In 2023 he celebrated 20 years as a street artist by hiding £30,000 of art across the city in a [[Gifted art|Free Art]] giveaway.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-03-31 |title=Street artist my Dog Sighs to create a city-wide treasure hunt in huge Easter weekend giveaway |url=https://www.portsmouth.co.uk/news/people/my-dog-sighs-portsmouth-street-artist-to-create-a-city-wide-treasure-hunt-in-huge-easter-weekend-giveaway-4086215 |access-date=2024-12-16 |website=The News |language=en}}</ref> He has been awarded an honorary doctorate by [[University of Portsmouth]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Paul Stone |url=https://www.port.ac.uk/about-us/alumni/honorary-degree-recipients/paul-stone |access-date=2024-12-17 |website=University of Portsmouth |language=en}}</ref>

Portsmouth City Council made a bid on 28 November 2025 to become [[UK City of Culture]] 2029.<ref>{{cite web |title=Portsmouth City Council announces bid for UK City of Culture 2029 |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c62d74wpq7eo |website=BBC News |access-date=28 November 2025 |date=28 November 2025}}</ref>

== Literature ==
[[File:Statue of Charles Dickens in Guildhall Square - geograph.org.uk - 3871763.jpg|thumb|This statue to [[Charles Dickens]] in Portsmouth is one of only three statues to the historic writer in the world. Dickens wrote in his will that he did not want such statues built in his honour.{{citation needed|date=November 2022}}]]
Portsmouth is the hometown of Fanny Price, the main character of [[Jane Austen]]'s novel ''[[Mansfield Park]]'', and most of its closing chapters are set there.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Wiltshire |first1=John |title=Exploring Mansfield Park in the footsteps of Fanny Price |url=http://www.jasna.org/persuasions/printed/number28/wiltshire.pdf |publisher=jasna |access-date=19 August 2016}}</ref> Nicholas and Smike, the main protagonists of [[Charles Dickens]]' novel ''[[The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby]]'', make their way to Portsmouth and become involved with a theatrical troupe.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.welcometoportsmouth.co.uk/charles_dickens.html |title=Dickens' novel influences on Portsmouth |publisher=Portsmouth City Council |date=22 July 1904 |access-date=8 March 2011}}</ref> Portsmouth is most often the port from which Captain Jack Aubrey's ships sail in [[Patrick O'Brian]]'s seafaring historical [[Aubrey-Maturin series]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Jack Aubrey's England tour |url=http://www.brianlavery.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/POB-complete2.pdf |publisher=Brian Lavery |access-date=30 July 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160817073323/http://www.brianlavery.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/POB-complete2.pdf |archive-date=17 August 2016 |url-status=dead}}</ref> Portsmouth is the main setting of [[Jonathan Meades]]'s 1993 novel ''Pompey''.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Adams |first1=Matthew |title=Pompey by Jonathan Meades: Book review – a startlingly filthy read |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/reviews/pompey-by-jonathan-meades-book-review-a-startlingly-filthy-read-that-shows-meades-on-top-form-8952758.html |newspaper=The Independent |access-date=30 July 2016 |date=20 November 2013}}</ref> Since the novel was published, Meades has presented a TV programme documenting Victorian architecture in Portsmouth Dockyard.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Cooke |first1=Rachel |title=Jonathan Meades: 'I find everything fascinating and that is a gift' |url=https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2013/nov/10/jonathan-meades-architecture-television-fiction |work=The Guardian |access-date=30 July 2016 |date=10 November 2013}}</ref>

Victorian novelist and historian [[Sir Walter Besant]] documented his 1840s childhood in ''By Celia's Arbour: A Tale of Portsmouth Town'', precisely describing the town before its defensive walls were removed.<ref>{{cite book |title=The Literary World, Volume 17 |date=1878 |page=120 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gjYZAAAAYAAJ&q=By+Celia%27s+Arbour:+A+Tale+of+Portsmouth+Town+wall |access-date=30 July 2016 |language=en}}</ref> Southsea (as Port Burdock) features in ''[[The History of Mr Polly]]'' by [[H. G. Wells]], who describes it as "one of the three townships that are grouped around the Port Burdock naval dockyards".<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2011/mar/13/hg-wells-kipps-classics-review |title=Kipps by HG Wells – review |work=The Guardian |access-date=30 July 2016 |last1=Cummins |first1=Anthony |date=13 March 2011}}</ref> The resort is also the setting of the [[graphic novel]] ''[[The Tragical Comedy or Comical Tragedy of Mr. Punch]]'' by [[high fantasy]] author [[Neil Gaiman]], who grew up in Portsmouth. A Southsea street was renamed The Ocean at the End of the Lane by the city council in honour of Gaiman's [[The Ocean at the End of the Lane|novel of the same name]].<ref name=Flood>{{cite web |last1=Flood |first1=Alison |title=Neil Gaiman novel inspires Portsmouth street name |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2013/jun/21/neil-gaiman-portsmouth-street-ocean |work=The Guardian |access-date=30 July 2016 |date=21 June 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title='Hanging Out with the Dream King': An Interview with Neil Gaiman |url=http://www.starandcrescent.org.uk/2015/02/16/hanging-out-with-the-dream-king-an-interview-with-neil-gaiman/ |date=16 February 2015 |work=Star & Crescent |access-date=19 August 2016}}</ref>

Crime novels set in Portsmouth and the surrounding area include [[Graham Hurley]]'s D.I.{{nbsp}}Faraday/D.C.{{nbsp}}Winter novels<ref name="graham">{{cite web |url=http://www.grahamhurley.co.uk/books/one%20under.htm |title=Other novels in Portsmouth culture |publisher=Graham Hurley Publishing |access-date=8 March 2011}}</ref> and [[C. J. Sansom]]'s Tudor crime novel, ''Heartstone''; the latter refers to the warship ''Mary Rose'' and describes Tudor life in the town.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/reviews/heartstone-by-c-j-sansom-2078398.html |title=Heartsone, by C.&nbsp;J Sansom |work=The Independent |date=23 October 2011 |access-date=29 July 2016}}</ref> ''Portsmouth Fairy Tales for Grown Ups'', a collection of short stories, was published in 2014.<ref>{{cite web |title=Portsmouth Fairy Tales for Grown-Ups |url=http://www.lovesouthsea.co.uk/shop/portsmouth-fairy-tales-for-grown-ups |website=Love Southsea |publisher=Portsmouth City Council |access-date=30 July 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160820083633/http://www.lovesouthsea.co.uk/shop/portsmouth-fairy-tales-for-grown-ups |archive-date=20 August 2016 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Portsmouth Fairy Tales for Grown Ups information |url=http://www.william-sutton.co.uk/books/portsmouth-fairy-tales-for-grown-ups/ |publisher=William Sutton |access-date=30 July 2016}}</ref> The collection, set around Portsmouth, includes stories by crime novelists William Sutton and Diana Bretherick.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://angryrobotbooks.com/2013/12/william-sutton-a-shilling-shocker-short-story/ |title=William Sutton – A Shilling Shocker Short Story |publisher=Angry Robot Books |access-date=5 February 2016 |archive-date=5 February 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160205180044/http://angryrobotbooks.com/2013/12/william-sutton-a-shilling-shocker-short-story/ |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.lbabooks.com/author/diana-bretherick/ |title=Diana Bretherick, LBA Literary Agents |publisher=LBA Literary Agents |access-date=5 February 2016 |archive-date=5 February 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160205175457/http://www.lbabooks.com/author/diana-bretherick/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>

== Education ==
{{See also|List of schools in Portsmouth}}

[[File:Park Building, University of Portsmouth - geograph.org.uk - 548659.jpg|thumb|upright|Park Building, University of Portsmouth|alt=A side-facing view of the Park Building, one of the buildings which make up the University of Portsmouth]]

The [[University of Portsmouth]] was founded in 1992 as a [[new university]] from Portsmouth Polytechnic; in 2016, it had 20,000 students.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk/portsmouth |publisher=The Complete University Guide |access-date=12 June 2015 |title=University of Portsmouth information}}</ref> The university was ranked among the world's top 100 modern universities in April 2015.<ref name="Gurney">{{cite news |author=Josie Gurney-Read |title=Top 100 new universities – the list in full |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/universityeducation/11570249/Top-100-new-universities-the-list-in-full.html |newspaper=Telegraph |access-date=8 November 2016 |date=29 April 2015}}</ref><ref name="uopnews">{{cite web |title=Portsmouth in Top 100 Modern Universities in world |url=http://uopnews.port.ac.uk/2015/04/29/portsmouth-in-top-100-modern-universities-in-world/ |website=UoP News |publisher=University of Portsmouth |access-date=8 November 2016 |date=29 April 2015 |archive-date=9 November 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161109021814/http://uopnews.port.ac.uk/2015/04/29/portsmouth-in-top-100-modern-universities-in-world/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> In 2013, it had about 23,000 students and over 2,500 staff members.{{sfn|Hewitt|2013|p=198}} Several local colleges also award [[Higher National Diploma]]s, including [[Highbury College]] (specialising in vocational education),<ref>{{cite web |title=Higher National Certificates at Higbury |url=https://www.highbury.ac.uk/hnd-and-hnc/ |publisher=Highbury College Portsmouth |access-date=31 July 2016}}</ref> and Portsmouth College (which offers academic courses).<ref>{{cite web |title=Access to Higher Education at Portsmouth College |url=https://www.portsmouth-college.ac.uk/adult-learning/full-time/205-access-to-higher-education |publisher=Portsmouth College |access-date=31 July 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160323180523/https://www.highbury.ac.uk/hnd-and-hnc/ |archive-date=23 March 2016}}</ref> [[Admiral Lord Nelson School]] and [[Miltoncross Academy]] were built in the late 1990s to meet the needs of a growing school-age population.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Timms |first1=Dave |title=Admiral Lord Nelson School Map |url=http://www.welcometoportsmouth.co.uk/admiral%20lord%20nelson%20map.html |website=Welcome to Portsmouth |publisher=Portsmouth City Council |access-date=20 August 2016 |archive-date=12 April 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160412113826/http://www.welcometoportsmouth.co.uk/admiral%20lord%20nelson%20map.html |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Miltoncross Academy |url=https://www.ucasprogress.com/provider/76564/miltoncross-academy |publisher=UCAS Progress |access-date=20 August 2016 |archive-date=21 August 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160821041838/https://www.ucasprogress.com/provider/76564/miltoncross-academy |url-status=dead }}</ref>

After the cancellation of the national building programme for schools, redevelopment halted.<ref>{{cite news |last=Richardson |first=Hannah |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/10514113 |title=School buildings scheme scrapped |work=BBC News |date=5 July 2010 |access-date=8 March 2011}}</ref> Two schools in the city were judged "inadequate", and 29 of its 63 schools were considered "no longer good enough" by [[Ofsted]] in 2009.<ref>{{cite web |title=Satisfactory is not good enough for city's schools |url=http://www.portsmouth.co.uk/news/satisfactory-is-not-good-enough-for-city-s-schools-1-1242803 |publisher=Portsmouth City Council |access-date=31 July 2016 |date=10 November 2009 |archive-date=13 August 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160813000600/http://www.portsmouth.co.uk/news/satisfactory-is-not-good-enough-for-city-s-schools-1-1242803 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Before it was taken over by [[Ark (charity)|Ark Schools]] and became [[Ark Charter Academy]], St{{nbsp}}Luke's Church of England secondary school was one of England's worst schools in GCSE achievement. It was criticised by officials for its behavioural standards, with students reportedly throwing chairs at teachers.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Garner |first1=Richard |title=The children used to throw chairs at people out of the window |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/education/education-news/the-children-used-to-throw-chairs-at-people-out-of-the-window-how-a-failing-school-was-turned-round-9039183.html |newspaper=The Guardian |access-date=31 July 2016 |date=5 January 2014}}</ref> Since it became an academy in 2009, the school has improved; 69 per cent of its students achieved five GCSEs with grades of A* to C, including English and mathematics.<ref>{{cite news |title=Charter school in different class |url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/local/hampshire/hi/people_and_places/newsid_8939000/8939059.stm |work=BBC News |access-date=31 July 2016 |date=24 August 2010}}</ref> The academy's intake policy is for a standard comprehensive school, drawing from the community rather than by religion.<ref>{{cite web |title=Admissions policy |url=http://charteracademy.org.uk/admissions-policy |publisher=Charter Academy |access-date=31 July 2016 |archive-date=22 October 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161022161028/http://charteracademy.org.uk/admissions-policy |url-status=dead }}</ref>

[[Portsmouth Grammar School]], the city's oldest independent school, was founded in 1732.<ref>{{cite web |title=Portsmouth Grammar School |url=http://www.principal.co.uk/case_studies/portsmouth_grammar_school_.php |publisher=Principal Corporation Ltd |access-date=19 August 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160820022643/http://www.principal.co.uk/case_studies/portsmouth_grammar_school_.php |archive-date=20 August 2016 |url-status=dead}}</ref>{{sfn|Hewitt|2013|p=200}}{{verify source|date=September 2020}} Other independent schools include [[Portsmouth High School, Southsea|Portsmouth High School]],<ref>{{cite web |title=Portsmouth High School |url=https://www.portsmouthschoolsri.org/o/phs |website=Portsmouth High School |access-date=25 April 2022}}</ref> and [[Mayville High School, Southsea|Mayville High School]] (founded in 1897).<ref>{{cite web |title=Mayville High School homepage |url=http://www.mayvillehighschool.com/ |publisher=Mayville High School |access-date=31 July 2016}}</ref>

== Landmarks ==

[[File:HMS Warrior and Spinnaker Tower.jpg|thumb|{{HMS|Warrior|1860|6}} (right) and the [[Spinnaker Tower]] are two of Portsmouth's main attractions.|alt=A view of the port side of HMS Warrior alongside Portsmouth Harbour. The Spinnaker Tower can be seen to the far left.]]

Many of Portsmouth's former defences are now museums or event venues. Several Victorian-era forts on Portsdown Hill are tourist attractions;<ref>{{cite web |title=Purbrook Fort |url=http://www.victorianforts.co.uk/pdf/datasheets/purbrook.pdf |website=Victorian Forts |publisher=Hampshire County Council |access-date=3 August 2016}}</ref> [[Fort Nelson, Hampshire|Fort Nelson]], at its summit, is home to the Royal Armouries museum.<ref>{{cite web |title=Fort Nelson Royal Armouries |url=https://www.royalarmouries.org/visit-us/fort-nelson/ |publisher=Royal Armouries |access-date=3 August 2016}}</ref> Tudor-era Southsea Castle has a small museum, and much of the seafront defences leading to the [[Round Tower (Portsmouth)|Round Tower]] are open to the public. The castle was withdrawn from active service in 1960, and was purchased by Portsmouth City Council.<ref>{{cite web |title=About Southsea Castle |url=http://www.southseacastle.co.uk/tudor-castle/about-the-castle |website=Southsea Castle |publisher=Portsmouth City Council |access-date=3 August 2016 |archive-date=9 October 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181009152010/http://southseacastle.co.uk/tudor-castle/about-the-castle |url-status=dead }}</ref> The southern part of the Royal Marines' [[Eastney Barracks]] is now the [[Royal Marines Museum]], and was opened to the public under the [[National Heritage Act 1983]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Royal Marines Museum Account 2010–2011 |url=https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/247274/1304.pdf |publisher=Gov UK |access-date=22 August 2016}}</ref> The museum received a £14&nbsp;million grant from the National Lottery Fund, and was scheduled to relocate to Portsmouth Historic Dockyard in 2019.<ref>{{cite web |title=Royal Marines Museum relocates following £14m grant |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-hampshire-36323476 |work=BBC News |access-date=3 August 2016 |date=19 May 2016}}</ref> The birthplace of [[Charles Dickens]], at Mile End Terrace,<ref name="dickens">{{cite web |title=The Charles Dickens Birthplace Museum |url=http://www.charlesdickensbirthplace.co.uk/dickens-birthplace/museum |website=Charles Dickens Birthplace |publisher=Portsmouth City of Museums |access-date=3 August 2016 |archive-date=16 October 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161016021945/http://charlesdickensbirthplace.co.uk/dickens-birthplace/museum |url-status=dead }}</ref>{{sfn|Hewitt|2013|p=73}} is the [[Charles Dickens' Birthplace Museum]]; the four-storey red brick building became a Grade{{nbsp}}I listed building in 1953.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.britishlistedbuildings.co.uk/en-474977-charles-dickens-birthplace-museum- |title=Charles Dickens Birthplace Museum, Portsmouth |publisher=British Listed Buildings |access-date=1 October 2016}}</ref> Other tourist attractions include the Blue Reef Aquarium (with an "underwater safari" of British aquatic life)<ref>{{cite web |title=Blue Reef Aquarium |url=http://www.visitportsmouth.co.uk/things-to-do/blue-reef-aquarium-p43123 |website=Visit Portsmouth |publisher=Portsmouth City Council |access-date=3 August 2016}}</ref> and the Cumberland House Natural History Museum, housing a variety of local wildlife.<ref>{{cite web |title=Cumberland House Natural History Museum |url=http://www.portsmouthnaturalhistory.co.uk/ |website=Portsmouth Natural History |publisher=Portsmouth City Council |access-date=3 August 2016 |archive-date=23 October 2005 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051023003728/http://www.portsmouthnaturalhistory.co.uk/ |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Cumberland House Natural History Museum |url=http://www.visitportsmouth.co.uk/things-to-do/cumberland-house-natural-history-museum-p221381 |website=Visit Portsmouth |publisher=Portsmouth City Council |access-date=3 August 2016}}</ref>

[[File:HMS Victory.jpg|thumb|left|{{HMS|Victory}} at Portsmouth Historic Dockyard, the world's oldest naval ship still in commission, is one of the city's most popular tourist attractions.|alt=A picture of HMS Victory, the world's oldest commissioned naval ship, situated in Portsmouth's dry dock. The ship itself is missing its figurehead in this photo, but retains its original sails.]]

Most of the city's landmarks and tourist attractions are related to its naval history. They include [[the D-Day Story]] in Southsea, which contains the {{convert|83|m|ft|adj=mid|-long}} [[Overlord Embroidery]].<ref>{{cite web|title=D-Day Museum and Overlord Embroidery |url=http://www.ddaymuseum.co.uk/ |website=D-Day Museum |publisher=Portsmouth City Council |access-date=2 August 2016}}</ref>{{sfn|Hewitt|2013|p=156}} Portsmouth is home to several well-known ships; Horatio Nelson's flagship {{HMS|Victory}}, the world's oldest naval ship still in commission, is in the [[dry dock]] of [[Portsmouth Historic Dockyard]]. The ''Victory'' was placed in a permanent dry dock in 1922 when the [[Society for Nautical Research]] led a national appeal to restore her,{{sfn|Hewitt|2013|p=39}} and 22{{nbsp}}million people have visited the ship.<ref>{{cite web |title=History of HMS Victory |url=http://www.hms-victory.com/history |website=HMS Victory |publisher=The National Museum |access-date=2 August 2016 |archive-date=6 May 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160506075044/http://www.hms-victory.com/history |url-status=dead }}</ref> The remains of Henry VIII's flagship, ''Mary Rose'', was rediscovered on the seabed in 1971.{{sfn|Hewitt|2013|p=37}} She was raised and brought to a purpose-built structure in Portsmouth Historic Dockyard in 1982.<ref name="rose">{{cite web |title=Raising the Mary Rose – The Mary Rose Museum |url=http://www.maryrose.org/discover-our-collection/story-of-the-ship/raising-the-mary-rose/ |website=Mary Rose Museum |publisher=Portsmouth City Council |access-date=25 July 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160730221238/http://www.maryrose.org/discover-our-collection/story-of-the-ship/raising-the-mary-rose/ |archive-date=30 July 2016 |url-status=dead}}</ref> Britain's first iron-hulled warship, {{HMS|Warrior|1860|6}}, was restored and moved to Portsmouth in June 1987 after serving as an oil fuel pier at [[Pembroke Dock]] in [[Pembrokeshire]] for fifty years.{{sfn|Hewitt|p=42|2013}}{{page needed|date=May 2020}}<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.hmswarrior.org/history/homecoming |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130414232019/http://www.hmswarrior.org/history/homecoming |url-status=usurped |archive-date=14 April 2013 |title=Restoration&nbsp;— Homecoming |publisher=HMS Warrior Preservation Trust |access-date=28 March 2013}}</ref>{{sfn|Winton|1987|p=5}} The [[National Museum of the Royal Navy]], in the dockyard, is sponsored by a charity that promotes research into the Royal Dockyard's history and archaeology.<ref>{{cite web |title=History of the Trust |url=http://portsmouthdockyard.org.uk/about/history-of-the-trust |publisher=Portsmouth Royal Dockyard Historical Trust |access-date=2 August 2016}}</ref> The dockyard hosts the Victorian Festival of Christmas, featuring [[Father Christmas]] in a traditional green robe, each November.<ref>{{cite web |title=Victorian Festival of Christmas |url=http://www.maryrose.org/festival-of-christmas-2013/ |website=Mary Rose |publisher=Hampshire County Council |access-date=2 August 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160814094746/http://www.maryrose.org/festival-of-christmas-2013/ |archive-date=14 August 2016 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Victorian Festival of Christmas |url=http://www.historicdockyard.co.uk/events/event/496-victorian-festival-of-christmas |website=Historic Dockyard |publisher=Portsmouth City Council |access-date=2 August 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160721122919/http://www.historicdockyard.co.uk/events/event/496-victorian-festival-of-christmas |archive-date=21 July 2016 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

Portsmouth's long association with the armed forces is demonstrated by a large number of war memorials, including several at the Royal Marines Museum<ref>{{cite web |title=Projects – Royal Marines Museum |url=http://www.royalmarinesmuseum.co.uk/support-us/historical-society/projects |website=Royal Marines Museum |publisher=The National Museum |access-date=3 August 2016 |archive-date=9 August 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160809051043/http://www.royalmarinesmuseum.co.uk/support-us/historical-society/projects |url-status=dead }}</ref> and a large collection of memorials related to the Royal Navy in [[Victoria Park, Portsmouth|Victoria Park]].<ref name="vic"/> The [[Portsmouth Naval Memorial]], in Southsea Common, commemorates the 24,591 British sailors who died during both World Wars and have no known grave.{{sfn|Hewitt|2013|p=135}} Designed by Sir [[Robert Lorimer]], it was unveiled by [[George VI]] (then [[Duke of York]]) on 15 October 1924.<ref>{{cite web |title=Portsmouth Naval Memorial Cemetery Details |url=http://www.cwgc.org/find-a-cemetery/cemetery/144703/PORTSMOUTH%20NAVAL%20MEMORIAL |publisher=Commonwealth War Graves Commission |access-date=22 August 2016}}</ref> In the city centre, the [[Guildhall Square Cenotaph]] contains the names of the fallen and is guarded by stone sculptures of machine gunners by [[Charles Sargeant Jagger]].<ref>{{cite web |title=The Guildhall Square Cenotaph |url=http://www.iwm.org.uk/memorials/item/memorial/21430 |publisher=Imperial War Museums |access-date=3 August 2016}}</ref> The west face of the memorial reads:

{{blockquote|This memorial was erected by the people of Portsmouth in proud and loving memory of those who in the glorious morning of their days for England's sake lost all but England's praise. May light perpetual shine upon them.<ref>{{cite web |title=Memorials and Monuments in Portsmouth City Centre (The Guildhall Square Cenotaph) |url=http://www.memorialsinportsmouth.co.uk/city-centre/cenotaph.htm |website=Memorials in Portsmouth |publisher=Portsmouth City Council |access-date=3 August 2016}}</ref>}}

The city has three cemeteries: Kingston, Milton Road, and Highland Road. Kingston Cemetery, opened in 1856, is in east Fratton. At {{convert|52|acres}}, it is Portsmouth's largest cemetery and has about 400 burials a year.<ref name="cemeteries"/> In February 2014, a ceremony celebrating the 180th anniversary of Portsmouth's Polish community was held at the cemetery.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-hampshire-26315789 |title=Portsmouth's Polish community marks 180th anniversary |publisher=BBC |date=23 February 2014 |access-date=1 October 2016}}</ref> The approximately {{convert|25|acre|adj=on}} Milton Road Cemetery, founded on 8 April 1912, has about 200 burials per year. There is a [[crematorium]] in [[Portchester]].<ref name="cemeteries">{{cite web|url=https://www.portsmouth.gov.uk/ext/community-and-environment/community/portsmouth-cemeteries.aspx |title=Portsmouth cemeteries |publisher=Portsmouth City Council |access-date=1 October 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161002104810/https://www.portsmouth.gov.uk/ext/community-and-environment/community/portsmouth-cemeteries.aspx |archive-date=2 October 2016 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

== Gunwharf Quays ==
{{main|Gunwharf Quays}}

[[File:Spinnaker Tower 2014.jpg|thumb|upright|The Spinnaker Tower, seen from the waterfront at Gunwharf Quays|alt=A view of the Spinnaker Tower from the ground at Gunwharf Quays. The tower itself resembles a sail, reflecting Portsmouth's maritime history.]]

The naval shore establishment {{HMS|Vernon|shore establishment|6}} contained the Royal Navy's arsenal; weapons and ammunition which would be taken from ships at its 'Gun Wharf' as they entered the harbour, and resupplied when they headed back to sea. The 1919 ''Southsea and Portsmouth Official Guide'' described the establishment as "the finest collections of weapons outside the Tower of London, containing more than 25,000 rifles".{{sfn|Hewitt|2013|pp=185, 186}} During the early nineteenth century, the 'Gunwharf' supplied the fleet with a "grand arsenal" of cannons, mortars, bombs, and ordnance. Although gunpowder was not provided due to safety concerns, it could be obtained at Priddy's Hard (near Gosport).{{sfn|Allen|2015|p=123}} An armoury sold small arms to soldiers, and the [[stone frigate]] also had blacksmith and carpenter shops for armourers. It was run by three officers: a ''viz'' (storekeeper), a clerk, and a foreman. By 1817, Gunwharf reportedly employed 5,000 men and housed the world's largest naval arsenal.{{sfn|Allen|2015|pp=123, 124}}

HMS ''Vernon'' was closed on 1 April 1996<ref name="vernon">{{cite web |title=History of HMS Vernon |url=http://www.mcdoa.org.uk/history_of_hms_vernon.htm |publisher=Mcdoa |access-date=3 August 2016 |archive-date=7 March 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140307081225/http://www.mcdoa.org.uk/History_of_HMS_Vernon.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref> and was redeveloped by Portsmouth City Council as Gunwharf Quays,<ref name="guns"/> a mixed residential and retail site with [[outlet store]]s, restaurants, pubs, cafés and a cinema.<ref>{{cite web |title=Shops at Gunwharf Quays |url=https://gunwharf-quays.com/shops |website=Gunwharf Quays |publisher=Portsmouth City Council |access-date=3 August 2016}}</ref> Construction of the [[Spinnaker Tower]] began in 2001, and was completed in the summer of 2005. The project exceeded its budget and cost £36{{nbsp}}million, of which Portsmouth City Council contributed £11&nbsp;million.<ref>{{cite news |title=Spinnaker opens five years late |url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/hampshire/4326932.stm |work=BBC News |access-date=3 August 2016 |date=18 October 2005}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Spinnaker Tower, Portsmouth |url=http://www.skyscrapernews.com/buildings.php?id=406 |publisher=Skyscraper News |access-date=3 August 2016 |archive-date=29 November 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141129034544/http://www.skyscrapernews.com/buildings.php?id=406 |url-status=dead }}</ref>{{sfn|Hewitt|2013|p=232}} The {{convert|560|ft|adj=on}} tower is visible at a distance of {{convert|23|mi}} in clear weather, and its viewing platforms overlook the Solent (towards the Isle of Wight), the harbour and Southsea Castle.<ref>{{cite web|title=History & Construction – Spinnaker Tower |url=https://www.spinnakertower.co.uk/about/history-construction/ |website=Spinnaker Tower |publisher=Portsmouth City Council |access-date=22 August 2016 |archive-date=20 September 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160920124000/https://www.spinnakertower.co.uk/about/history-construction/ |url-status=dead}}</ref>{{sfn|Hewitt|2013|p=233}} The tower weighs over {{convert|33000|tonnes}}.<ref>{{cite web|title=Spinnaker Tower overview |url=http://www.great-towers.com/towers/spinnaker-tower/ |publisher=The World Federation of Great Towers |access-date=3 August 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141111060217/http://www.great-towers.com/towers/spinnaker-tower/ |archive-date=11 November 2014 |url-status=dead}}</ref>{{sfn|Hewitt|2013|p=233}}and has the largest glass floor in Europe.

== Southsea ==
{{Main|Southsea}}

[[File:Southsea Clarence Pier.jpg|thumb|right|Southsea Promenade, which includes the Clarence Pier amusement park|alt=A view of the Southsea Promenade, which contains arcades, restaurants, cinemas and a pier (which cannot be seen in this photograph)]]

[[File:Southsea War Memorial - geograph.org.uk - 1297412.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Portsmouth Naval Memorial]] in Southsea|alt=The Portsmouth Naval Memorial in Southsea: a large stone pillar and a plaque commemorating the fallen sailors of both World Wars]]

Southsea is a [[seaside resort]] and residential area of Portsmouth located at the southern end of Portsea Island. Its name originates from Southsea Castle, a seafront castle built in 1544 by Henry{{nbsp}}VIII to help defend the [[Solent]] and Portsmouth Harbour.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.southseacastle.co.uk/tudor-castle/about-the-castle |title=About Southsea Castle' |publisher=Portsmouth Museums |date=2015 |access-date=26 March 2015 |archive-date=9 October 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181009152010/http://southseacastle.co.uk/tudor-castle/about-the-castle |url-status=dead }}</ref> The area was developed in 1809 as Croxton Town; by the 1860s, the suburb of Southsea had expanded to provide working-class housing.<ref name="pissea"/> Southsea developed as a seaside and bathing resort.<ref name="pissea"/> A pump room and baths were built near the present-day [[Clarence Pier]], and a complex was developed which included vapour baths, showers, and card-playing and assembly rooms for holiday-goers.{{sfn|Quail|2000|pp=16–17}}

Clarence Pier, opened in 1861 by the [[Edward VII|Prince]] and [[Alexandra of Denmark|Princess of Wales]], was named after Portsmouth military governor [[Lord Frederick FitzClarence]] and was described as "one of the largest amusement parks on the south coast".{{sfn|Hewitt|2013|p=140}} [[South Parade Pier]] was built in 1878, and is among the United Kingdom's 55 remaining private piers.{{sfn|Hewitt|2013|p=138}}{{sfn|Quail|2000|p=46}} Originally a terminal for ferries travelling to the Isle of Wight, it was soon redeveloped as an entertainment centre. The pier was rebuilt after fires in 1904, 1967 and 1974 (during the filming of ''[[Tommy (1975 film)|Tommy]]'').{{sfn|Hewitt|2013|p=138}}<ref name="pissea"/> Plans were announced in 2015 for a Solent Eye at Clarence Pier: a £750,000, 24-gondola [[Ferris wheel]] similar to the [[London Eye]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.portsmouth.co.uk/business/plan-unveiled-for-750-000-ferris-wheel-similar-to-london-eye-on-southsea-seafront-1-7079196 |title=Plan unveiled for £750,000 ferris wheel similar to London Eye on Southsea seafront |publisher=The News |access-date=1 October 2016 |archive-date=16 May 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160516083643/http://www.portsmouth.co.uk/business/plan-unveiled-for-750-000-ferris-wheel-similar-to-london-eye-on-southsea-seafront-1-7079196 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Southsea is dominated by Southsea Common, a {{convert|480|acre|adj=on}} grassland created by draining the marshland next to the vapour baths in 1820. The common met the demands of the early-19th-century military for a clear [[Shooting range|firing range]],{{sfn|Quail|2000|p=19–20}} and parallels the shore from Clarence Pier to Southsea Castle.{{sfn|Quail|2000|p=19–20}} A popular recreation area, it hosts a number of annual events which include carnivals, Christmas markets, and Victorian festivals.<ref>{{cite web|title=Top Events for 2016 at Southsea Common |url=http://www.visitportsmouth.co.uk/inspire-me/top-events-for-2016 |website=Visit Portsmouth |publisher=Portsmouth City Council |access-date=3 August 2016}}</ref>{{sfn|Hewitt|2013|p=136}} The common has a large collection of mature [[elm]] trees, believed to be the oldest and largest surviving in Hampshire and which have escaped [[Dutch elm disease]] due to their isolation. Other plants include the [[Canary Island]] date palms (''[[Phoenix canariensis]]''), some of Britain's largest, which have recently produced viable seed.<ref>{{Cite news |url=http://www.portsmouth.co.uk/nostalgia/the-southsea-trees-which-escaped-disease-but-not-hurricane-1-6142130 |title=Southsea Common Trees |publisher=Portsmouth City Council |access-date=29 March 2015 |archive-date=2 April 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402124718/http://www.portsmouth.co.uk/nostalgia/the-southsea-trees-which-escaped-disease-but-not-hurricane-1-6142130 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

Southsea is often mistaken as a town separate from Portsmouth, mainly due to the confusing [[Portsmouth & Southsea railway station]] name.{{citation needed|date=May 2022}} The resort of Southsea previously had its own dedicated light railway line; the [[Southsea Railway]] and its own terminus, [[East Southsea railway station]]. The Southsea Railway and station were closed in 1914, with the station's name merged into that of Portsmouth's main railway station name in 1925.

== Religion ==
{{See also|List of places of worship in Portsmouth}}

[[File:Portsmouthcatholiccathedral.jpg|thumb|right|St John the Evangelist, the Roman Catholic cathedral built in 1882, is one of the city's two cathedrals.|alt=A front facing view of Portsmouth's Roman Catholic cathedral, St John the Evangelist. The cathedral itself is made of brick and has a large chancel and nave at the front. Stained windows are also seen above the front door.]]

Portsmouth has two cathedrals: the [[Portsmouth Cathedral|Anglican Cathedral of St Thomas]] in [[Old Portsmouth]] and the Roman Catholic [[Cathedral of St John the Evangelist, Portsmouth|Cathedral of St John the Evangelist]]. The city is one of 34 British settlements with a [[Roman Catholic]] cathedral.<ref name="cathhh"/><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.historic-uk.com/HistoryMagazine/DestinationsUK/Cathedrals/ |title=List of UK Cathedrals |publisher=Historic UK |access-date=29 March 2015}}</ref> Portsmouth's first chapel, dedicated to [[Thomas Becket]], was built by Jean de{{nbsp}}Gisors in the second half of the 12th century.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.welcometoportsmouth.co.uk/portsmouth%20cathedral.html |title=St Thomas's Portsmouth Cathedral &#124; Old Portsmouth |publisher=Welcometoportsmouth.co.uk |access-date=9 August 2011 |archive-date=3 December 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181203160933/http://www.welcometoportsmouth.co.uk/portsmouth%20cathedral.html |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name="chapel2">{{cite web |title=History of Portsmouth Cathedral |url=http://www.portsmouthcathedral.org.uk/history.htm |website=Portsmouth Cathedral |publisher=Portsmouth City Council |access-date=3 August 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150120122728/http://www.portsmouthcathedral.org.uk/history.htm |archive-date=20 January 2015}}</ref> It was rebuilt and developed into a [[parish church]] and an Anglican cathedral.<ref name="chapel2"/><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.history.inportsmouth.co.uk/places/ebenezer.htm |title=Portsmouth chapel history |publisher=History.inportsmouth.co.uk |date=10 January 1941 |access-date=8 March 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100711094339/http://www.history.inportsmouth.co.uk/places/ebenezer.htm |archive-date=11 July 2010}}</ref> Damaged during the 1642 [[Siege of Portsmouth]], its tower and [[nave]] were rebuilt after [[Stuart Restoration|the Restoration]].{{sfn|Knowles|2006|p=21}} Significant changes were made when the Diocese of Portsmouth was founded in 1927.{{sfn|Hewitt|2013|p=44}} It became a cathedral in 1932 and was enlarged, although construction was halted during the Second World War. The cathedral was re-consecrated before [[Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother]] in 1991.<ref>{{cite web |title=Portsmouth Cathedral, History and Visiting |url=http://www.britainexpress.com/attractions.htm?attraction=1520 |website=Hampshire Guide |publisher=Britain Express |access-date=3 August 2016}}</ref>

The [[Domus Dei|Royal Garrison Church]] was founded in 1212 by [[Peter des Roches]], [[Bishop of Winchester]]. After centuries of decay, it became an ammunition store in 1540. The 1662 marriage of Charles{{nbsp}}II and [[Catherine of Braganza]] was celebrated in the church, and large receptions were held there after the defeat of [[Napoleon]] at the 1813 [[Battle of Leipzig]]. In 1941, a firebomb fell on its roof and destroyed the nave.<ref name="garr">{{cite web |title=Royal Garrison Church, Portsmouth |url=http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/royal-garrison-church-portsmouth/history/ |publisher=English Heritage |access-date=3 August 2016}}</ref> Although the church's chancel was saved by servicemen shortly after the raid, replacing the roof was deemed impossible due to the large amounts of salt solution absorbed by the stonework.{{sfn|Hewitt|2013|p=150}}

The Cathedral of St John the Evangelist was built in 1882 to accommodate Portsmouth's increasing Roman Catholic population, and replaced a chapel built in 1796 to the west. Before 1791, Roman Catholic chapels in towns with [[Borough status in the United Kingdom|borough status]] were prohibited. The chapel opened after the [[Roman Catholic Relief Act 1791]] was passed, and was replaced by the cathedral.<ref name="catholic">{{cite web |title=History of St John's Catholic Cathedral |url=http://www.portsmouthcatholiccathedral.org.uk/history.php |publisher=St John's Catholic Cathedral |access-date=3 August 2016}}</ref> It was constructed in phases; the nave was completed in 1882; the [[Crossing (architecture)|crossing]] in 1886, and the [[chancel]] by 1893. During the blitz, the cathedral was badly damaged when Luftwaffe bombing destroyed Bishop's House next door; it was restored in 1970, 1982, and 2001.<ref name="catholic"/> The [[Roman Catholic Diocese of Portsmouth]] was founded in 1882 by [[Pope Leo XIII]].{{efn|Vatican policy in England at the time was to found [[Holy See|sees]] in locations other than those used for Anglican cathedrals.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/12296a.htm |title=Diocese of Portsmouth, Catholic Encyclopedia |publisher=Newadvent |access-date=8 March 2011}}</ref>}} Smaller places of worship in the city include St{{nbsp}}Jude's Church in Southsea,<ref>{{cite web |title=St Jude's Church Southsea |url=http://www.stjudes-southsea.org.uk/ |publisher=Diocese of Portsmouth |access-date=29 September 2016}}</ref> [[St Mary's Church, Portsea|St{{nbsp}}Mary's Church]] in Portsea,<ref>{{cite web |title=Saint Mary's Church |url=http://www.visitportsmouth.co.uk/things-to-do/saint-marys-church-p45993 |website=Visit Portsmouth |publisher=Portsmouth City Council |access-date=29 September 2016}}</ref> [[St Ann's Church, HMNB Portsmouth|St{{nbsp}}Ann's Chapel]] in the naval base<ref>{{cite web |title=Church of Saint Ann (Building Number 1/65) |url=http://www.britishlistedbuildings.co.uk/en-474226-church-of-saint-ann-building-number-1-65 |publisher=British Listed Buildings |access-date=29 September 2016}}</ref> and the [[Portsmouth and Southsea Synagogue]], one of Britain's oldest.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Portsmouth and Southsea Hebrew Congregation |url=http://www.jackwhite.net/portsmouth-synagogue/ |publisher=Jack White |access-date=29 September 2016 |archive-date=13 October 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161013115554/http://www.jackwhite.net/portsmouth-synagogue/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> Other places of worship include the Immanuel Baptist Church, Southsea; Trinity Methodist Church, Highland Road; Buckland United Reformed Church; The Oasis Centre Elim Penteostal Church; Jubilee Pentecostal Church, Somers Road; Kings Church Assemblies of God (St Peter's Somers Road); Family Church; Christ Central Church, John Pounds Centre; The Jami Mosque, Bradford Junction; The Sikh Gurudwara, Margate Road.

== Sport ==

[[File:Fratton Park, Sep 2006.jpg|thumb|right|Fratton Park, home of Portsmouth F.C.|alt=Fratton Park football stadium at night, home of Portsmouth F.C. The pitch is lit by floodlights.]]

[[Portsmouth F.C.]] play their home games at [[Fratton Park]]. They have won two [[Football League]] titles (1949 and 1950),<ref>{{cite web |title=Pompey FC Results – Season 1948 to 1949 |url=http://www.pompeyrama.com/pompey-fc-results-3-season-1948-49.html |publisher=Portsmouth Arena |access-date=31 July 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090811094825/http://www.pompeyrama.com/pompey-fc-results-3-season-1948-49.html |archive-date=11 August 2009}}</ref><ref name="rsssf">{{cite web |url=https://www.rsssf.org/engpaul/FLA/1949-50.html |title=English Football League 1949–50 |publisher=Rec Sport Soccer Statistics Foundation |access-date=24 February 2010}}</ref> and won the [[FA Cup]] in 1939 and 2008.{{sfn|Neasom|1984|p=21}}<ref>{{cite news |url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/fa_cup/7393770.stm |work=BBC News |title=Portsmouth 1–0 Cardiff |date=17 May 2008 |access-date=22 April 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090121132638/http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/fa_cup/7393770.stm |archive-date=21 January 2009 |url-status=live}}</ref> The club returned to the [[Premier League]] in 2003.<ref>{{cite news |title=Portsmouth clinch promotion and championship |url=http://www.rte.ie/sport/2003/0427/portsmouth.html |publisher=RTÉ Sport |date=27 April 2003 |access-date=27 August 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110810205524/http://www.rte.ie/sport/2003/0427/portsmouth.html |archive-date=10 August 2011 |url-status=dead}}</ref> They were relegated to the [[Football League Championship|Championship]] in 2010 and, experiencing serious financial difficulties in February 2012,<ref>{{cite web |title=Portsmouth FC winding up would be 'utter disaster' |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-hampshire-16911355 |website=BBC News |publisher=BBC |access-date=3 September 2016 |date=6 February 2012}}</ref> were relegated again to [[Football League One|League One]]. The club was relegated the following year to [[EFL League Two|League Two]], the fourth tier of [[Football in England#Men's League system|English football]].<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/22182724 |title=Portsmouth relegation: Guy Whittingham remains positive |work=BBC Sport |date=17 April 2013}}</ref> Portsmouth{{nbsp}}F.C. was purchased in April 2013 by the Pompey Supporters Trust, becoming the largest fan-owned club in English Football history.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Gibson |first1=Owen |title=Portsmouth fans celebrate 'historic day' as deal done for Fratton Park |url=https://www.theguardian.com/football/2013/apr/10/portsmouth-future-fratton-park-ownership |newspaper=The Guardian |access-date=31 July 2016 |date=10 April 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Simon |first1=Mundie |title=Portsmouth FC begin new era as football league starts |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/newsbeat-23527669 |website=Newsbeat |publisher=BBC |access-date=3 September 2016 |date=2 August 2013}}</ref> In May 2017, as League Two champions, they were promoted to [[EFL League One|League One]] for the 2017–18 season. They won promotion back to the Championship as Champions of League One in May 2024.

[[Moneyfields F.C.]] have played in the [[Wessex Football League]] Premier Division since 1998.<ref>{{cite web |title=Moneyfields FC overview and statistics |url=https://www.fchd.info/MONEYFIE.HTM |publisher=Football Club History Database |access-date=31 July 2016}}</ref> [[United Services Portsmouth F.C.]] (formerly known as Portsmouth Royal Navy) and [[Baffins Milton Rovers F.C.]] compete in Wessex League Division One; United Services was founded in 1962,<ref>{{cite web |title=United Services Portsmouth history |url=http://www.unitedservicesportsmouthfc.co.uk/HISTORY.htm |publisher=United Services Portsmouth |access-date=31 July 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070818043705/http://www.unitedservicesportsmouthfc.co.uk/HISTORY.htm |archive-date=18 August 2007}}</ref> and Baffins Milton Rovers in 2011.<ref>{{cite web |title=Baffins Milton Rovers FC overview |url=http://wessexleague.co.uk/?wfl-club=baffins-milton-rovers-fc |website=Sydenham |publisher=Wessex League |access-date=31 July 2016}}</ref> The [[rugby union|rugby]] teams [[United Services Portsmouth Rugby Football Club|United Services Portsmouth RFC]] and [[Royal Navy Rugby Union]] play their home matches at the [[United Services Recreation Ground]]. Royal Navy Rugby Union play in the annual [[Army Navy Match]] at [[Twickenham]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.navyrugbyunion.co.uk/fixtures/tables/senior-xv |title=Fixtures: Royal Navy Rugby Union |publisher=Navy Rugby Union |access-date=18 March 2015}}</ref>

Portsmouth began hosting [[first-class cricket]] at the United Services Recreation Ground in 1882,<ref>{{cite web |title=United Services Recreation Ground info |url=http://www.espncricinfo.com/england/content/ground/57257.html |website=Cricinfo |publisher=ESPN |access-date=2 September 2016}}</ref> and [[Hampshire County Cricket Club]] matches were played there from 1895 to 2000. In 2000, Hampshire moved their home matches to the new [[Rose Bowl (cricket ground)|Rose Bowl]] cricket ground in [[West End, Hampshire|West End]].<ref name="PRO">{{cite news |url=http://www.espncricinfo.com/ci/content/story/89090.html |title=United Services Portsmouth – The Hampshire Years 1888–2000 |last=Allen |first=Dave |date=20 July 2000 |work=ESPNcricinfo |access-date=29 December 2011}}</ref> Portsmouth is home to two [[Field hockey|hockey]] clubs: Portsmouth Hockey Club, based at the [[Admiral Lord Nelson School]] and United Services Portsmouth Hockey Club, based on Burnaby Road.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.pitchero.com/clubs/usphc/contact/ |title=United Services Hockey Club contact information |publisher=Pitcher |access-date=23 August 2016}}</ref> Great Salterns Golf Club, established in 1926,<ref>{{cite book |title=Records of the Corporation |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vv8hAQAAIAAJ |year=1966 |publisher=Published under Official Authority by Charpentier |page=71}}</ref> is an 18-hole parkland course with two holes played across a lake;<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.golftoday.co.uk/clubhouse/coursedir/hampshire/greatsalterns.html |title=Great Salterns Golf Course/Portsmouth Golf Centre |publisher=Golf Today |access-date=1 October 2016 |archive-date=2 October 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161002045141/http://www.golftoday.co.uk/clubhouse/coursedir/hampshire/greatsalterns.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> there are coastal courses at [[Hayling Golf Club|Hayling]] and the Gosport and Stokes Bay Golf Club.<ref name="GM"/> Boxing was a popular sport between 1910 and 1960, and a monument commemorating the city's boxing heritage was built in 2017.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-hampshire-40991890|title=Memorial commemorates Portsmouth boxing greats|date=21 August 2017|website=www.bbc.co.uk}}</ref>

== {{anchor|Transport and communications}}Transport ==
{{Main article|Transport in South Hampshire}}

=== Roads ===
In March 2008, Portsmouth City Council became the first local authority in the UK to implement city-wide 20 miles per hour speed limit zones.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.portsmouth.gov.uk/services/parking-roads-and-travel/roads/road-safety-in-portsmouth/ | title=Road safety in Portsmouth }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.roadsafetyknowledgecentre.org.uk/rskc-54/#:~:text=Introducing%20a%20citywide%2020mph%20limit,in%20the%20scheme%20throughout%20Portsmouth | title=Portsmouth's 20mph Scheme - Road Safety Knowledge Centre | date=15 July 2010 }}</ref>

=== Ferries ===

[[File:A busy scene with ferries - geograph.org.uk - 1306443.jpg|thumb|right|Ferries and cargo and military vessels in Portsmouth Harbour|alt=A view of various ferries, cargo and military vessels moving out of Portsmouth Harbour. This photograph was taken from the viewing deck of the Spinnaker Tower.]]

[[Portsmouth Harbour railway station|Portsmouth Harbour]] has passenger-ferry links to [[Gosport]] and the [[Isle of Wight]],<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.aferry.co.uk/portsmouth-ferry-uk.htm |title=Portsmouth Ferry. Buy Portsmouth Ferry Tickets. Portsmouth Ferries |publisher=AFerry |access-date=27 February 2013 |archive-date=16 February 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110216011019/http://www.aferry.co.uk/portsmouth-ferry-uk.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref> with car-ferry service to the Isle of Wight nearby.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.wightonline.co.uk/wightlink/index.html |title=Wightlink Ferries |publisher=Wightonline |access-date=9 August 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130528201617/http://www.wightonline.co.uk/wightlink/index.html |archive-date=28 May 2013 |url-status=dead}}</ref> [[Hovertravel]], Britain's longest-standing commercial [[hovercraft]] service, begun in the 1960s, runs from near Clarence Pier in [[Southsea]] to [[Ryde]], Isle of Wight.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.hovertravel.co.uk/pages/timetable/ |title=Hovercraft and Hoverbus Timetable |publisher=Hovertravel |access-date=9 August 2011 |archive-date=15 November 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101115130918/http://hovertravel.co.uk/pages/timetable/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> [[Portsmouth International Port]] has links to [[Caen]], [[Cherbourg-Octeville]], [[St Malo]] and [[Le Havre]] in France,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.brittany-ferries.co.uk/routes/portsmouth-caen |title=Portsmouth to Caen ferries |publisher=Brittany Ferries |access-date=9 August 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.portsmouthtofrance.com/pages-001/welcome-001.html |title=Continental Ferryport |website=Portsmouth to France |publisher=InterCash Bureau de Change Ltd |access-date=9 August 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120310040829/http://www.portsmouthtofrance.com/pages-001/welcome-001.html |archive-date=10 March 2012 |url-status=dead}}</ref> [[Santander, Cantabria|Santander]] and [[Bilbao]] in Spain,<ref name="bit">{{cite web |title=Portsmouth to Spain ferries |url=http://www.brittany-ferries.co.uk/ferry-routes/ferries-spain/portsmouth-spain |publisher=Brittany Ferries |access-date=4 August 2016}}</ref> and the [[Channel Islands]].<ref name="chan">{{cite web |title=Portsmouth Ferry to Channel Islands |url=http://www.channelislandferry.com/portsmouth-ferry.htm |publisher=Channel Island Ferries |access-date=4 August 2016}}</ref> Ferry services from the port are operated by [[Brittany Ferries]] and [[DFDS Seaways]].<ref>{{cite web | title=Operators and sailings | url=https://portsmouth-port.co.uk/ferries/operators-and-sailings/ }}</ref>

On 18 May 2006, [[Trasmediterranea]] began service to Bilbao in competition with [[P&O Ferries|P&O]]'s service. Its ferry, ''Fortuny'', was detained in Portsmouth by the [[Maritime and Coastguard Agency]] for a number of safety violations.<ref>{{cite news |title=Ferry impounded over safety fears |url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/hampshire/4994756.stm |work=BBC News |access-date=4 August 2016 |date=18 May 2006}}</ref> They were quickly corrected and the service was cleared for passengers on 23 May that year.<ref>{{cite news |title=Ferry cleared to begin crossings |url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/hampshire/5010496.stm |work=BBC News |access-date=4 August 2016 |date=23 May 2006}}</ref> Trasmediterránea discontinued its Bilbao service in March 2007, citing a need to deploy the ''Fortuny'' elsewhere.<ref>{{cite web |title=AT Ferries Portsmouth Bilbao service ends – 2007 |url=http://www.directferries.co.uk/news/200703/at_ferries_portsmouth_bilbao_service_ends.htm |publisher=Direct Ferries |access-date=4 August 2016 |date=8 March 2007}}</ref> P&O Ferries ended their service to [[Bilbao]] on 27 September 2010 due to "unsustainable losses".<ref>{{cite web |title=Final P&O Pride of Bilbao service docks in Portsmouth |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-hampshire-11418939 |work=BBC News |access-date=4 August 2016 |date=28 September 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Pride of Bilbao's Portsmouth era |url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/local/hampshire/hi/people_and_places/history/newsid_9039000/9039806.stm |work=BBC News |access-date=4 August 2016 |date=1 October 2010}}</ref> The second-busiest ferry port in the UK (after [[Dover]]), Portsmouth handles about three million passengers per year.<ref>{{cite web |title=UK Port Freight Statistics 2014 |url=https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/465439/port-freight-statistics-2014.pdf |publisher=Gov UK |access-date=4 August 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Wright |first1=Robert |title=Portsmouth in line for port revamp |url=https://www.ft.com/content/36a08496-d79c-11de-b578-00144feabdc0 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221210201250/https://www.ft.com/content/36a08496-d79c-11de-b578-00144feabdc0#axzz4GOfWhkJl |archive-date=10 December 2022 |url-access=subscription |newspaper=Financial Times |access-date=4 August 2016 |date=22 November 2009 |url-status=live }}</ref>

=== Buses ===
{{see also|Buses in Portsmouth}}

Local bus services are provided by [[Stagecoach South]] and [[First Hampshire & Dorset]] to the city and its surrounding towns. Hovertravel and First Hampshire & Dorset operate a Hoverbus service from the city centre to Southsea Hovercraft Terminal and the Hard Interchange, near the seafront.<ref>{{cite web |title=A Sustainable and Connected Centre |url=http://portsmouth.gov.uk/media/Portsmouth_LSTF_bid.pdf |publisher=Portsmouth City Council |access-date=3 August 2016 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130127113753/http://portsmouth.gov.uk/media/Portsmouth_LSTF_bid.pdf |archive-date=27 January 2013}}</ref> [[National Express Coaches|National Express]] service from Portsmouth operates primarily from the Hard Interchange to [[Victoria Coach Station]], Cornwall, [[Bradford Interchange|Bradford]], [[Birkenhead]] and [[Bristol bus station|Bristol]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Portsmouth Coach Services |url=http://www.welcometoportsmouth.co.uk/portsmouth%20coach%20station.html |website=Welcome To Portsmouth |publisher=Portsmouth City Council |access-date=3 August 2016}}</ref>

=== Railways ===
{{Portsmouth lines}}

Portsmouth has four railway stations on Portsea Island: {{rws|Hilsea}}, {{rws|Fratton}}, {{rws|Portsmouth & Southsea}}<ref>{{cite web |title=National Rail Enquiries&nbsp;–Station facilities for Portsmouth & Southsea |url=http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/stations/PMS/details.html |publisher=National Rail |access-date=29 September 2016}}</ref> and {{rws|Portsmouth Harbour}},<ref>{{cite web |title=Station facilities for Portsmouth Harbour |url=http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/stations/PMH/details.html |publisher=National Rail |access-date=29 September 2016}}</ref> with a fifth station at {{rws|Cosham}} in the northern mainland suburb of [[Cosham|Cosham, Portsmouth]]. Portsmouth previously had additional stations at [[East Southsea railway station|Southsea]], [[Farlington Halt railway station|Farlington]] and [[Paulsgrove Halt railway station|Paulsgrove]], but these were closed at various periods of the twentieth century.

The city of Portsmouth is on two direct [[South Western Railway (train operating company)|South Western Railway]] routes to {{rws|London Waterloo}}, via {{rws|Guildford}} and via {{rws|Basingstoke}}.<ref>{{cite web |title=National Rail Enquiries – Station facilities for Portsmouth |url=http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/stations/pms/details.html |publisher=National Rail |access-date=3 August 2016}}</ref> There is a South Western Railway stopping service to {{rws|Southampton Central}} and [[Great Western Railway (train operating company)|Great Western Railway]] service to {{rws|Cardiff Central}} via Southampton, {{rws|Salisbury}}, {{rws|Bath Spa}} and [[Bristol Temple Meads railway station|Bristol]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Portsmouth – South West Trains |url=https://www.southwesttrains.co.uk/offers--days-out/destination-guides/portsmouth/ |publisher=South West Trains |access-date=3 August 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160818163246/https://www.southwesttrains.co.uk/offers--days-out/destination-guides/portsmouth/ |archive-date=18 August 2016 |url-status=usurped}}</ref> [[Southern (train operating company)|Southern]] has service to {{rws|Brighton}}, {{rws|Gatwick Airport}}, [[East Croydon railway station|Croydon]] and {{rws|London Victoria}}.<ref>{{cite web |title=Trains to Portsmouth: Southern |url=http://www.southernrailway.com/destinations/destinations/trains-to-portsmouth/ |publisher=Southern Railway |access-date=3 August 2016 |archive-date=2 August 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160802195734/http://www.southernrailway.com/destinations/destinations/trains-to-portsmouth |url-status=dead }}</ref>

====Closed stations====
Southsea once had its own branch line, the [[Southsea Railway]], which opened in 1885 between [[East Southsea railway station|Southsea railway station]] and Fratton; it was closed in 1914 due to competition from tram services.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.portsmouth-guide.co.uk/local/soutrail.htm|title=Southsea Railway, Fratton|website=www.portsmouth-guide.co.uk}}</ref>

[[Farlington Halt railway station]] was built to serve Portsmouth Park [[Horseracing in the United Kingdom|racecourse]], opening as Farlington Race Course on 26 June 1891.<ref name="Butt">{{Cite book|last1=Butt|first1=R.V.J.|title=The Directory of Railway Stations | year = 1995 | publisher = Patrick Stephens Ltd | location = Sparkford, Somerset | isbn = 978-1-85260-508-7 | page = 94}}</ref> The racecourse was closed during [[World War I|World War One]], but the station was retained to serve the ammunition dump put in its place.<ref>{{cite web |title=Railways in Portsmouth |url=http://www.starzina.com/Starzina%20Z%20Railways%20Portsmouth.htm |website=Starzina |access-date=23 August 2022}}</ref> The station closed in 1917.<ref name="Butt"/> Re-opened in 1922 until 1927.<ref name="Butt"/> Under the [[Southern Railway (UK)|Southern Railway]], it re-opened as a general public [[railway halt|halt]] in 1928 named ''Farlington Halt'';<ref name="Butt"/> however, this was short-lived as the station closed due to insufficient customers on 4 July 1937.<ref name="Butt"/>

[[Paulsgrove Halt railway station]]<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.stauntoninfo.co.uk/7862.html?*session*id*key*=*session*id*val* |title=Details of opening |access-date=23 August 2022 |archive-date=4 June 2004 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040604135936/http://www.stauntoninfo.co.uk/7862.html?*session*id*key*=*session*id*val* |url-status=usurped }}</ref> was a railway station opened in 1928 to serve the adjacent Portsmouth [[Racecourse]], a pony racing stronghold.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/pony_racing/portsmth.htm |title=Pony racing links |access-date=23 August 2022 |archive-date=9 November 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071109123354/http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/pony_racing/portsmth.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref> The station was formerly located between Cosham and Portchester stations. Paulsgrove Halt was closed along with the racecourse when the land was acquired by the military in 1939, at the outbreak of [[World War II]].

=== {{anchor|Airport}}Air ===

[[Portsmouth Airport (Hampshire)|Portsmouth Airport]], with a grass runway, was in operation from 1932 to 1973. After it closed, housing (Anchorage Park) and industry were built on the site.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Fagan |first1=Dave |title=History of Portsmouth Airport |url=http://www.hampshireairfields.co.uk/airfields/por.html |publisher=Hampshire Airfields |access-date=4 August 2016 |archive-date=24 July 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160724230228/http://www.hampshireairfields.co.uk/airfields/por.html |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Portsmouth Airport History |url=http://www.portsmouth-airport.co.uk/history.html |publisher=Portsmouth Airport |access-date=4 August 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150621030956/http://www.portsmouth-airport.co.uk/history.html |archive-date=21 June 2015}}</ref> The nearest airport is [[Southampton Airport]] in the [[Borough of Eastleigh]], {{convert|19.8|mi}} away.<ref name="GM"/> It has a [[South Western Railway (train operating company)|South Western Railway]] rail connection, requiring a change at [[Southampton Central railway station|Southampton Central]] or [[Eastleigh railway station|Eastleigh]].<ref>{{cite web|author=Rail Saver |url=http://www.railsaver.co.uk/southwest/southwest.htm |title=South West Trains |publisher=Railsaver.co.uk |access-date=9 August 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110803132314/http://www.railsaver.co.uk/southwest/southwest.htm |archive-date=3 August 2011 |url-status=dead}}</ref> [[Heathrow Airport|Heathrow]] and [[Gatwick Airport|Gatwick]] are {{convert|65|mi}} and {{convert|75|mi}} away, respectively. Gatwick is linked by Southern train service to London Victoria station and Heathrow is linked by coach to [[Woking]], which is on both rail lines to London Waterloo and the [[London Underground]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Trains Gatwick Airport to Portsmouth Harbour&nbsp;– Train Timetables |url=https://www.thetrainline.com/train-times/gatwick-airport-to-portsmouth-harbour |website=Train Line |publisher=National Rail |access-date=4 August 2016}}</ref> Heathrow is linked to Portsmouth by National Express coaches.<ref>{{cite web |title=203 Route, Southsea to Heathrow Airport&nbsp;– National Express |url=http://coachtracker.nationalexpress.com/routes/203/I/Southsea-Heathrow_Airport |website=Coachtracker |publisher=National Express |access-date=4 August 2016}}</ref>

=== {{anchor|Canal}}Former canal ===

[[File:Portsea islandcanal1815.jpg|thumb|right|250px|A map of the planned route of Portsmouth and Arundel Canal across Portsea Island from 1815]]

The [[Portsmouth and Arundel Canal]] ran between the towns and was built in 1823 by the Portsmouth & Arundel Navigation Company. Never financially successful, and found to be contaminating Portsea Island fresh water wells,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.welcometoportsmouth.co.uk/portsmouth%20arundel%20canal.html |title=Portsmouth Canal |website=welcometoportsmouth.co.uk |access-date=26 July 2021 }}</ref> it was abandoned in 1855 and the company was wound up in 1888.{{sfn|Green |2006 | pp=18–19 }} The canal was part of a larger scheme for a secure inland canal route from London to Portsmouth, allowing boats to avoid the [[English Channel]]. It had three sections: a pair of ship canals (one on Portsea Island and one to [[Chichester]]) and a barge canal from [[Ford, West Sussex|Ford]] on the [[River Arun]] to [[Hunston, West Sussex|Hunston]], where it joined the canal's Chichester section.{{sfn|Armstrong|1971|pp=144–145}}

The route through Portsea Island began from a basin formerly located on Arundel Street and cut through [[Landport]], Fratton and [[Milton, Portsmouth|Milton]], ending at the eastern end of Locksway Road in Milton (where a set of lock gates accessed [[Langstone Harbour|Langstone]] and [[Chichester Harbour]]s. After the island route was closed, the drained canal-bed sections through Landport and Fratton were reused for the [[Portsmouth Direct line]], or filled-in to surface level to form a new main road route to Milton, named Goldsmith Avenue.

The brick-lined canal walls are clearly visible between the Fratton and Portsmouth & Southsea railway stations. The canal lock entrance at Locksway Road in Milton is east of the Thatched House [[pub]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@50.7945967,-1.0392926,182m/data=!3m1!1e3?hl=en|title=Google Maps|website=Google Maps}}</ref>

=== {{anchor|Possible public transport projects}}Future plans ===
{{update|section|reason=This never happened, section now undue and probably needs to be removed|date=September 2020}}

A new public transport structure was once under discussion, including [[monorail]]s and [[light rail]]. Although a light-rail link to Gosport was authorised in 2002 (with completion expected to be in 2005), the project was in jeopardy as the [[Department for Transport]] refused to fund it in November 2005.<ref>{{cite web |title=Hampshire County Council with Portsmouth City Council |url=http://www.railway-technology.com/projects/south_hampshire/ |website=Railway Technology |publisher=Kable |access-date=3 August 2016}}</ref> In April 2011, ''[[The News (Portsmouth)|The News]]'' reported a scheme to replace conventional rail lines to Southampton via Fareham, [[Bursledon]] and [[Sholing]] with light rail.<ref>{{cite web |title=Local Transport Plan 3 |url=https://www.portsmouth.gov.uk/ext/documents-external/trv-portsmouth-ltp3-strategy.pdf |publisher=Hampshire County Council |access-date=3 August 2016 |archive-date=20 August 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160820164927/https://www.portsmouth.gov.uk/ext/documents-external/trv-portsmouth-ltp3-strategy.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.hants.gov.uk/press/2005/pr2489.html |access-date=8 April 2007 |title=Promoter Slams Government For Tram Scheme |author=Hampshire County Council |date=29 November 2005 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070112031837/http://www.hants.gov.uk/press/2005/pr2489.html <!-- Bot retrieved archive --> |archive-date=12 January 2007}}</ref>

== Media ==

Portsmouth, Southampton and their adjacent towns are served primarily by programming from the [[Rowridge transmitting station|Rowridge]] and [[Chillerton Down transmitting station|Chillerton Down]] transmitters on the [[Isle of Wight]],{{sfn|Pawley|1972}}{{page needed|date=June 2020}} although the transmitter at [[Midhurst transmitting station|Midhurst]] can substitute for Rowridge. Portsmouth was one of the first cities in the UK to have a local TV station (MyTV), although the Isle of Wight began local television broadcasting in 1998.<ref>{{cite web |title=Putting Portsmouth in the Picture |url=http://www2.tv-ark.org.uk/otherchannels/portsmouthtv.html |publisher=TV Ark |access-date=30 July 2016 |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160811012331/http://www2.tv-ark.org.uk/otherchannels/portsmouthtv.html |archive-date=11 August 2016}}</ref> In November 2014, [[That's Solent]] was introduced as part of a nationwide roll-out of local [[Freeview (UK)|Freeview]] channels in south-central England.<ref>{{cite web |title=That's Solent launches new local TV service for Southampton and Portsmouth area |work=a516digital |url=http://www.a516digital.com/2014/11/thats-solent-launches-new-local-tv.html |access-date=2 September 2016 |date=26 November 2014}}</ref> The stations broadcast from Rowridge.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://cdn.recombu.com/digital/images/news/M11036/1351265343.png |title=Predicted That's Solent Coverage |publisher=Recombu |access-date=4 August 2013}}</ref>

[[BBC]] local radio station that broadcast to the city is [[BBC Radio Solent]] on 96.1 FM. According to [[RAJAR]], popular radio stations include regional [[Greatest Hits Radio South]] and Global Radio's [[Heart South]] and [[Capital South]]. [[Easy Radio South Coast]] broadcasts from Southampton to the city on 107.4&nbsp;MHz,<ref>{{cite web |title=The Breeze Portsmouth |url=http://www.thebreeze.com/portsmouth/ |website=The Breeze |publisher=Celador Radio Limited |access-date=30 July 2016}}</ref> and the non-profit community station, Express FM, broadcasts on 93.7.<ref>{{cite web |title=About Us – Express FM |url=http://www.expressfm.com/about-us/ |website=Express FM |publisher=Express FM and Aiir |access-date=30 July 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160729202107/http://www.expressfm.com/about-us/ |archive-date=29 July 2016 |url-status=dead}}</ref> Patients at [[Queen Alexandra Hospital]] (Portsmouth's primary hospital) receive local programming from Portsmouth Hospital Broadcasting, which began in 1951.<ref>{{cite web |title=QA Radio |url=https://www.hbauk.com/member-stations/profile/14 |publisher=Hospital Broadcasting Association |access-date=23 August 2016 |archive-date=6 August 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200806194626/https://www.hbauk.com/member-stations/profile/14 |url-status=dead }}</ref> When the first local commercial radio stations were licensed during the 1970s by the [[Independent Broadcasting Authority]] (IBA), [[Radio Victory]] received the first licence and began broadcasting in 1975. In 1986, the IBA increased the Portsmouth licence to include Southampton and the Isle of Wight. The new licence went to Ocean Sound (later known as Ocean FM), with studios in [[Fareham]]; Ocean FM became [[Heart Hampshire]]. For the city's 800th birthday in 1994, Victory{{nbsp}}FM broadcast for three 28-day periods over 18 months.<ref>{{cite web |title=Could Portsmouth's Radio Victory make a comeback? |url=http://www.portsmouth.co.uk/news/could-portsmouth-s-radio-victory-make-a-comeback-1-7268625 |publisher=Portsmouth City Council |access-date=30 July 2016 |date=11 March 2016}}</ref> It was purchased by TLRC, who relaunched the station in 2001 as the Quay;<ref>{{cite web |title=Celador wins back the Portsmouth licence |url=http://radiotoday.co.uk/2015/04/celador-wins-back-the-portsmouth-licence/ |publisher=Radio Today |access-date=30 July 2016 |date=23 April 2015}}</ref> Portsmouth Football Club became a stakeholder in 2007, selling it in 2009.<ref>{{cite web |title=Southampton's Radio Hampshire ceases broadcasting |url=http://www.dailyecho.co.uk/news/4403468.Radio_Hampshire_shut_down/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090531065156/http://www.dailyecho.co.uk/news/4403468.Radio_Hampshire_shut_down/ |archive-date=31 May 2009 |url-status=live |access-date=28 May 2009}}</ref>

Portsmouth's daily newspaper is ''[[The News (Portsmouth)|The News]]'', founded in 1873 and previously known as the ''Portsmouth Evening News''. ''The Journal'', a free weekly newspaper, is published by ''News'' publisher [[Johnston Press]].<ref>{{cite web |title=About us – Portsmouth News |url=http://www2.portsmouth.co.uk/cp/about-us/ |website=Portsmouth News |publisher=Portsmouth City Council |access-date=30 July 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160813021414/http://www2.portsmouth.co.uk/cp/about-us/ |archive-date=13 August 2016 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.wrx.zen.co.uk/soupress.htm |title=Portsmouth daily newspapers |publisher=WRX ZEN |access-date=8 March 2011 |archive-date=9 June 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110609061024/http://www.wrx.zen.co.uk/soupress.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref>

== Notable residents ==
{{See also|List of people from Portsmouth}}

Portsmouth has been home to a number of famed authors; [[Charles Dickens]], whose works include ''[[A Christmas Carol]]'', ''[[Great Expectations]]'', ''[[Oliver Twist]]'' and ''[[A Tale of Two Cities]]'', was born there.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://charlesdickensbirthplace.co.uk/collections-stories/stories/the-history-of-charles-dickens-birthplace/ |title=Charles Dickens Birthplace |publisher=Charles Dickens Birthplace |access-date=9 October 2021}}</ref>  [[Arthur Conan Doyle]], author of the [[Sherlock Holmes]] stories, practised medicine in the city and played in goal for the amateur Portsmouth Association Football Club.<ref>{{cite news |title=Arthur Conan Doyle: 19 things you didn't know |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/10561577/Arthur-Conan-Doyle-19-things-you-didnt-know.html |work=The Daily Telegraph |access-date=6 August 2016}}</ref> [[Rudyard Kipling]] (poet and author of  ''[[The Jungle Book]]'')<ref name="blue">{{cite web |title=Blue plaques |url=https://www.portsmouth.gov.uk/ext/development-and-planning/planning/blue-plaques.aspx |publisher=Portsmouth City Council |access-date=6 August 2016 |archive-date=21 August 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160821024238/https://www.portsmouth.gov.uk/ext/development-and-planning/planning/blue-plaques.aspx |url-status=dead }}</ref> and [[H. G. Wells]], author of ''[[The War of the Worlds]]'' and ''[[The Time Machine]]'', lived in Portsmouth during the 1880s.<ref>{{cite web |title=Discovering city's rich literary heritage |url=http://www.portsmouth.co.uk/lifestyle/real-life/discovering-city-s-rich-literary-heritage-1-3632800 |publisher=Portsmouth City Council |access-date=6 August 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160813211837/http://www.portsmouth.co.uk/lifestyle/real-life/discovering-city-s-rich-literary-heritage-1-3632800 |archive-date=13 August 2016 |url-status=dead}}</ref> Novelist and historian [[Walter Besant]], author of ''By Celia's Arbour, A Tale of Portsmouth Town'', was born in Portsmouth.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Owen |first1=Chris |title='When I was reading Besant's book, I repeatedly gasped' |url=http://www.portsmouth.co.uk/whats-on/when-i-was-reading-besant-s-book-i-repeatedly-gasped-1-7334917 |publisher=Portsmouth City Council |access-date=6 August 2016 |date=18 April 2016 |archive-date=13 August 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160813213624/http://www.portsmouth.co.uk/whats-on/when-i-was-reading-besant-s-book-i-repeatedly-gasped-1-7334917 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.lifeisamazing.co.uk/store/#!/By-Celias-Arbour/p/58746214/category=13895314 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160821040559/http://www.lifeisamazing.co.uk/store/#!/By-Celias-Arbour/p/58746214/category=13895314 |url-status=dead |archive-date=21 August 2016 |title=By Celia's Arbour |publisher=Life Is Amazing |access-date=12 July 2013}}</ref> Historian [[Frances Yates]], known for her work on Renaissance [[Western esotericism|esotericism]], was born in the city.<ref>{{cite book |title = Frances Yates and the Hermetic Tradition |last = Jones |first = Marjorie G. |year = 2008 |publisher=Ibis Press |location = Lake Worth, Florida |page=1|isbn = 978-0-89254-133-1 }}</ref>[[Francis Austen]], brother of [[Jane Austen]], briefly lived in the area after graduating from Portsmouth Naval Academy.<ref>{{cite web |title=Sir Francis William Austen: Glimpses of Jane's sailor brother in letters |url=https://janeaustensworld.wordpress.com/2009/10/08/sir-francis-william-austen-glimpses-of-janes-sailor-brother-in-letters/ |publisher=Jane Austen's World |access-date=6 August 2016 |date=8 October 2009}}{{self-published inline|date=June 2020}}</ref> Contemporary literary figures include social critic, journalist and author [[Christopher Hitchens]], who was born in Portsmouth.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://search.findmypast.co.uk/results/world-records/birth-marriage-death-and-parish-records/births-and-baptisms/england-and-wales-births-1837-2006?firstname=christopher%20e&lastname=hitchens |title=Results for England & Wales Births 1837–2006 |publisher=Find My Past |access-date=10 June 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140813061232/http://search.findmypast.co.uk/results/world-records/birth-marriage-death-and-parish-records/births-and-baptisms/england-and-wales-births-1837-2006?firstname=christopher%20e&lastname=hitchens |archive-date=13 August 2014}}</ref> [[Nevil Shute]] moved to the city in 1934 when he relocated his aircraft company, and his former home is in Southsea.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://openplaques.org/plaques/12186 |title=Nevil Shute Norway Blue Plaques |publisher=Open Plaques |access-date=28 July 2014}}</ref> Fantasy author [[Neil Gaiman]] grew up in [[Purbrook]] and Southsea.<ref name=Flood/><ref name="Bowlby">{{cite web |last1=Bowlby |first1=Rachel |title=The struggles of Olivia Manning |url=https://www.newstatesman.com/culture/culture/2013/01/struggles-olivia-manning |website=New Statesman |access-date=29 May 2020 |date=17 January 2013}}</ref>

[[Industrial Revolution]] engineer [[Isambard Kingdom Brunel]] was born in Portsmouth.<ref>{{cite web |title=History – Isambard Kingdom Brunel |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/brunel_kingdom_isambard.shtml |website=BBC History |publisher=BBC |access-date=6 August 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.brunel.ac.uk/about/history/ikb/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050418121831/http://www.brunel.ac.uk/about/history/ikb/ |title=Isambard Kingdom Brunel |archive-date=18 April 2005 |publisher=Brunel AC |access-date=28 July 2014}}</ref> His father, [[Marc Isambard Brunel]], worked for the Royal Navy and developed the world's first [[production line]] to mass-produce [[Block (sailing)|pulley blocks]] for ship rigging.<ref name="royal"/> [[James Callaghan]], British prime minister from 1976 to 1979, was born and raised in Portsmouth.<ref>{{cite web |title=James Callaghan biography |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/callaghan_james.shtml |website=BBC History |publisher=BBC |access-date=27 July 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Morgan |first1=Kenneth |title=James Callaghan: a great PM who, 100 years on, still stands tall |url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2012/mar/27/james-callaghan-prime-minister-centenary |work=The Guardian |access-date=27 July 2016 |date=27 March 2012}}</ref> Son of a Protestant Northern Irish petty officer in the Royal Navy, Callaghan was the only person to hold all four [[Great Offices of State]]: foreign secretary, home secretary, chancellor and prime minister.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.number10.gov.uk/history-and-tour/prime-ministers-in-history/james-callaghan |title=James Callaghan |website=Number 10 |publisher=Gov UK |access-date=9 August 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101202013221/http://www.number10.gov.uk/history-and-tour/prime-ministers-in-history/james-callaghan |archive-date=2 December 2010 |url-status=dead}}</ref> [[John Pounds]], the founder of [[ragged school]]s (which provided free education to working-class children), lived in Portsmouth and founded England's first ragged school there.<ref>{{cite web |title=Great Educator: John Pounds 1766 to 1839 |url=http://www.raggeduniversity.co.uk/2014/09/18/great-educator-john-pounds-crippled-cobbler-portsmouth/ |publisher=Ragged University |access-date=6 August 2016 |date=18 September 2014}}</ref>

Comedian and actor [[Peter Sellers]] was born in Southsea,<ref>{{cite ODNB |last=Milligan |first=Spike |title=Sellers, Peter (1925–1980) |url=http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/31669 |access-date=9 July 2012 |author-link=Spike Milligan |doi=10.1093/ref:odnb/31669 |year=2004}}</ref> and [[Arnold Schwarzenegger]] briefly lived and trained in Portsmouth.<ref>{{cite news |title=An Austrian hick in London: Arnie's early years |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/film/terminator-genisys/arnold-schwarzenegger-early-life-bodybuilding/ |newspaper=Telegraph |access-date=6 August 2016}}</ref> Other actors who were born or lived in the city include ''[[EastEnders]]'' actresses [[Emma Barton]]<ref>{{cite web |title=Emma Barton: 'You have got to take risks with your choices' |url=http://www.portsmouth.co.uk/whats-on/emma-barton-you-have-got-to-take-risks-with-your-choices-1-6080521 |website=The News |publisher=Portsmouth City Council |access-date=6 August 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160813220442/http://www.portsmouth.co.uk/whats-on/emma-barton-you-have-got-to-take-risks-with-your-choices-1-6080521 |archive-date=13 August 2016 |url-status=dead}}</ref> and [[Lorraine Stanley]], comedienne and singer [[Audrey Jeans]],<ref>[https://www.portsmouth.co.uk/whats-on/arts-and-entertainment/big-read-sid-james-died-audreys-arms-1049029 "Sid James died in Audrey's arms", ''The News, Portsmouth'', 8 February 2018]. Retrieved 17 January 2023</ref> and Bollywood actress [[Geeta Basra]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.indiazen.com/view/bollywood/Bollywood-Actresses/Geeta-Basra/ |title=Bollywood actress in Portsmouth |publisher=Indiazen |date=11 July 2007 |access-date=8 March 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120901140250/http://www.indiazen.com/view/bollywood/Bollywood-Actresses/Geeta-Basra/ |archive-date=1 September 2012 |url-status=dead}}</ref> Cryptozoologist Jonathan Downes was born in Portsmouth, and lived there for a time.<ref>{{cite web |title=Cryptozoology – Jon Downes biography |url=http://www.cfz.org.uk/admin/personnel/002-downes.htm |publisher=CFZ |access-date=6 August 2016 |archive-date=10 May 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170510143400/http://www.cfz.org.uk/admin/personnel/002-downes.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref> [[Ant Middleton]], former SBS, current television presenter and author was born in Portsmouth.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.antmiddleton.com/bio|title=Ant Middleton {{!}} Biography|website=antmiddleton.com|access-date=12 November 2018|archive-date=12 November 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181112223310/https://www.antmiddleton.com/bio|url-status=dead}}</ref>
[[Helen Duncan]], the last person to be imprisoned under the 1735 Witchcraft Act, was arrested in Portsmouth.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.helenduncan.org.uk/ |title=The Official Helen Duncan Web Site |publisher=Helen Duncan |date=6 December 1956 |access-date=9 August 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090926220943/http://www.helenduncan.org.uk/ |archive-date=26 September 2009 |url-status=dead}}{{self-published inline|date=June 2020}}</ref> Notable [[content creation]] and [[youth activism]] duo Henry Russell and Austin Taylor were born and raised in Portsmouth and work to improve the city for young people.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Instagram |url=https://www.instagram.com/accounts/login/?next=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.instagram.com%2Fdonttelltheteacherpod%2F%3Figsh%3DcHBsdmxod21ldzY3%26utm_source%3Dqr&is_from_rle |access-date=2025-09-23 |website=www.instagram.com}}</ref>

Notable sportspeople include Commonwealth Games gold medalist [[Michael East (athlete)|Michael East]],<ref>{{cite web |title=Athlete Profile – Michael East |url=http://www.thepowerof10.info/athletes/profile.aspx?athleteid=444 |publisher=The Power of 10 |access-date=6 August 2016}}</ref> Olympic medallist in cycling [[Rob Hayles]],<ref>{{cite web |title=About Rob Hayles |url=http://www.robhayles.com/about/about-rob |publisher=Rob Hayles |access-date=6 August 2016 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160719091920/http://www.robhayles.com/about/about-rob |archive-date=19 July 2016}}</ref> former British light-heavyweight boxing champion [[Tony Oakey]],<ref>{{cite web |title=Tony Oakey profile |url=http://boxrec.com/boxer/14998 |publisher=BoxRec |access-date=6 August 2016}}</ref> Olympic medallist [[Alan Pascoe]] as well as professional footballer [[Mason Mount]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Track stalwart who did city so proud |url=http://www.portsmouth.co.uk/sport/athletics/track-stalwart-who-did-city-so-proud-1-1251947 |website=The News |publisher=Portsmouth City Council |access-date=6 August 2016 |date=1 June 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160813233048/http://www.portsmouth.co.uk/sport/athletics/track-stalwart-who-did-city-so-proud-1-1251947 |archive-date=13 August 2016}}</ref> Single-handed yachtsman [[Alec Rose]],<ref>{{cite news |title=1968: Alec Rose sails home |url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/july/4/newsid_2744000/2744481.stm |work=BBC News |access-date=6 August 2016 |date=4 July 1968}}</ref> [[2003 World Aquatics Championships]] gold medallist [[Katy Sexton]],<ref>{{cite web |title=About – Katy Sexton Swim Academy |url=http://www.katysexton.co.uk/about/ |publisher=Katy Sexton |access-date=6 August 2016 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160528172905/http://www.katysexton.co.uk/about/ |archive-date=28 May 2016}}{{self-published inline|date=June 2020}}</ref> and Olympic medallist [[Roger Black]] were also born in the city.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.rogerblack.co.uk/?page=Biography |title=Biography of Roger Black – Former Olympic Silver Medalist |publisher=Roger Black |date=31 March 1966 |access-date=9 August 2011 |archive-date=9 August 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110809203903/http://www.rogerblack.co.uk/?page=Biography |url-status=dead }}</ref> [[Jamshid bin Abdullah of Zanzibar]], the last constitutional monarch of the island state, lived in exile in Portsmouth with his wife and six children,<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/royals-in-exile-in-britain-heirs-to-the-thrones-2260907.html |title=Royals in exile: In Britain, heirs to the thrones |date=3 April 2011 |newspaper=The Independent |access-date=11 October 2016}}</ref> prior to resettling in his ancestral land of [[Oman]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=2020-09-16 |title=Zanzibar's former sultan arrives in Oman for retirement |url=https://www.thenationalnews.com/world/gcc/zanzibar-s-former-sultan-arrives-in-oman-for-retirement-1.1077596 |access-date=2025-02-27 |website=The National |language=en}}</ref>

== International relations ==

=== Twin towns - sister cities ===
Sources:<ref>{{cite web |title=Twinning |url=https://www.portsmouth.gov.uk/services/council-and-democracy/your-city/twinning/ |publisher=Portsmouth City Council}}</ref>

* [[Caen]], [[Normandy]], France
* [[Duisburg]], [[North Rhine-Westphalia]], Germany
* [[Haifa]], [[Haifa District]], Israel
* [[Halifax, Nova Scotia|Halifax]], [[Nova Scotia]], Canada
* [[Lakewood, Colorado|Lakewood]], [[Jefferson County, Colorado|Jefferson County]], [[Colorado]], United States
* [[Maizuru]], [[Kyoto Prefecture]], Japan
* [[Portsmouth, Virginia|Portsmouth]], [[Virginia]], United States
* [[Portsmouth, New Hampshire|Portsmouth]], [[Rockingham County, New Hampshire|Rockingham County]], [[New Hampshire]], United States
* [[Sydney]], [[New South Wales]], Australia
* [[Sylhet]], Bangladesh
* [[Zhanjiang]], [[Guangdong]], China

== Freedom of the City ==

According to the Portsmouth City Council website, the following individuals and military units have received the [[Freedom of the City]] in Portsmouth:<ref>{{cite web |title=Freedom of the city & keys of the city |url=https://www.portsmouth.gov.uk/ext/your-council/your-city/freedom-of-the-city-keys-of-the-city |website=www.portsmouth.gov.uk |access-date=29 May 2020 |date=27 November 2013}}</ref>

{{Incomplete list|date=October 2019}}

=== Individuals ===

* [[Edward Macnaghten, Baron Macnaghten|Baron Macnaghten]] (1895)
* [[Field marshal (United Kingdom)|Field Marshal]] [[Frederick Roberts, 1st Earl Roberts|Lord Roberts of Kandahar]] (1898)
*  [[John Baker (Portsmouth MP)|Sir John Baker]] (1901)
* [[Lieutenant-general (United Kingdom)|Lieutenant General]] [[Frederick Fitzwygram|Sir Frederick Fitzwygram]] (1901)
*  Sir William Pink (1905)
*  Sir T. Scott Foster (1906)
* [[Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn|Duke of Connaught and Strathearn]] (1921)
*  F. G. Foster (1924)
* [[David Lloyd George]] (1924)
* [[Edward VIII|Prince of Wales]] (1926)
* [[Major-general (United Kingdom)|Major General]] [[J. E. B. Seely, 1st Baron Mottistone|J. E. B. Seely]] (1927)
* [[William Joynson-Hicks, 1st Viscount Brentford|Sir William Joynson-Hicks]] (1927)
* Frank J. Privett (1928)
*  Sir Harold R. Pink (1928)
* [[Admiral (Royal Navy)|Admiral]] [[William James (Royal Navy admiral)|Sir William James]] (1942)
* [[Field marshal (United Kingdom)|Field Marshal]] [[Bernard Montgomery|Lord Montgomery of Alamein]] (1946)
* [[Winston Churchill|Sir Winston Churchill]] (1950)<ref>{{cite AV media |date=13 April 2014 |title='pompey's' New Freeman (1950) |medium=video |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sn_MyrefMPY |access-date=29 May 2020 |publisher=British Pathé |via=YouTube}}</ref>
*  [[List of mayors of Portsmouth|Albert Johnson]] (1966)
*  J. P. D. Lacey (1966)
* [[Alec Rose|Sir Alec Rose]] (1968)<ref>{{cite AV media |date=13 April 2014 |title=Sir Alec Rose Receives Freedom Of Portsmouth (1968) |medium=video |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=viBeWwWEe7c |access-date=29 May 2020 |publisher=British Pathé |via=YouTube}}</ref>
* [[Admiral of the Fleet (Royal Navy)|Admiral of the Fleet]] [[Louis Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma|Lord Mountbatten of Burma]] (1976)
* [[Charles III|Prince of Wales]] (1979)
* [[James Callaghan|Lord Callaghan of Cardiff]] (1991)
* [[Diana, Princess of Wales|Princess of Wales]] (1992)
* [[Frank Judd, Baron Judd|Lord Judd of Portsea]] (1995)
* Lady Margaret Daley (1996)
*  Josef Krings (1997)
* Ian G. Gibson (2002)
* [[Milan Mandarić]] (2003)
* [[Alfred Blake|Sir Alfred Blake]] (2003)
* Brian Kidd (2003), former Head of Parks and Gardens in Portsmouth<ref>{{cite web |title=Brian Kidd – Portsmouth's 'Mr Gardening' – dies aged 82 |url=https://www.portsmouth.co.uk/news/people/brian-kidd-portsmouths-mr-gardening-dies-aged-82-3053827 |website=Portsmouth News |date=December 2020 |access-date=7 January 2022}}</ref>
* [[Harry Redknapp]] (2008)
* [[Syd Rapson]] (2016)
* [[Alan Knight (footballer, born 1961)|Alan Knight MBE]] (2025)

=== Military units ===

* [[Royal Hampshire Regiment]] (1950)
* [[Royal Marines]] (1959)
* [[Commander-in-Chief, Portsmouth|Portsmouth Command]] of the Royal Navy (1965)
* [[Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment]] (1992)
* {{HMS|King Alfred|1994 shore establishment|6}}, [[Royal Naval Reserve|RNR]] (2003)
* {{HMS|Endurance|A171|6}}, RN (2007)

=== Organisations and groups ===

* [[Key worker|Essential Workers of Portsmouth]]: 16 March 2021 (service will be held in May 2021).<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.portsmouth.co.uk/news/politics/fantastic-portsmouth-key-workers-granted-freedom-of-the-city-3168070 |title='Fantastic' Portsmouth key workers granted freedom of the city|date=16 March 2021 }}</ref>
* [[Royal Navy|Royal Naval]] Association: 8 December 2021.
* [[Royal Marines]] Association (Portsmouth Branch): 8 December 2021.
* [[Women's Royal Naval Service|Association of Wrens and Women of the Royal Naval Services]]: 8 December 2021.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-hampshire-59575451 |title=Falklands veterans given Freedom of City of Portsmouth |last= |first= |date=8 December 2021 |website=BBC News Hampshire & Isle of Wight |publisher= |access-date=13 December 2021 |quote=}}</ref>
* [[Portsmouth F.C.|Pompey in the Community]]: 29 March 2022.<ref>{{cite web |title=PitC Awarded Freedom Of The City |url=https://www.portsmouthfc.co.uk/news/2022/march/pitc-awarded-freedom-of-the-city/ |website=The Portsmouth Football Club |access-date=6 April 2022 |language=en}}</ref>
* Life House: 15 December 2022.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.portsmouth.co.uk/news/people/southseas-lifehouse-receives-early-christmas-present-with-freedom-of-the-city-award-3960102 |title=Southsea's LifeHouse receives early Christmas present with Freedom of the City award  |last=Lewis |first=Sophie |date=20 December 2022 |website=The News |access-date=26 December 2022 }}</ref>
* [[Southern Co-operative|The Southern Co-operative Limited]]: 10 July 2023.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.portsmouth.co.uk/news/people/southern-co-operative-to-be-awarded-freedom-of-the-portsmouth-after-efforts-during-covid-19-pandemic-4213611 |title=Southern Co-operative to be awarded Freedom of the Portsmouth after efforts during Covid-19 pandemic.  |last=Hunt |first=Lucy |date=10 July 2023 |website=The News |access-date=10 July 2023 }}</ref>

== See also ==
{{Portal|Hampshire}}

* [[List of tallest buildings and structures in Portsmouth]]
* [[List of twin towns and sister cities in the United Kingdom]]
* [[Portsmouth power station]]

== Notes ==
{{notelist}}

== References ==

=== Citations ===
{{reflist}}

=== Works cited ===
{{div col|colwidth=40em}}

* {{cite book |last1=Allen |first1=Lake |editor1-last=Wingett |editor1-first=Matt |title=The History of Portsmouth |date=2015 |publisher=Life Is Amazing |isbn=978-0-9572413-6-7}}
* {{Cite book |last=Armstrong |first=J.R. |title=A History of Sussex |publisher=Phillimore |location=Sussex |year=1971 |isbn=0-85033-185-4}}
* {{cite book |last1=Berry |first1=William |last2=Glover |first2=Robert |title=Encyclopædia Heraldica: Complete dictionary of heraldry. Glover's Ordinary of arms, augm. and improved, with indexes, etc. Mottos of the nobility, etc. Appendix, containing baronets of Scotland and Ireland |date=1828 |publisher=author |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zYgwAQAAMAAJ}}
* {{cite book |title=Breverton's Nautical Curiosities |last=Breverton |first=Terry |author-link=Terry Breverton |year=2010 |publisher=Quercus Publishing PLC |location=Bloomsbury Square, London |isbn=978-1-84724-776-6}}
* {{cite book |last1=Churchill |first1=Winston |title=A History of the English-Speaking Peoples Volume I: The Birth of Britain |date=2015 |publisher=Bloomsbury Academic |isbn=978-1-4742-2343-0 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=P7HTBQAAQBAJ}}
* {{cite book |last1=Clark |first1=Celia |title=The Tricorn: The Life and Death of a Sixties Icon |year=2009 |publisher=Tricorn Books Ltd |isbn=978-0-9562498-0-7}}
* {{cite book |last=Collingridge |first=Vanessa |author-link=Vanessa Collingridge |title=Captain Cook: The Life, Death and Legacy of History's Greatest Explorer |date=February 2003 |publisher=Ebury Press |isbn=0-09-188898-0}}
* {{cite book |title=Crown, Empire and Home Rule: The Irish in Portsmouth c. 1880–1923 |last=Daly |first=Gerry |year=2011 |publisher=VDM Verlag Dr. Müller |isbn=978-3-639-09018-5}}
* {{cite book |last1=Dickinson |first1=Robert E. |title=City and Region: A Geographical Interpretation |publisher=Taylor & Francis |isbn=978-0-415-17697-2 |year=1998 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=t0dS8yBnSpQC&q=233,545+portsmouth&pg=PA390}}
* {{cite book |last1=East |first1=Robert |title=Extracts from Records in the Possession of the Municipal Corporation of the Borough of Portsmouth and from Other Documents Relating Thereto |date=1891 |publisher=H. Lewis |location=Portsmouth |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OhRIAQAAMAAJ}}
* {{cite book |last=Frost |first=Alan |title=The First Fleet: The Real Story |year=2012 |publisher=Black Inc |location=Collingwood |isbn=978-1-86395-561-4}}
* {{cite book |title=The History of Chichester's Canal |last=Green |first=Alan H.J. |year=2006 |publisher=Sussex Industrial Archaeology Society |isbn=0-9512036-1-4 |pages=18–19}}
* {{cite book |last1=Hewitt |first1=Phil |title=A Portsmouth Miscellany |date=2013 |publisher=Summersdale |isbn=978-1-84953-463-5}}
* {{cite book |author-link=Richard Hough |last=Hough |first=Richard |title=Captain Bligh and Mr Christian: The Men and the Mutiny |publisher=Hutchinsons |location=London |year=1972 |isbn=978-0-09-112860-9}}
* {{cite book |last=Knowles |first=Graeme |title=Portsmouth Cathedral |year=2006 |publisher=RJL Smith & Associates Much Wenlock |isbn=1-872665-94-2}}
* {{cite book |last=Long |first=Rod |title=South Coast Saunter |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wjdUdQiq1PkC&pg=PA188 |date=1 January 2007 |publisher=Pegasus Elliot Mackenzie Pu |isbn=978-1-84386-286-4}}
* {{cite book |last=Neasom |first=Mike |title=Pompey: The History of Portsmouth Football Club |publisher=Milestone Publications |year=1984 |isbn=0-903852-50-0}}
* {{cite book |title=A Military Heritage A history of Portsmouth and Portsea Town Fortifications |last=Patterson |first=B.H. |year=1985 |publisher=Fort Cumberland & Portsmouth Militaria Society}}
* {{cite book |last1=Patterson |first1=Alfred Temple |title=Portsmouth: a history |date=1976 |publisher=Moonraker Press |location=Bradford-on-Avon, Wiltshire |isbn=9780239001467 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IHCAAAAAIAAJ&q=portsmouth%20a%20history%20patterson |access-date=8 June 2020}}
* {{cite book |last1=Pawley |first1=Edward |title=BBC engineering, 1922–1972 |date=1972 |publisher=British Broadcasting Corporation |location=London |isbn=0-563-12127-0}}
* {{cite book |first1=Piers |last1=Brendon |author-link=Piers Brendon |title=The Decline and Fall of the British Empire, 1781–1997 |publisher=Random House |year=2007 |isbn=978-0-224-06222-0}}
* {{cite book |title=The Buildings of England Hampshire and the Isle of Wight |last=Pevsner |first=Nikolaus |year=1967 |publisher=Penguin Books |isbn=0-14-071032-9}}
* {{cite book |last=Rice |first=A.L. |title=Understanding the Oceans: Marine Science in the Wake of HMS Challenger |publisher=Routledge |year=1999 |chapter=The Challenger Expedition |isbn=978-1-85728-705-9 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=F5agn3NSzEoC&pg=PA27}}
* {{cite book |last1=Mitchell |first1=Garry H. |title=Hilsea lines and Portsbridge |date=1988 |publisher=G.H. Mitchell |isbn=0947605061}}{{self-published inline|date=June 2020}}
* {{cite book |title=The Origins of Portsmouth and the First Charter |last=Quail |first=Sarah |year=1994 |publisher=City of Portsmouth |isbn=0-901559-92-X}}
* {{cite book |last=Quail |first=Sarah |title=Southsea Past |publisher=Philimore Publishing |year=2000 |isbn=1-86077-145-9}}
* {{cite book |last1=Seward |first1=Desmond |title=A Brief History of the Hundred Years War: The English in France, 1337–1453 |publisher=Little, Brown Book Group |isbn=978-1-4721-1220-0 |year=1988 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uSueBAAAQBAJ&q=portsmouth+raid+hospital+1338+church&pg=PT22}}
* {{cite book |last=Stedman |first=Jane W. |year=1996 |title=W. S. Gilbert, A Classic Victorian & His Theatre |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=0-19-816174-3}}
* {{cite book |last1=Sumption |first1=Jonathan |title=Hundred Years War Vol 1: Trial by Battle |date=1990 |publisher=Faber & Faber |isbn=978-0-571-26658-6 |page=672 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TdO710XXpnEC&q=Nicholas+B%C3%A9huchet+raided+Portsmouth&pg=PA395}}
* {{cite book |last1=Vine |first1=P.A.L. |title=Hampshire waterways |year=1990 |publisher=Middleton Press |isbn=0906520843}}
* {{cite book |last=Webb |first=John |title=The Spirit of Portsmouth: A History |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=x9EgAAAAMAAJ |year=1989 |publisher=Phillimore |isbn=978-0-85033-617-7}}
* {{cite book |last=Winton |first=John |title=Warrior: The First and The Last |publisher=Maritime Books |year=1987 |location=Liskeard, Cornwall |isbn=0-907771-34-3 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/warriorfirstlast0000wint}}

{{div col end}}

=== General references ===

* {{cite book |last1=Churchill |first1=Winston Spencer |title=History of the English Speaking People: Birth of Britain, 55 B.C. to 1485 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9AomAAAACAAJ |publisher=Dodd Mead |isbn=978-0-396-03841-2 |page=65 |year=1968}}

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{{Commons category|Portsmouth}}

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[[Category:1180 establishments in England]]
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