Portsea
Encyclopedia
Portsea is an area of the English city of Portsmouth
, located on Portsea Island
, within the ceremonial county of Hampshire.
The area was originally known as the Common and lay between the town of Portsmouth and the nearby Dockyard
. The Common started to be developed at the end of the seventeenth century, as a response to the overcrowding in the walled town of Portsmouth
. This development worried the governor of the dockyard as he feared the new buildings would provide cover for any forces attempting to attack the dockyard. In 1703, he threatened to demolish any buildings within range of the cannons mounted on the dockyard walls. However, after a petition to King George, royal consent for the development was granted in 1704. In 1792 the name of the area was changed from the Common to Portsea. By then it was home to a mixed, dockside population.
William Tucker
, baptised there in 1784 was convicted of shoplifting from a Portsea Tailor, William Wilday, in 1798 and transported to New South Wales on the "death ship" Hillsborough which took convicts and typhus with it from Portsmouth. Tucker escaped and got all the way back to Britain in 1803 only to be taken to Portsmouth for re-embarkation to Australia. If not Portsea's most distinguished son he was certainly one of its more colourful and enterprising ones. He was later a sealer (seal hunter), established the retail trade in preserved Maori heads
and settled in Otago
, New Zealand
where he became that country's first art dealer before falling victim to his hosts in 1817 and being eaten.
By the start of the twentieth century Portsmouth council had started to clear much of the slum
housing in Portsea. The city's first council house
s were built in the district in 1911.
The area's proximity to the dockyard resulted in its taking massive bomb damage during World War II
. After the war the area was redeveloped as all council housing, in a mixture of houses, maisonettes and tower blocks.
The Church of England
parish of Portsea covers a wider area than the district of Portsea, but does not include the entirety of Portsea Island.
Portsmouth
Portsmouth is the second largest city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire on the south coast of England. Portsmouth is notable for being the United Kingdom's only island city; it is located mainly on Portsea Island...
, located on Portsea Island
Portsea Island
Portsea Island is a small, flat and low lying island just off the south coast of England. The island is totally within, and contains a large proportion of, the city of Portsmouth. It has the third-largest population of any island in the British Isles, after the mainlands of Great Britain and...
, within the ceremonial county of Hampshire.
The area was originally known as the Common and lay between the town of Portsmouth and the nearby Dockyard
HMNB Portsmouth
Her Majesty's Naval Base Portsmouth is one of three operating bases in the United Kingdom for the British Royal Navy...
. The Common started to be developed at the end of the seventeenth century, as a response to the overcrowding in the walled town of Portsmouth
Old Portsmouth
Old Portsmouth is a district of the city of Portsmouth. It is the area covered by the original town of Portsmouth as planned by Jean de Gisors. It is situated in the south west corner of Portsea Island....
. This development worried the governor of the dockyard as he feared the new buildings would provide cover for any forces attempting to attack the dockyard. In 1703, he threatened to demolish any buildings within range of the cannons mounted on the dockyard walls. However, after a petition to King George, royal consent for the development was granted in 1704. In 1792 the name of the area was changed from the Common to Portsea. By then it was home to a mixed, dockside population.
William Tucker
William Tucker (settler)
William Tucker was a British convict, a sealer, a trader in human heads, an Otago settler, and New Zealand’s first art dealer....
, baptised there in 1784 was convicted of shoplifting from a Portsea Tailor, William Wilday, in 1798 and transported to New South Wales on the "death ship" Hillsborough which took convicts and typhus with it from Portsmouth. Tucker escaped and got all the way back to Britain in 1803 only to be taken to Portsmouth for re-embarkation to Australia. If not Portsea's most distinguished son he was certainly one of its more colourful and enterprising ones. He was later a sealer (seal hunter), established the retail trade in preserved Maori heads
Mokomokai
Mokomokai are the preserved heads of Māori, the indigenous people of New Zealand, where the faces have been decorated by tā moko tattooing. They became valuable trade items during the Musket Wars of the early 19th century.-Moko:...
and settled in Otago
Otago
Otago is a region of New Zealand in the south of the South Island. The region covers an area of approximately making it the country's second largest region. The population of Otago is...
, New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
where he became that country's first art dealer before falling victim to his hosts in 1817 and being eaten.
By the start of the twentieth century Portsmouth council had started to clear much of the slum
Slum
A slum, as defined by United Nations agency UN-HABITAT, is a run-down area of a city characterized by substandard housing and squalor and lacking in tenure security. According to the United Nations, the percentage of urban dwellers living in slums decreased from 47 percent to 37 percent in the...
housing in Portsea. The city's first council house
Council house
A council house, otherwise known as a local authority house, is a form of public or social housing. The term is used primarily in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland. Council houses were built and operated by local councils to supply uncrowded, well-built homes on secure tenancies at...
s were built in the district in 1911.
The area's proximity to the dockyard resulted in its taking massive bomb damage during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. After the war the area was redeveloped as all council housing, in a mixture of houses, maisonettes and tower blocks.
The Church of England
Church of England
The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...
parish of Portsea covers a wider area than the district of Portsea, but does not include the entirety of Portsea Island.