Portsmouth Hampshire Family History Guide

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Portsmouth is an Ancient Parish and a market town in the county of Hampshire.

Other places in the parish include: Portsmouth St John the Baptist and St Nicholas.

Alternative names: Portsmouth St Thomas of Canterbury, Portsmouth Town

Parish church:

Parish registers begin:

Portsmouth

  • Parish registers: 1654
  • Bishop’s Transcripts: 1682

Portsmouth St John the Baptist and St Nicholas

  • Parish registers: 1741
  • Bishop’s Transcripts: None

Portsmouth Royal Marines

  • Parish registers: 1801
  • Bishop’s Transcripts: None

Nonconformists include: Baptist, Bible Christian Methodist, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, General Baptist, Independent/Congregational, Presbyterian Unitarian, Primitive Methodist, Society of Friends/Quaker, Unitarian, and Wesleyan Methodist.

Adjacent Parishes

Parish History

The Imperial Gazetteer of England & Wales 1870

PORTSMOUTH, a seaport town, with great naval arsenal, and with spacious fortified harbour, a sub-district, and a parish, in Portsea district, Hants.

The town stands on the E side of the harbour’s mouth, and on the SW corner of Portsea island, 18 miles SE of Southampton, and 74 SW of London; adjoins Portsea town on the N, Southsea suburb on the ESE, and Land port suburbon the NE; is separated from Gosport on the W only by a reach of the harbour about ¾ of a mile wide; communicates with Gosport by a floating-bridge; has railway connexion with all parts of the kingdom through terminal stations in Land port and Gosport; confronts, on the S, the great anchoring-ground of Spithead; and looks across that anchoring-ground to the E end of the Isle of Wight.

History.—Portsmouth is supposed to have been originally called Longporth, signifying “ship-haven,” and to have subsequently taken the name of Portesmouth or Portsmouth, from its situation at the entrance of the harbour. The inhabitants of the Roman Porchester, at the harbour’s head, appear to have early suffered inconvenience from the retiring of the sea from their town; and are believed to have, in consequence, removed to Portsea island, and founded Portsmouth. A body of Saxons, under Porth or Porta, landed here in 501, and took temporary possession of the surrounding country. Danish pirates made a descent here in 787. A Danish fleet was defeated in the offing, by Ethelhelm, in 838. Another Danish fleet was defeated by nine ships sailing hence against them in 897. A Danish force landed here in 1001, and penetrated into the country. Another Danish force did much damage here in 1066. Robert, Duke of Normandy, landed here to dispute the crown with Henry I., in 1101. Henry I. was here, and “wore his crown”here, in 1123. The Empress Maud landed here in 1139. Henry II., on the eve of his departure to France, made his will here in 1182. Richard I. and his son landed here in 1189. The same king embarked here for France in 1194. King John embarked here for Normandy in 1201, and assembled his fleet here in 1213. Henry III. made P. the rendezvous of his army for invading France in 1229; embarked at it for St. Malo in 1230; landed at it in 1231; embarked at it, with his queen and a splendid retinue, for Sartoigne, in 1242; and sailed again, with a fine army, from Spithead for Gascony, in 1253. The first oranges ever seen in England, were brought to P., by a Spanish vessel, in 1290. A fleet of 360 vessels, under the Earls of Lancaster and Richmond, assembled at Spithead in 1295. A large fleet, to carry soldiers and horses to Aquitaine, assembled here in 1324. Edward III., with a large army, embarked here for La Hogue, in 1346. A French force landed at the town and burnt it in 1377. The Duke of Lancaster, with an army of 28,000 men, sailed from Spithead for La Corunna in 1386. Henry V., with a fleet for invading France, was blocked for a time at P. by a French fleet, and afterwards embarked here for Normandy, in 1416. Margaret of Anjou landed here, to be married to Henry V., in 1445. Adam de Moleyns, Bishop of Chichester, was killed hereby sailors, while paying wages to them, in 1449.

Edward IV. reviewed an army of 30,000 men on South-sea common in l 475. The Earl of Kent, with a grand retinue, arrived at P. in 1492. Leland, the antiquary, visited the town in 1540, and described it as “walled with mud, armed with timber, whereon be great pieces of iron and brass ordnance,” as having “a great dock for ships,” and as “bare and little occupied-in time of peace.” The French fleet under D’Annebaut threatened the town in 1545; and were driven off, in presence of Henry VIII. by the English fleet under Viscount Lisle, previously collected in the harbour. Edward VI., with a fleet of 53 ships and a force of 7, 780 men, was here in 1552; and he found the town “great in comparison of what it ought to be, and within the walls fair and large closes and much vacant room.” The Prince of Wales, afterwards Charles I., and the Duke of Buckingham, the” Steenie” of James VI., landed here from Spain in 1623. The Duke of Buckingham was assassinated here, by John Felton, in 1628; and the house in which the deed was done was then an inn called “the Spotted Dog,” and still stands in High-street, opposite the Unitarian chapel. The parliamentarian army under Waller seized the town in 1642, and garrisoned it for parliament. Catherine of Braganza landed here, and was married here to Charles II., in 1662. Admiral Herbert sailed from Spithead, to intercept the French squadron against Ireland, in 1689. Admiral Russell assembled his squadron at Spithead, to act against the French, in 1692. William III. visited Admiral Rook’s fleet at Spithead in 1693. The Newcastle man-of-war foundered at Spithead, and Charles III. of Spain arrived there, in 1703. Admiral Sir George Byng sailed from P., for La Hogue, in 1708. The Edgar man-of-war blew up in the harbour in 1711. Sir Wager’s fleet sailed hence, for Gibraltar, in 1727. Sir J. Norris’s fleet sailed hence, for Portugal and the Straits, in 1740; and Anson’s expedition for circumnavigating the world, and Ogle’s for the West Indies, sailed hence in the same year. Rear-Admiral Hawke, after his victory over the French, and with six French prizes in his possession, arrived at P. in 1747.

An earthquake shook the town on 18 March, 1750. Admiral Byng was tried, condemned, and shot on board the Monarque in P. harbour in 1757. The corpse of General Wolfe was landed here, from Quebec, in 1759. George III. visited the town in 1773 and 1777. The Royal George, of 108 guns, sank at Spithead in 1782; and the wreck of it continued more or less to encumber the anchorage-ground till 1844. Lord Howe landed at P., after his defeat of the French fleet, in 1794; and George III. then visited his fleet here. The Boyne, of 98 guns, took fire in the harbour in 1795; and blew up with an explosion, which was felt all over the town. Earl St. Vincent arrived at Spithead, after his defeat of the French fleet, in 1799; and he arrived at P., to take command of the Channel fleet of 41 ships, in 1800. The most flagrant of the mutineers of the Bounty were executed here in 1802. Lord Nelson hoisted his flag in the Victory here in 1803; he embarked at Southsea beach, amid a vast multitude of spectators, in August 1805; and the Victory, with his corpse on board, arrived at Spithead in December. A large camp was formed on Southsea common in 1806. The Prince of Orange visited P. in 1811. Louis X VIII. arrived here, from Stowe, in 1812. The American frigate President was brought into the harbour as a prize in 1814; and the allied sovereigns visited the town in the same year. Lord Exmouth sailed from Spithead for Algiers, and returned to it after his victory, in 1816. An assemblage of about 4,000 persons met on Portsdown hill, with Cobbett, to petition for parliamentary reform, in 1817. George IV. embarked at P., for Ireland, in 1821. A whale, 24 feet long, was killed in Haslar lake in 1823. Queen Victoria opened the steam basin, at Portsea, in 1848. Admiral Napier, with the first steam fleet, sailed from the harbour for the Baltic, in 1852. Vast improvements in the construction of ships of war, and in naval gunnery, were made in P. arsenal in 1864-6; and drew many visitors to observe their progress. A grand naval review, in presence of Queen Victoria, the Sultan of Turkey, and the Viceroy of Egypt, was held at Spithead in 1867. Portsea was the birth-place of the artist Hay, and the death-place of the antiquary Allen; and Portsmouth was the birth-place of Jonas Hanway and Charles Dickens, gave the title of Duchess to one of Charles II.’s favourites, and gives the title of Earl to the family of Wallop.

Streets and Public Buildings.—The town measures about 1½ mile in circuit; and is bisected north-eastward, through its middle, by High-street, 3 furlongs in length. Fortifications completely begird it; are of great strength, and in high repair; consist of segments of irregular polygons of many sides; comprise six curtains with five bastions, and with ravelins in advance of all the curtains; form a delightful promenade, shaded in parts with trees; and command very fine sea-views. King James’ gate is in the Venetian style, with Corinthian pilasters; and was restored in 1826. A powerful battery, at the foot of High-street, formerly surmounted by the semaphore, shuts out the view of the sea. The platform battery, near the harbour, was formerly used for salutes in honour of distinguished arrivals; has a sun-dial; and commands the best of the sea-views up the harbour and over Spithead. King’s bastion is now used for salutes; has a strong ravelin on the sea-front; and exhibits pyramidal piles of bombs and cannon shot, and once of the cannons fished up from the wreck of the Royal George. King William’s gate leads to Southsea. The Land port gate forms the principal egress from Portsmouth; is surmounted by tower and dome; has two guard-houses and a pedestrians’ gateway; and is defended with large draw-bridges across the moats. Guy’s bastion and -Beats on bastion occur between the Land port gate and the gateway and bridge communicating with Portsea. Quay gate is further to the W; and the Camber bastion completes, in that direction, the circle of the fortifications. Broad-street connects with St. James’ gate; and the Point beyond was formerly the scene of many events, and the most attractive part for sailors; and is now the landing-place of persons from Gosport, Spithead, and the ships in all parts of the harbour. The Governor’s Green is afield where the town-guard is regularly trooped with great ceremony, and where the regimental bands of the garrison perform in summer, amid great crowds of elegantly dressed loungers. The Grand Parade is an open space, with the main guard-house in front. The Cambridge barracks are at the top of High-street, on an extensive site, part of which was formerly occupied by the theatre-royal; the Clarence barracks are in St. Nicholas-street, with main entrance opposite Barrack-street; the Colewort barracks are in St. Mary-street, on the site of an ancient priory; and, at the census of 1861, the three suites of barracks had respectively 513, 946, and 49 inmates.

The borough jail extends from Penny-street to St.Nicholas-street; was built in 1805-9, at a cost of £18,000; and has capacity for 67 male and 22 female prisoners. The custom-house formerly stood in Broad-street, now adjoins the town quay, and was erected there in 1832. The Green-row rooms were built in 1812; are used, during winter, for lectures and concerts; and stand over a charity school, with upwards of 200 scholars. The town hall, the lieutenant-governor’s residence, the post-office, and the Bank of England office are in High-street; the savings’ bank, a neat building, is in St. Thomas’-street; and the soldiers’ institute, containing reading-rooms and refreshment rooms, is in Lombard-street. The Garrison chapel stands near the Grand Parade; belonged originally to an hospital of St. Nicholas founded here in 1238, by Peter de Rupibus, bishop of Winchester; retains only the chancel of the original structure; and was restored and partly rebuilt in 1866-7, at a cost of £3, 520. A small graveyard is connected with it; has been used chiefly for naval and military officers dying at Portsmouth; and contains the grave of Lieut.-Gen. Sir Charles Napier, the conqueror of Scinde. The parish church, or St. Thomas’, stands in St. Thomas’-street; was built in 1210-20, by Peter de Rupibus; retains only the chancel and some other small portions of the original structure; was mainly rebuilt, in very bad taste, in 1693; has a tower 120 feet high, surmounted by cupola and lantern; and contains a hideous cenotaph of the murdered Duke of Buckingham, and many curious monuments. St. Mary’s church stands on a plot in the rear of St. Mary-street, and contains 1, 200 sittings. An Independent chapel, a handsome edifice, is in St. Mary-street; a Wesleyan chapel, built in 1811, is in Green-row; and a Unitarian chapel, in the Dutch style and built in 1718, is in High-street. There are a free grammar school, alms-houses, and some charities. The town, as a whole, is disagreeable; and, except in connexion with the government works and the fortifications, possesses little to interest strangers. The government works are chiefly at Portsea and Gosport, and have been noticed in our articles on these towns. A new system of drainage for Portsmonth borough, with main outlet to the sea at Southsea, was begun to be constructed in 1866, and was estimated to cost £100,000.

Fortifications.—Towers were built at the harbours mouth by Edward IV.; were improved or enlarged by Richard III.; and were extended to what was then reckoned a complete condition by Henry VII. One of the towers, called the Round Tower, was specially mentioned by Leland; and, in an enlarged and much altered state, is still standing. Another tower stood on the opposite side of the harbour, near where Blockhouse Fort now stands; and between that and the Round Tower was drawn what Leland calls “a mightie chayne of yron,” to intercept any hostile ship or fleet which might attempt to enter. Other fortifications were erected in the times of successively Elizabeth, Charles II., James II., and William III.; and they had then acquired nearly the form in which they now exist. Yet great improvements, renovations, and extensions were made in result of a vote of £90,000 in 1813, and in result of votes of larger sums at subsequent dates; and have been vigorously carried forward in years from 1860 till 1868. The fortifications around Portsmouth-proper have been already noticed in the present article; and those around Portsea, around Gosport, and on Portsdown hill, as also the stupendous works of Blockhouse Fort, Monkton Fort, Gomer Fort, Elson Fort, Cumberland Fort, and Southsea Castle are noticed in other articles.

The Harbour.—P. harbour enters from Spithead anchoring-ground or the E end of the Solent, between the Round Tower and Blockhouse Fort; is there, at its narrowest part, less than ¼ of a mile wide; expands into a noble basin, capable of holding a large fleet; passes Portsmouth-proper and Portsea, with a width of about ¾of a mile; spreads northward to a breadth of from 2 to 4½ miles, with a length from the entrance of from 4½ to 5½ miles; contains Whale, Stamshaw, Horsey, Privet, and other islands; has an outline much broken and diversified by peninsulas and creeks; is all so landlocked as to give perfect shelter during even violent storms; is swept by ebb-tide much more strongly than by flood-tide, so as to be kept free from any serious accumulations of sand or silt at the entrance; had naturally a depth of only 12½feet in low water spring-tides at the mouth, but has there been deepened and otherwise improved; undergoes a tidal rise of 18 feet in spring-tides; has always sufficient depth for water-bearing of the heaviest three-deckers at the lowest ebbs; and possesses great interest to strangers in the government-works and the fortifications around it, in the great number of ships lying-up in it in ordinary, in the usual presence in it of one of the Queen’s yachts, and in the constant presence of the Victory flag-ship, the same in which Nelson fought and fell.

Trade and Commerce.—Portsmouth-proper has a head post-office, two banking offices, and two chief inns; is a seat of sessions and county courts, and a polling-place; publishes a weekly newspaper; carries on all the departments of artificer ship and manufacture, suited to the wants of a great sea-port; and has well-supplied markets on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. The railway termini, though situated in the suburbs, are central and convenient for all purposes of traffic. The Arundel and Portsea canal commences near the middle of the NE suburbs, and runs eastward to a creek near the mouth of Langstone harbour. Steamers run several times a day to Cowes, to Ryde, and to Southampton; and run regularly also to London, to Plymouth, to Falmouth, and to Dublin. A considerable commerce is carried on both coastwise and with colonial and foreign ports. The vessels belonging to the port, at the commencement of 1864, were 153 small sailing-vessels, of aggregately 3,961 tons; 99 large sailing-vessels of aggregately 10,994 tons; 5 small steam-vessels, of aggregately 113 tons; and 4 large steam-vessels, of aggregately 245 tons. The vessels which entered, in 1863, were 39 British sailing-vessels, of aggregately 3,930 tons, from British colonies; 3 foreign sailing-vessels, of aggregately 1,293 tons, from British colonies; 134 British sailing-vessels, of aggregately 9,523 tons, from foreign countries; 120 foreign sailing-vessels, of aggregately 12,560 tons, from foreign countries; and 1,180 sailing-vessels, of aggregately 119,195 tons, coast-wise. The vessels which cleared, in 1863, were 10 British sailing-vessels, of aggregately 965 tons, to British colonies; 6 British sailing-vessels, of aggregately 304 tons, to foreign countries; 93 foreign sailing-vessels, of aggregately 10,199 tons, to foreign countries; and 910 sailing-vessels, of aggregately 30,247 tons, coastwise. The amount of customs in 1862 was £21,883.

The Borough.—Portsmouth town, or P. proper, comprises less than 110 acres of land and 62 of foreshore. Pop. in 1851, 9,897; in 1861, 10,346 Houses, 1,028 The sub-district is conterminate with the town. The parish includes also small portions of Kingston and Portsea sub-districts, and comprises entirely 110 acres of land and 62 of foreshore. Real property in 1860, £34, 124. Pop. in 1851, 10, 329; in 1861, 10, 833. Houses, 1, 119. The living of St. Thomas is a vicarage, and that of St. Mary is a p. curacy in the diocese of Winchester. Value of St. T., £555; of St. M., £150. Patron of St. T., Winchester College; of St. M., the Vicar of Portsmouth. The borough, both municipally and parliamentarily, comprises the parishes of Portsmonth and Portsea. Acres, 7,063; of which 2,030 are foreshore. The old borough was less than half the extent of the present borough; yet included Portsmouth and Portsea towns, and most of their suburbs; and it claimed to have been chartered by Henry I., certainly had charters from 14 kings, beginning with Richard I, and ending with Charles II., and sent two members to parliament from the time of Edward I. The new borough was divided, under the municipal act, into 7 wards; is governed by a mayor, 14 aldermen, and 42 councillors; has a corporation income of upwards of £7, 900; and sends two members to parliament. Amount of property and income tax charged in 1863, £17, 385. Electors in 1833, 1, 295; in 1863, 4, 302. Pop. in 1851, 72,096; in 1861, 94, 799. Houses, 15, 819.

Source: The Imperial Gazetteer of England & Wales [Wilson, John M]. A. Fullarton & Co. N. d. c. [1870-72].

Portsmouth Parish Registers

Portsmouth St Thomas Marriages 1701 to 1775 Hampshire Parish Registers Marriages Vol. 15 General Editor: Thos. M. Blagg. Edited by  S. Andrews Vol. 15. Published London 1913. Issued to the subscribers by Phillimore & Co. 124 Chancery Lane. – This book is a free download from Parishmouse

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