114-570: His Majesty ' s Armed Survey Vessel Lady Nelson was commissioned in 1799 to survey the coast of Australia. At the time large parts of the Australian coast were unmapped and Britain had claimed only part of the continent. The British Government were concerned that, in the event of settlers of another European power becoming established in Australia, any future conflict in Europe would lead to
228-469: A cholera epidemic; according to a by-law , any house within 100 feet (30 m) of a sewer had to be connected to it. By 1871 the population had risen to 100,000, and the national census listed Portsmouth's population as 113,569. A working-class suburb was constructed in the 1870s, when about 1,820 houses were built, and it became Somerstown . Despite public-health improvements, 514 people died in an 1872 smallpox epidemic. On 21 December of that year,
342-617: A fort , at nearby Portchester in the late third century. 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). In the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle , a warrior named Port and his two sons killed a noble Briton in Portsmouth in 501. Winston Churchill , in A History of the English-Speaking Peoples , wrote that Port
456-457: A conclusive and decisive victory. 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 . A V-1 flying bomb hit Newcomen Road on 15 July 1944, killing 15 people. Much of the city's housing stock was damaged during the war. The wreckage was cleared in an attempt to improve housing quality after
570-746: A diplomatic incident with the Soviet Union and scandal in British domestic politics. 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 naval task force , and the aircraft carriers HMS Hermes and HMS Invincible sailed from Portsmouth for
684-585: A figure which increased to 23,000 during the First World War . The whole of Portsea Island came united under the control of Portsmouth borough council in 1904. In 1906, HMS Dreadnought was launched from Portsmouth Dockyard. 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. A major terrorist incident occurred in
798-462: A fleet of 100 ships to the port. 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. The 1194 royal charter's 800th anniversary was celebrated in 1994 with ceremonies at the city museum. King John reaffirmed Richard I's rights and privileges, and established
912-586: A guard and Ensign Francis Barrallier , also of the New South Wales Corps, joined as surveyor for the expedition. The expedition was joined by George Caley , a botanist sent by Sir Joseph Banks to collect plants, John Lewin , naturalist and artist, and an Aboriginal man named Euranabie and his wife Worogan. The Lady Nelson was to be accompanied by the sloop Bee to act as a tender. The two vessels left Sydney Cove on 6 March 1801 but encountered heavy weather soon after their departure. Bee shipped
1026-643: A key part in the affairs of Lady Nelson after she arrived. Lady Nelson was loaded with sufficient provisions for nine months and enough water for six months, at an allowance of one gallon for each man per day. She was not equipped with a chronometer. The beginning of the voyage to Australia was recorded by Grant: On 13 January 1800, the Lady Nelson hauled out of Deadman's Dock into the River, having her complement of men, stores, and provisions on board. Lady Nelson reached Gravesend on 16 January, anchored in
1140-508: A lot of water and was obliged to return to Port Jackson. Lady Nelson continued south alone and, after spending two days in Jervis Bay, passed Cape Howe on the 15th, Wilsons Promontory on the 20th, and sighted Western Port on 21 March. Lady Nelson had arrived off the island that forms the south head of Western Port and from its likeness to a snapper's head, Grant named it Snapper Island, since renamed Phillip Island . The greater part of
1254-545: 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. Recognising the town's growing importance, he ordered a wooden Round Tower to be built at the mouth of the harbour; it was completed in 1426. Henry VII rebuilt the fortifications with stone, assisted Robert Brygandine and Sir Reginald Bray in
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#17328007941521368-752: A permanent naval base. The first docks were begun by William of Wrotham in 1212, and John summoned his earls, barons, and military advisers to plan an invasion of Normandy . In 1229, declaring war against France, Henry III assembled a force described by historian Lake Allen as "one of the finest armies that had ever been raised in England". The invasion stalled, and returned from France in October 1231. Henry III summoned troops to invade Guienne in 1242, and Edward I sent supplies for his army in France in 1295. Commercial interests had grown by
1482-478: A sandbank as both ships broke up. Matthew Flinders , who was returning to England as a passenger on Porpoise , together with his charts and logbooks, believed that Captain Palmer sailed on despite knowing that the other two ships had come to grief. Another passenger was the artist William Westall , many of whose works were damaged in the wrecking. On 26 August 1803, with no sign of rescue, Flinders and Park took
1596-488: A widening of the conflict into the southern hemisphere to the detriment of the trade that Britain sought to develop. It was against this background that Lady Nelson was chosen to survey and establish sovereignty over strategic parts of the continent. Lady Nelson left Portsmouth on 18 March 1800 and arrived at Sydney on 16 December 1800 after having been the first vessel to reach the east coast of Australia via Bass Strait . Prior to that date all vessels had sailed around
1710-897: Is among the few British cities with two cathedrals: the Anglican Cathedral of St Thomas and the Roman Catholic Cathedral of St John the Evangelist . The waterfront and Portsmouth Harbour are dominated by the Spinnaker Tower , one of the United Kingdom's tallest structures at 560 feet (170 m). Southsea is Portsmouth's 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
1824-517: Is east of the island. The Farlington Marshes , in the north off the coast of Farlington , is a 125 hectares (310 acres) grazing marsh and saline lagoon. One of the oldest local reserves in the county, built from reclaimed land in 1771, it provides a habitat for migratory wildfowl and waders . South of Portsmouth are Spithead , the Solent , and the Isle of Wight . Its southern coast was fortified by
1938-421: 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 mainland . The city is located 22 miles (35 km) south-east of Southampton , 50 miles (80 km) west of Brighton and Hove and 74 miles (119 km) south-west of London . With a population last recorded at 208,100, it is the most densely-populated city in
2052-628: Is located primarily on Portsea Island and is the United Kingdom's only island city, although the city has expanded to the mainland. Gosport is a town and borough to the west. Portsea Island is separated from the mainland by Portsbridge Creek , which is crossed by three road bridges (the M275 motorway , the A3 road , and the A2030 road ), a railway bridge, and two footbridges. Portsea Island, part of
2166-482: Is the residential Milton and an area of reclaimed land known as Milton Common (formerly Milton Lake), a "flat scrubby land with a series of freshwater lakes". Further north on the east coast is Baffins , with the Great Salterns recreation ground and golf course around Portsmouth College . The Hilsea Lines are a series of defunct fortifications on the island's north coast, bordering Portsbridge Creek and
2280-551: Is the second busiest in the United Kingdom after Dover , handling around three million passengers a year. The city formerly had its own airport, Portsmouth Airport , until its closure in 1973. The University of Portsmouth enrolls 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 . The Romans built Portus Adurni (now called Portchester Castle ),
2394-544: The Challenger expedition embarked on a 68,890-nautical-mile (127,580 km) circumnavigation of the globe for scientific research. When the British Empire was at its height of power, covering a quarter of Earth's total land area and 458 million people at the turn of the 20th century, Portsmouth was considered "the world's greatest naval port". In 1900, Portsmouth Dockyard employed 8,000 people –
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#17328007941522508-563: The Battle of Pulo Aura . Fowler took command of the upper deck, where he distinguished himself, and Franklin was in charge of the signals. In 1965 Ben Cropp found the wreck sites of the Cato and Porpoise ( 22°11′38″S 155°21′21″E / 22.1939°S 155.3558°E / -22.1939; 155.3558 ( HMS Porpoise wreck site ) ) at Wreck Reefs after extensive research and only fifteen minutes of actual diving. The site
2622-579: The Battle of Trafalgar in 2005, with Queen Elizabeth II present at a fleet review and a mock battle. The naval base is home to two-thirds of Britain's surface fleet. 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. Portsmouth is 73.5 miles (118.3 km) by road from central London, 49.5 miles (79.7 km) west of Brighton , and 22.3 miles (35.9 km) east of Southampton . It
2736-687: The Battle of Trafalgar . The Royal Navy's reliance on Portsmouth led to its becoming the most fortified city in the world. The Royal Navy's West Africa Squadron , tasked with halting the slave trade, began operating out of Portsmouth in 1808. A network of forts, known as the 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. In April 1811,
2850-705: The Dissolution of the Monasteries , in 1539 in anticipation of a French invasion. He also invested heavily in the town's dockyard, expanding it to 8 acres (3.2 ha). Around this time, a Tudor defensive boom stretched from the Round Tower to Fort Blockhouse in Gosport to protect Portsmouth Harbour. From Southsea Castle, Henry witnessed his flagship Mary Rose sink in action against the French fleet in
2964-487: The Eocene . Northern areas of the city include Stamshaw , Hilsea and Copnor , Cosham , Drayton , Farlington , Paulsgrove and Port Solent . Other districts include North End and Fratton. The west of the city contains council estates , such as Buckland , Landport , and Portsea, which replaced Victorian terraces destroyed by Second World War bombing. After the war, the 2,000-acre (810 ha) Leigh Park estate
3078-562: The Hampshire Basin , is low-lying; most of the island is less than 3 metres (9.8 ft) above sea level . The island's highest natural elevation is the Kingston Cross road junction, at 21 feet (6.4 m) above ordinary spring tide. Old Portsmouth , the original town, is in the south-west part of the island and includes Portsmouth Point (nicknamed Spice Island). The main channel entering Portsmouth Harbour, west of
3192-405: 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 and London Waterloo amongst other lines in southern England. Portsmouth International Port is a commercial cruise ship and ferry port for international destinations. The port
3306-670: The National Museum of the Royal Navy and Portsmouth Historic Dockyard ; which has a collection of historic warships, including the Mary Rose , Lord Nelson 's flagship, HMS Victory (the world's oldest naval ship still in commission), and HMS Warrior , the Royal Navy's first ironclad warship . The former HMS Vernon shore establishment has been redeveloped into a large retail outlet destination known as Gunwharf Quays which opened in 2001. Portsmouth
3420-593: The Round Tower , the Square Tower , Southsea Castle, Lumps Fort and Fort Cumberland . Four sea forts were built in the Solent by 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, and Eastney is east. Eastney Lake covered nearly 170 acres (69 hectares) in 1626. North of Eastney
3534-541: The United Kingdom . Portsmouth forms part of the South Hampshire urban area with Gosport , Fareham , Havant , Eastleigh and Southampton. Portsmouth's history can be traced to Roman times and has been a significant Royal Navy dockyard and base for centuries. Portsmouth was founded c. 1180 by Anglo-Norman merchant Jean de Gisors in the south-west area of Portsea Island, a location now known as Old Portsmouth . Around this time, de Gisors ordered
HMS Lady Nelson (1798) - Misplaced Pages Continue
3648-464: The 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
3762-552: The 1545 Battle of the Solent with the loss of about 500 lives. 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. Portsmouth's fortifications were improved by successive monarchs. The town experienced an outbreak of plague in 1563, which killed about 300 of its 2,000 inhabitants. In 1623, Charles I (then Prince of Wales) returned to Portsmouth from France and Spain. His unpopular military adviser, George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham ,
3876-476: The 1960s and early 1970s. The success of the project and the quality of its housing are debatable. Portsmouth was affected by the decline of the British Empire in the second half of the 20th century. Shipbuilding jobs fell from 46 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
3990-678: The 20th century, Portsmouth achieved city status on 21 April 1926. During the Second World War , the city was a pivotal embarkation point for the D-Day landings and was bombed extensively in the Portsmouth Blitz , which resulted in the deaths of 930 people. In 1982, a large Royal Navy task force departed from Portsmouth for the Falklands War . Her Majesty's Yacht Britannia was formerly based in Portsmouth and oversaw
4104-466: The Cape, Grant received a despatch from London in which he was advised that a navigable strait had recently been discovered between New South Wales and Van Diemen's Land (now Tasmania), in latitude 38° south, and the despatch instructed him to: sail through the said strait on your way to Port Jackson, by which means you will not only shorten your voyage, but will have an opportunity of more minutely surveying
4218-514: The Danes at Portsmouth, where most of their ships were docked. Although the Danes were driven off, Wulfherd was killed. The Danes returned in 1001 and pillaged Portsmouth and the surrounding area, threatening the English with extinction. They were massacred by the English survivors the following year; rebuilding began, although the town experienced further attacks until 1066 . Although Portsmouth
4332-611: The Downs on 20 January 1800. After riding out a heavy gale Grant decided to seek shelter in Ramsgate Harbour. Lady Nelson remained there until 7 February, when she sailed for Portsmouth to await a convoy to escort her past the French and Spanish coasts. Whilst at Portsmouth Lady Nelson ' s armament, consisting of two brass carriage guns, was increased to six. On 15 March 1800, Captain Schanck, accompanied by Mr. Bayley, of
4446-577: 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 . 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. He also built Portsmouth's first permanent fortifications . In 1416,
4560-533: The Greyhound public house on High Street, which is now Buckingham House and has a commemorative plaque. Most residents (including the mayor) supported the parliamentarians during the English Civil War , although military governor Colonel Goring supported the royalists . The town, a base of the parliamentarian navy, was blockaded from the sea. Parliamentarian troops were sent to besiege it , and
4674-608: The Portsea Island Company constructed the first piped-water supply to upper- and middle-class houses. It supplied water to about 4,500 of Portsmouth's 14,000 houses, generating an income of £5,000 a year. 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. In 1818, John Pounds began teaching working-class children in
HMS Lady Nelson (1798) - Misplaced Pages Continue
4788-553: The Restoration , Charles II married Catherine of Braganza at the Royal Garrison Church on 14 May 1662. Catherine was reputed to have introduced the cultural practice of tea drinking to England at this event. During the late 17th century, Portsmouth continued to grow; a new wharf was constructed in 1663 for military use, and a mast pond was dug in 1665. In 1684, a list of ships docked in Portsmouth
4902-520: The Royal Academy, Portsmouth, paid Grant a visit. Many people who saw Lady Nelson did not consider her suitable to undertake such a long voyage and this caused Grant some difficulty in keeping his crew together and finding replacements for those that deserted. The carpenter, who had deserted when leaving Portsmouth, and one other member of the crew were not replaced and one man was put ashore due to illness. When Lady Nelson sailed her complement
5016-501: The South Atlantic on 5 April. The successful outcome of the war reaffirmed Portsmouth's significance as a naval port and its importance to the defence of British interests. In January 1997, 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. She was decommissioned on 11 December of that year at Portsmouth Naval Base in
5130-454: The Soviet cruiser 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
5244-457: 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 . 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 . Portsmouth celebrated the 200th anniversary of
5358-507: The absence of a chronometer on Lady Nelson . During the succeeding days, as Lady Nelson approached Bass Strait, Grant made numerous observations and named several geographic features along the southern coast of the continent. Lady Nelson entered Bass Strait itself on 7 December when Grant sighted a cape that he named Cape Albany Otway (now Cape Otway ). He named another cape, eight or ten nautical miles East-North-East-half East, Patton's Cape (now Cape Patton). A large bay, now appearing to
5472-446: The area continued until 1974. Builders still occasionally find unexploded bombs , such as on the site of the destroyed Hippodrome Theatre in 1984. 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
5586-477: The armed cutter Trial , built in Plymouth in 1789 to a design developed by Captain (later Admiral) John Schanck [often spelled Schank]. Trial was unusual in that she had three sliding keels, or centre-boards, that the crew could raise or lower individually. At the time there were several other vessels named Lady Nelson and this has led some authors to write that the vessel that is the subject of this article
5700-554: 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 . 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
5814-412: The city in 1968, and IBM relocated their European headquarters in 1979. Portsmouth's population had dropped from about 200,000 to 177,142 by the end of the 1960s. Defence Secretary John Nott decided in the early 1980s that of the four home dockyards, Portsmouth and Chatham would be closed. The city council won a concession, however, and the dockyard was downgraded instead to a naval base. In 1956,
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#17328007941525928-718: 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. During the Second World War , the city (particularly the port) was bombed extensively by the Luftwaffe in the Portsmouth Blitz. Portsmouth experienced 67 air raids between July 1940 and May 1944, which destroyed 6,625 houses and severely damaged 6,549. The air raids caused 930 deaths and wounded almost 3,000 people, many in
6042-534: The coast and Grant therefore decided to return to Port Jackson. Further bad weather was encountered and, after sheltering in Botany Bay for 24 hours, Lady Nelson arrived back at Port Jackson on 14 May 1801. Grant later wrote: Portsmouth Portsmouth ( / ˈ p ɔːr t s m ə θ / PORTS -məth ) is a port city and unitary authority in Hampshire , England. Most of Portsmouth
6156-858: The coast of Portugal . Porpoise wrecked in 1803 on the North coast of what was then part of the Colony of New South Wales , now called Wreck Reefs , off the coast of Queensland , Australia . Porpoise was commissioned in October 1799 under Lieutenant William Scott as a storeship for New South Wales. She sailed in April and arrived on 7 November 1800 in Port Jackson . She carried a selection of useful European plants, arranged by Sir Joseph Banks and provided by Brentford nurseryman Hugh Ronalds , to replace those lost in HMS ; Guardian . George Suttor
6270-659: The company of Cato , under Captain John Park, and the East Indiaman Bridgewater , under Captain Palmer, bound for India. On 17 August the three ships got caught near a sandbank, 157 north and 51 miles east of Sandy Cape . With shrinking leeway, both the Cato and Porpoise grounded. Both ships beat on the sharp coral, with the result that they sank quickly. Bridgewater sailed on and later reported both ships lost with no survivors. The crew and passengers of Cato and Porpoise were able to land on
6384-473: The construction of a chapel dedicated to St Thomas Becket . This became a parish church by the 14th century. Portsmouth was established as a town with a royal charter on 2 May 1194. The city is home to the first drydock ever built. It was constructed by Henry VII in 1496. 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". The world's first mass production line
6498-471: The construction of the world's first dry dock , and raised the Square Tower in 1494. He made Portsmouth a Royal Dockyard, England's only dockyard considered "national". Although 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 (built in 1497). Henry VIII built Southsea Castle, financed by
6612-684: The control of the colonial government was Francis , a schooner of only 44 tons (bm). The situation was partially relieved when Buffalo arrived in May 1799, but the colony possessed no vessels for exploration and surveying. In 1799 the Admiralty's Commissioners of Transport (the Transport Board ), ordered a cutter of 60 tons (bm), to be built for their own use in the River Thames and called it Lady Nelson . Her design followed that of
6726-408: The country appears to be of the most immediate importance'. The Governor, now Philip Gidley King, therefore had to find a commander and a new crew to carry out these instructions. As there was no other naval officer in the colony, command of Lady Nelson was offered to Grant (then unemployed), which he accepted. John Murray , Second Mate of Porpoise , transferred to Lady Nelson as First Mate. As
6840-453: The country's first ragged school . The Portsea Improvement Commissioners installed gas street lighting throughout Portsmouth in 1820, followed by Old Portsmouth three years later. During the 19th century, Portsmouth expanded across Portsea Island. 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
6954-476: The crew could only be given naval pay, and not the very high wages paid by the Transport Board during the delivery voyage, only two of the crew that had sailed Lady Nelson from England were prepared re-join the vessel. King therefore had to recruit a convict crew. This he did by granting conditional emancipations to some of the best behaved of the seamen among the convicts to enable them to serve on board
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#17328007941527068-553: The crew of Lady Nelson terminated on arrival of the vessel in Port Jackson and accordingly the crew were paid off. King had not received any directions on whether the vessel was to be considered on the establishment of the Navy, the Transport Board, or the Colony, and it was many months before this administrative matter was resolved. Before Grant left England he had received an appointment as Lieutenant to HMS Supply , which
7182-427: The dockyard and military establishments. 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. 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. The Guildhall was hit by an incendiary bomb which burnt out
7296-410: The dockyard during the war, making it one of the empire's most strategic ports at the time. Portsmouth's boundaries were extended onto the mainland of Great Britain between 1920 and 1932 by incorporating Paulsgrove , Wymering , Cosham , Drayton and Farlington into Portsmouth. Portsmouth was granted city status in 1926 after a long campaign by the borough council. The application was made on
7410-449: The early 19th century as "azure a crescent or, surmounted by an estoile of eight points of the last." Its design is apparently based on 18th-century mayoral seals. 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. Marc Isambard Brunel established the world's first mass-production line at Portsmouth Block Mills , making pulley blocks for rigging on
7524-408: The east, he named Portland Bay . On 8 December Lady Nelson sailed across a large bay, which was found to extend from Cape Otway in the west to Wilsons Promontory in the east, a distance of 120 nautical miles. Grant named this large extent of water Governor King's Bay, but the name has not survived. The discovery of Port Phillip , at the head of this bay, the bottom of which could not be seen from
7638-465: The first of these mountains after Captain Schanck (since renamed Mount Schank ), and the other Gambier's Mountain . The western cape he called Cape Banks and the second, eastern cape, he called Cape Northumberland . The actual position of Cape Banks is longitude 37°54′S 140°23′E / 37.900°S 140.383°E / -37.900; 140.383 ( Cape Banks ) . The discrepancy in longitude would have resulted, at least in part, by
7752-404: The flames. The two victims were a pensioner and a signalman. 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". The report also disclosed that at a previous police raid on a suffragette headquarters, "papers were discovered disclosing a plan to fire
7866-402: The following century, and its exports included wool, corn, grain, and livestock. 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. A French fleet commanded by David II of Scotland attacked in the English Channel , ransacked the Isle of Wight and threatened
7980-486: The globe. The 11-ship First Fleet left on 13 May 1787 to establish the first European colony in Australia , the beginning of prisoner transportation; Captain William Bligh of HMS Bounty also sailed from the harbour that year. After the 28 April 1789 mutiny on the Bounty , HMS Pandora was dispatched from Portsmouth to bring the mutineers back for trial. The court-martial opened on 12 September 1792 aboard HMS Duke in Portsmouth Harbour; of
8094-423: The grounds that it was the "first naval port of the kingdom". 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 Star of India and referred to the troopships bound for British India which left from the port. The crest and supporters are based on those of the royal arms , but altered to show
8208-598: The guns of Southsea Castle were fired at the town's royalist garrison. Parliamentarians in Gosport joined the assault, damaging St Thomas's Church . 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. Under the Commonwealth of England , Robert Blake used
8322-619: The harbour as his base during the First Anglo-Dutch War in 1652 and the Anglo-Spanish War . He died within sight of the town, returning from Cádiz . After the end of the Civil War , Portsmouth was among the first towns to declare Charles II king and began to prosper. The first ship built in over 100 years, HMS Portsmouth , was launched in 1650; twelve ships were built between 1650 and 1660. After
8436-460: The harbour; navigational charts use the contraction. According to one historian, the name may have been brought back from a group of Portsmouth-based sailors who visited Pompey's Pillar in Alexandria , Egypt, around 1781. Another theory is that it is named after the harbour's guardship, Pompee , a 74-gun French ship of the line captured in 1793. Portsmouth's coat of arms is attested in
8550-422: The industrial area. 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. The damage to the dockyard area cost the city £200,000 in damages, equivalent to £23,600,000 today. In the midst of the firestorm, a battleship, HMS Queen Mary , had to be towed to safety to avoid
8664-493: The interior and destroyed its inner walls, although the civic plate was retrieved unharmed from the vault under the front steps. After the raid, Portsmouth mayor Denis Daley wrote for the Evening News : 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
8778-458: The island, passes between Old Portsmouth and Gosport. 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. The large tidal inlet of Langstone Harbour
8892-405: The land, our latitude to be 38° 10' S. longitude, by account, 142° 30' E. which according to my best judgement, after looking over my reckoning, I allowed the western point of land Cape Banks to lay in 142° E. From the distance I was from the shore, and observing in 38° 10', I make Cape Banks to lie in 38° 4' S. Grant observed two capes and two high mountains a considerable way inshore. Grant named
9006-428: The largest cutter , which they named Hope . Together with twelve crewmen they headed to Sydney to seek rescue. Through marvelous navigation, Hope made the 800 mile voyage to Port Jackson by 8 September. Three lives had been lost in the joint shipwreck but the ship Rolla and the schooners Cumberland and Francis were able to rescue all the remaining passengers. Francis returned to Sydney with some of
9120-479: The mainland. Portsdown Hill dominates the skyline in the north, and contains several large Palmerston Forts such as Fort Fareham , Fort Wallington , Fort Nelson , Fort Southwick , Fort Widley , and Fort Purbrook . 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
9234-546: The management of a cutter, her being constructed into a brig would make her more manageable to the generality of seamen. Schanck agreed with this change and the Commissioners of Transport were directed to rig the vessel as a brig, and not as a cutter like the Trial as had been intended. The ability to raise the keels was a useful feature for a survey vessel required to work in shallow waters. Lady Nelson ' s draught
9348-464: The mast-head, was still many months into the future. As the coast between Wilsons Promontory and Port Jackson had already examined by Bass and Flinders , Grant did not conduct any further surveys and headed for Port Jackson, anchoring in Sydney Cove at 7.30 pm on 16 December 1800 after a voyage of 71 days from the Cape of Good Hope. The agreements entered into between the Transport Board and
9462-543: The men. Cumberland , with Flinders, went to the Torres Straits and on to Île de France , where the French governor imprisoned him for five years and seven months. Lieutenants Fowler, Flinders (Matthew Flinders' brother), and John Franklin sailed with Rolla to China. They then took passage on the East Indiaman Earl Camden under Commodore Nathaniel Dance . They therefore participated in
9576-550: The naval dockyard examined Lady Nelson and as her main and after keels were both found to be beyond repair they were replaced with new ones. Lady Nelson had been troubled by leaks in her topsides since she left England. This was also investigated whilst the vessel was at the Cape, and it was found 'that instead of the seams being filled with oakum they had absolutely substituted putty'. Two new keels having been fitted, Lady Nelson left Table Bay on 16 June and anchored in Simon's Bay
9690-527: The navy's ships. 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. 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. In 1805, Admiral Nelson left Portsmouth to command the fleet which defeated France and Spain at
9804-501: The next day. Already anchored there was Porpoise , which had left Portsmouth in the same convoy as Lady Nelson . Grant's orders were 'to remain at the Cape till the summer season commenced' so as not to risk his small vessel in the Roaring Forties during the southern hemisphere winter. Grant therefore spent many weeks at the Cape and the observations he made during the period are recorded in his book (Grant 1803). Whilst at
9918-503: The north coast of the continent. At the end of the 1790s the New South Wales Colonial Government had no vessels capable of reaching the outside world. Supply (1793) was found to be unseaworthy in 1797 and was subsequently condemned. Reliance was also unseaworthy. Reliance was temporarily repaired to enable her to sail back to England, whither she departed in March 1800. The only other vessel under
10032-588: The presence of Elizabeth II , the Duke of Edinburgh , and twelve senior members of the royal family. Redevelopment of the naval shore establishment HMS Vernon began in 2001 as a complex of retail outlets, clubs, pubs, and a shopping centre known as Gunwharf Quays. Construction of the 552-foot-tall (168 m) Spinnaker Tower , sponsored by the National Lottery , began at Gunwharf Quays in 2003. The Tricorn Centre , called "the ugliest building in
10146-413: The said strait. Before leaving the Cape, Grant took on board a carpenter and a person named Dr. Brandt. Grant also consented to take on board a Danish seaman, thought to be Jorgen Jorgenson , sentenced at the Cape to transportation, for his involvement in mutinous behaviour on board a recently arrived ship. Lady Nelson left the Cape on 7 October 1800. The south coast of what was then called New Holland
10260-673: The southern tip of Tasmania to reach their destination. Lady Nelson ' s survey work commenced shortly after her arrival at Sydney, initially in the Bass Strait area. She was involved in the discovery of Port Phillip , on the coast of Victoria , in establishing settlements on the River Derwent and at Port Dalrymple in Tasmania, at Newcastle and Port Macquarie in New South Wales, and on Melville Island off
10374-454: The survey of Western Port was completed by 22 April but bad weather prevented Lady Nelson from leaving until 29 April. Grant noted: Western Port is capable of containing several hundred sail of ships with perfect security from storms, and will admit of being fortified. Lady Nelson then headed east with the intention of surveying the coast between Western Port and Wilsons Promontory but the weather prevented them from remaining constantly near
10488-665: The ten remaining men, three were sentenced to death. In 1789, a chapel was erected in Prince George's Street and was dedicated to St John by the Bishop of Winchester. Around this time, a bill was passed in the House of Commons on the creation of a canal to link Portsmouth to Chichester; however, the project was abandoned. 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
10602-424: The town. Edward III instructed all maritime towns to build vessels and raise troops to rendezvous at Portsmouth. Two years later, a French fleet led by Nicholas Béhuchet raided Portsmouth and destroyed most of the town; only the stone-built church and hospital survived. After the raid, Edward III exempted the town from national taxes to aid its reconstruction. In 1377, shortly after Edward died,
10716-552: The trade in salt pork. In June 1803, Porpoise , with HMS Lady Nelson , under the command of Lieutenant George Courtoys, set out from Sydney for the Derwent River in Van Diemen's Land in order to establish the first European occupation of what is now Tasmania . Bad weather forced both vessels to return to Sydney. On 10 August 1803, Porpoise left Sydney under the command of Lieutenant Robert Fowler and in
10830-477: The vessel and to receive the pay given in the Navy. The naval complement of the vessel was therefore: Lady Nelson was provisioned for a six-month voyage and Grant received orders to return to Bass Strait with detailed instructions to carry out a survey of those parts not examined during the passage from the Cape of Good Hope. Four Privates of the New South Wales Corps were placed on board as
10944-470: The vessel might be strained too much in the heavy seas and therefore, after a couple of days, ordered the hawser to be cast off, preferring to continue the voyage alone. On 13 April Lady Nelson anchored at Port Praya ( Praia ), on the island of 'St Jago' ( Ilha de Santiago ), the largest of the Cape Verde Islands, 26 days after leaving Portsmouth. Whilst there, the keels were inspected and it
11058-561: The war; before permanent accommodations could be built, Portsmouth City Council built prefabs for those who had lost their homes. More than 700 prefab houses were constructed between 1945 and 1947, some over bomb sites. The first permanent houses were built away from the city centre, in new developments such as Paulsgrove and Leigh Park ; construction of council estates in Paulsgrove was completed in 1953. The first Leigh Park housing estates were completed in 1949, although construction in
11172-477: The yard". On 1 October 1916, Portsmouth was bombed by a Zeppelin airship. 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. According to another source, the bombs were mistakenly dropped into the harbour rather than the dockyard. About 1,200 ships were refitted in
11286-447: Was 12 feet when she left England, fully provisioned for her voyage. This draught would halve to six feet when the keels were raised. The keels were of timber construction with no added ballast. Lady Nelson was built by John Dudman in the dockyard, known as Deadman's Dock, at Grove Street, Deptford . Lady Nelson ' s first commander was Lieutenant James Grant , the commission of whom came into effect on 19 October 1799. Lady Nelson
11400-411: Was a pirate who founded Portsmouth in 501. England's southern coast was vulnerable to Danish Viking invasions during the eighth and ninth centuries, and was conquered by Danish pirates in 787. In 838, during the reign of Æthelwulf, King of Wessex , a Danish fleet landed between Portsmouth and Southampton and plundered the region. Æthelwulf sent Wulfherd and the governor of Dorsetshire to confront
11514-460: Was built in Fratton in 1948, and others were built at Paulsgrove and Farlington during the 1950s and 1960s. 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
11628-516: Was built to address the chronic housing shortage during post-war reconstruction. Although the estate has been under the jurisdiction of Havant Borough Council since the early 2000s, Portsmouth City Council remains its landlord (the borough's largest landowner). HMS Porpoise (1799) HMS Porpoise was a 12-gun sloop-of-war originally built in Bilbao, Spain, as the packet ship Infanta Amelia . On 6 August 1799 HMS Argo captured her off
11742-486: Was commissioned: for the purpose of prosecuting the discovery and survey of the unknown parts of the coast of New Holland , and ascertaining, as far as is practicable, the hydrography of that part of the globe. Philip Gidley King departed for New South Wales in Speedy on 26 Nov 1799 with a despatch recalling the incumbent Governor, John Hunter, who returned to England. King then took over as Governor and subsequently played
11856-436: Was employed on other duties before being sent to Australia. Philip Gidley King , who was in England in 1799, was aware of the lack of vessels in New South Wales, and lobbied for Lady Nelson to be taken over for use in the Colony. The cost to the government was said to be £890. He personally inspected the vessel on 8 October 1799, whilst it was being fitted-out at Deptford, and suggested that: as few seamen know anything about
11970-554: Was engaged as gardener to prepare the plants and care for them on the voyage. In return he received free passage for himself and his family. Governor Philip Gidley King appointed himself captain of Porpoise on 6 November 1800, but left actual command in Scott's hands. Scott took her to Norfolk Island on at least two voyages and to Otaheite to bring back salt pork in exchange for arms, among other goods. King had an agreement with King Pōmare I under which Pōmare sought to monopolize
12084-552: Was established at the naval base's Block Mills which produced pulley blocks for the Royal Navy fleet. By the early-19th century, Portsmouth was the most heavily 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 , had been built around Portsmouth in anticipation of an invasion from continental Europe. In
12198-693: Was evidence of its increasing national importance. Between 1667 and 1685, the town's fortifications were rebuilt; new walls were constructed with bastions and two moats were dug, making Portsmouth one of the world's most heavily fortified places. 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. Two years later, on 30 May 1775, Captain James Cook arrived on HMS Endeavour after circumnavigating
12312-531: Was found that part of the after keel had broken off, which may have occurred during earlier heavy weather. The missing part of the keel was replaced, a task not made any easier by the lack of a carpenter on board. Before leaving, Grant put his second mate ashore for sowing seeds of discontent amongst the crew, and obtained the Governor's permission to take two young men from the island to supplement his crew. Lady Nelson left Praia on 27 April. The vessel's complement
12426-695: Was not mentioned in the 1086 Domesday Book , Bocheland ( Buckland ), Copenore ( Copnor ), and Frodentone ( Fratton ) were. According to some sources, it was founded in 1180 by the Anglo-Norman merchant Jean de Gisors . King Henry II died in 1189; his son, Richard I (who had spent most of his life in France), arrived in Portsmouth en route to his coronation in London. When Richard returned from captivity in Austria in May 1194, he summoned an army and
12540-427: Was not sighted until Lady Nelson approached the land near the present border between South Australia and Victoria. Grant recorded first sighting the mainland on 3 December 1800: At 8.00 am I saw the land from the north training as far to the east as east-north-east. The part that was right ahead appearing like unconnected islands, being four in number, distant six or seven leagues . At noon I observed, being in with
12654-470: Was now three officers and twelve crew. On 23 May, the weather being fine, Lady Nelson ' s keels were examined and it was found that the piece that had been fitted to the bottom of the after keel at Praia had broken off. A temporary repair was effected by pushing the keel deeper into the well, and securing it with a plank of wood. Land was sighted near Table Bay at 5 am on 7 June and Lady Nelson anchored there at 5 pm on 8 June 1800. A shipbuilder from
12768-524: Was probably therefore only three officers and ten crew. Lady Nelson departed from Dunnose, Isle of Wight, at 6 pm on 18 March.The convoy consisted of East Indiamen, heading for the East, and HMS Porpoise , which was also bound for New South Wales. Shortly after departure it became apparent that Lady Nelson could not keep up with the larger and faster vessels in the convoy. Brunswick therefore took Lady Nelson in tow, but Grant became concerned that
12882-412: Was stabbed to death in an Old Portsmouth pub by war veteran John Felton five years later. 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". Felton was hanged, and his body chained to a gibbet on Southsea Common as a warning to others. The murder took place in
12996-426: Was to come into effect on his arrival at Port Jackson, but when he arrived he found Supply had been condemned as unfit to proceed to sea. Grant: 'was therefore, to make use of a sailor's phrase, completely adrift.' Lady Nelson carried despatches to the Governor of New South Wales that included instructions on her future deployment. The instructions indicated that 'The survey of the southern or south-western coast of
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