101-515: The United Services Recreation Ground is a sports ground situated in Burnaby Road, Portsmouth , Hampshire, England. The ground is also bordered to the north by Park Road, along which the railway line to Portsmouth Harbour and Gunwharf Quays overlooks the ground, and to the east by Anglesea Road. The southern end of the ground is dominated by the Officer's Club building, which overlooks
202-469: 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,
303-458: A five wicket haul from Jimmy Wootton and an unbeaten half century from Francis Quinton . Over the coming seasons, Hampshire tended to play two to three matches there per season. An 1897 fixture between Hampshire and Sussex saw Arthur Webb score Hampshire's first first-class century , while a match the following season which saw Surrey as the visitors drew a crowd of around 5,000. The grounds naval connection saw services players bought into
404-617: 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
505-453: A 48 run victory. The local press described it as Marshall's "finest hour". Hampshire used the ground through most of the 1990s. Feats included their highest shared match aggregate of 1,457 runs with Sussex in 1993, while the following season they made their fourth highest first-class total at the ground when they scored 512 against Durham . The pattern of holding two County Championship matches and one List A match per season continued through
606-446: A century of county cricket in 1995. County cricket there did indeed carry on past the 1980s, with the start of the next decade saw two astonishing matches with Derbyshire as the visitors during the grounds "Cricket Week". Having recently defeated Nottinghamshire at the ground in the previous match, with Malcolm Marshall finishing with match figures of 9 for 94, Hampshire followed this up by recording their largest margin of victory in
707-457: 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
808-746: 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
909-585: 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
1010-462: 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
1111-545: 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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#17327870919211212-752: 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
1313-566: A population last recorded at 208,100, it is the most densely-populated city in 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
1414-425: A sea inlet in the 17th century, across which a dam was built; this dam allowed the sea into the inlet when the tide came in, and when the tide went back out the dam was closed and the water was only allowed to escape under a watermill , named King's Mill, which powered the production of grain in the mill . After this, the land was gradually reclaimed from the sea. There is evidence that cricket has been played at
1515-536: A season which also saw the South play the Australian Imperial Forces , before the resumption of first three matches, then four matches per season being played there. 1920 saw Hampshire's first even double century opening wicket partnership between Alex Bowell and George Brown , with the two compiling a partnership of 204. The emergence of Alec Kennedy and Jack Newman during this period under
1616-857: A single innings . This is regarded by critics as a notable achievement, equivalent to a century from a batter . Taking a five-wicket haul at Lord's earns the bowler a place on the Lord's honours boards . As of 2023, only thirteen cricketers have taken a five-wicket haul in all three international formats of the game ( Test cricket , One Day International and Twenty20 International ): Sri Lanka's Ajantha Mendis and Lasith Malinga , India's Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Kuldeep Yadav , New Zealand's Tim Southee , South Africa's Imran Tahir and Lungi Ngidi , West Indies' Jason Holder , Alzarri Joseph and Jayden Seales , Bangladeshi Shakib Al Hasan , Pakistani Umar Gul , and Afghan Rashid Khan . In 2018, Afghan cricketer Mujeeb Zadran , aged 16, became
1717-470: 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 is the second busiest in the United Kingdom after Dover , handling around three million passengers
1818-519: A week after the first match, against Sussex in which they lost by an innings. Over the coming decade the ground was used once by G.N. Wyatt's XI , on three occasions by Oxford and Cambridge Universities Past and Present and twice by the East of England . Hampshire lost first-class status during this period and were considered a second-class county, though Hampshire did play at the ground once during this period against Sussex in 1888. The 1893 match between
1919-451: 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 ),
2020-536: Is a port 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 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
2121-746: 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 , Lord Nelson 's flagship, HMS Victory (the world's oldest naval ship still in commission), and HMS Warrior ,
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#17327870919212222-465: 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
2323-564: 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
2424-482: 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
2525-544: 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 –
2626-631: 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
2727-687: 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,
2828-705: 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
2929-487: 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
3030-562: 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
3131-593: 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
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3232-518: 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 the Isle of Wight . Southsea Common is a large open-air public recreation space which serves as
3333-570: The Sunday League . Hampshire made 250 in their innings, before Paul-Jan Bakker and Cardigan Connor dismissed the visitors for just 61. To this day it is the joint lowest score Hampshire have dismissed a team for. In the County Championship match between the sides, Derbyshire looked on course to chase down their victory target of 235, when they were at 140/2. However, Malcolm Marshall took 7 wickets in 51 balls to hand Hampshire
3434-552: 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 ,
3535-476: 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
3636-495: The 1990s, however Hampshire stayed away in 1999 as a result of poor pitch reports prior to the season and fear of points deductions by the ECB should they play on substandard pitches; it was only the second time since 1895 that county cricket had not been played in Portsmouth during a season. Hampshire returned in 2000, playing two first-class matches. The first saw New Zealand A defeat Hampshire after chasing down 337, just two short of
3737-460: The Australians and Oxford and Cambridge Universities Past and Present was notable for the Australians setting what was then a record first-class innings score of 843. The amateur level football club Royal Artillery (Portsmouth) also played home matches there from 1894 until it was dissolved in 1899 following an FA Amateur Cup tie in which The Football Association expelled the club from
3838-524: The County Championship for a second time in 1973, though the 1970s saw a gradual reduction in the number of first-class matches held there, by the end of that decade three first-class matches and two List A matches were granted to the ground each season. This decade also saw logistical problems for the ground, when at the Railway End trees were destroyed, whose removal interrupted the batsman line of sight. As such, no matches were held there in 1975, though
3939-514: 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
4040-577: 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,
4141-533: 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
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4242-460: The Hampshire team on occasion, including the future Admiral Alan Hotham . The early 1900s saw little success for Hampshire at the ground, with the county winning just two of eighteen matches played at the ground from 1900 to 1907. Considered a weak Hampshire team at the time, the county finished last in the County Championship in 1900 and 1902–1905, it wasn't until 1907 that Hampshire won again at
4343-608: 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
4444-553: 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
4545-632: 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 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
4646-501: 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
4747-454: 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
4848-457: 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
4949-626: The United Services Recreation Ground since 1852. The ground in its present location is said to have been made available following largescale demolition of defence works in the city during the 1870s. First-class cricket was first played there on 17, 18 and 19 August 1882, when the touring Australians played Cambridge University Past and Present . This first match was won by Cambridge University Past and Present by 20 runs, following an Australian batting collapse in which A. G. Steel took 5/24. Hampshire first played there
5050-446: 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
5151-497: The captaincy of Lord Tennyson led to stronger Hampshire performances, with Hampshire winning all three matches played at the ground in the 1921 season. The Combined Services played only their second ever first-class match in that same season against the Australians. Later in the 1920s, the Royal Navy played first-class cricket at the ground for the first time, against the 1927 touring New Zealanders . The first hat trick at
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#17327870919215252-715: The centralisation of Hampshire's cricket at their new Rose Bowl ground, these matches marked the final time Hampshire would play at the ground. Hampshire played 314 first-class matches there, winning 104 (33%), which compares favourably with Hampshire's other main grounds of the time, with a 27% win ratio at Dean Park, Bournemouth, and a 26% win ratio at the County Ground, Southampton. Hampshire also played 54 List A matches there. 50°47′45″N 1°05′50″W / 50.7959°N 1.0973°W / 50.7959; -1.0973 Portsmouth Portsmouth ( / ˈ p ɔːr t s m ə θ / PORTS -məth )
5353-554: 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
5454-412: 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,
5555-784: 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
5656-544: The coming seasons. Hampshire were pressing for the Player's County League title in 1969, with a crowd of 8,000 watching their defeat to Essex. Hampshire finished that season's competition one point behind winners Lancashire . A first-class match in 1971 between Hampshire and the touring Pakistanis saw protests by Bangladeshis protesting Pakistani actions in the Bangladesh Liberation War . Hampshire won
5757-470: The competition for alleged 'professionalism'; following this, it was decided to form a professional football club for the town, with the foundation of the present day Portsmouth F.C. . Hampshire regained first-class status in 1895 and were admitted to the expanded County Championship . Hampshire played their first first-class match at the ground in thirteen years in that season when they played Leicestershire , which Hampshire won by 3 wickets, due in part to
5858-471: 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
5959-453: 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
6060-484: 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
6161-410: 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
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#17327870919216262-508: 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
6363-469: The fifth wicket was made there in 1937, when Gerry Hill and Donald Walker put on 235, a record which stands to this day. World War II ended county cricket until 1946, and during the war Portsmouth was heavily bombed by the German Luftwaffe during The Blitz . First-class cricket returned to the ground after the war, when Hampshire played Essex . The record attendance for a county match
6464-528: 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
6565-517: 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
6666-656: 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
6767-450: The ground thanks to 88 and 6/55 from Phil Mead against Somerset . The arrangement of playing three matches a season at the ground continued until World War I , while the first first-class match involving a services team took place in July 1911 when a combined Army and Navy team played a combined Oxford and Cambridge Universities team. After the war, Hampshire played Sussex there in 1919,
6868-431: The ground was taken by Stuart Boyes in 1925. Hampshire continued to play at the ground throughout the thirties, at a time when following the retirements of George Brown, Phil Mead, Jack Newman and Lord Tennyson Hampshire were a less successful team. Hampshire played four matches per season there during the thirties, except 1938 when they played five matches, before returning to four in 1939. Hampshire record partnership for
6969-430: The ground), Jimmy Gray and Henry Horton , and backed up with the bowling of Derek Shackleton , Victor Cannings and Malcolm Heath , Hampshire had a fairly successful period, finishing runners-up in 1958, before winning the County Championship for the first time in 1961, with Hampshire winning four of their five matches there in that season. They might have been successful in 1958, had it not been for two draws later in
7070-477: The ground. The ground is owned by The Crown . A multitude of sports have been played at the ground, including cricket , rugby and hockey . The ground was used by Hampshire County Cricket Club from 1882 to 2000, serving as one of three home grounds used during this period, alongside the County Ground, Southampton , and Dean Park, Bournemouth . United Services Portsmouth Cricket Club currently play at
7171-404: The ground. The ground is used in its dual capacity as a rugby venue by United Services Portsmouth Rugby Football Club , who have played there since 1882. The Royal Navy Rugby Union also use the ground for their home matches. The end names are the Railway End to the north and the Officer's Club End to the south. Located to the north of Old Portsmouth , the area the ground occupies was previously
7272-473: 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
7373-598: 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
7474-619: 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
7575-460: 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
7676-464: 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 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
7777-422: 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
7878-493: 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
7979-458: 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
8080-479: 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
8181-527: 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
8282-573: The number of List A matches dropping to two per season up until 1984, after which one match per season was held there. First-class cricket was reduced in 1980 to two matches per season. Hampshire played one match there in their 1986 John Player Special League winning run, defeating Warwickshire . Speculation about the ground's future use by Hampshire was mentioned as early as 1984, when a review of Portsmouth's history, published by Peter Thompson in The News , speculated whether ground would survive to see
8383-588: 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
8484-401: The purchase of screens allowed county cricket to return in 1976. 1976 was also not without its problems, when a County Championship match against Yorkshire was interrupted by vandals who had attacked the pitch during the night. Despite this setback, the match continued on an adjoining strip of pitch. The ground saw a reduction in the number of Hampshire fixtures it held during a season, with
8585-537: The record chase at the ground by Surrey in 1937. The second saw Kent as the visitors, with Rahul Dravid scoring the grounds final first-class century, while Shaun Udal took the final wicket. Hampshire lost their final first-class match there by 6 wickets. Their final match there came days later in a List A fixture against Middlesex in the Norwich Union National League , which Hampshire lost by 4 wickets. With continued poor pitch reports and
8686-533: The season at the ground. A new format, List A cricket , was introduced in 1963, two years after its introduction, the ground held its first List A match when Hampshire played Kent in the 1965 Gillette Cup . Six first-class matches had been held there in 1962, before the schedule at the ground was reduced back to five, with the expansion of List A cricket with the Player's County League and John Player League , on average two or three List A matches were held there over
8787-415: The south-west area of Portsea Island, a location now known as Old Portsmouth . Around this time, de Gisors ordered 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
8888-665: 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
8989-424: 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,
9090-561: 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
9191-429: 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 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
9292-477: 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
9393-513: The youngest bowler to take a five-wicket haul in an ODI. In 2019, Pakistani cricketer Naseem Shah , also aged 16, became the youngest bowler to take a five-wicket haul in a Test match. Afghan cricketer Rashid Khan is the youngest bowler to take a five-wicket haul in a T20 international match; he was 18 at the time. Sri Lankan Muttiah Muralitharan has taken the most five-wicket hauls in Test matches with 67, and Pakistani Waqar Younis has taken
9494-411: 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
9595-559: 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 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
9696-460: 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
9797-430: 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). Five wicket haul In cricket , a five-wicket haul (also known as a " five–for " or " fifer ") occurs when a bowler takes five or more wickets in
9898-693: 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
9999-509: Was made in 1948, when 10,000 watched Hampshire played Sussex. Hampshire continued to play four matches per season there going into the 1950s. It was during this time that under the leadership of Desmond Eagar and Colin Ingleby-Mackenzie that the Hampshire team was beginning to become a powerful force in the county game. Coupled with the batting of Roy Marshall (who in five matches there in 1957 scored 549, an unbeaten record for
10100-744: 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
10201-412: 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
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