Portsmouth Point, or "Spice Island", is part of Old 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....

 in Portsmouth

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...

, Hampshire, on the southern coast of England. The name Spice Island comes from the areas involvement in the trade of Caribbean

Caribbean

The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...

 spices. The area forms the eastern side of the narrow entrance to Portsmouth Harbour

Portsmouth Harbour

Portsmouth Harbour is a large natural harbour in Hampshire, England. Geographically it is a ria: formerly it was the valley of a stream flowing from Portsdown into the Solent River. The city of Portsmouth lies to the east on Portsea Island, and Gosport to the west on the mainland...

, facing Gosport

Gosport

Gosport is a town, district and borough situated on the south coast of England, within the county of Hampshire. It has approximately 80,000 permanent residents with a further 5,000-10,000 during the summer months...

 on the western side.

Historically, the Point lay outside the boundaries of Portsmouth, with access being controlled by various fortifications over the centuries. Walls and gates separating the point from the rest of Portsmouth are attested in the 16th century. By 1571 the gate was known as the north gate. It was rebuilt as Point Gate sometime around 1600 before being renamed King James's Gate

King James's and Landport Gates

King James's and Landport Gates are two English Heritage sites in Portsmouth, Hampshire, England.The ornate gateways were originally access points to Portsmouth through the town walls...

 after further work in 1687. On the south side military defences protecting the harbour entrance were built.

Civilian Building in the area began in 1590 with storehouses of various types. During the 17th century an increasing range of businesses had taken hold in the area with 4 taverns being recorded by 1610. By the 18th century the point had become a popular destination for sailors on leave from ships moored at Spithead. This resulted in the area becoming notorious for lewd behaviour and was mainly composed of pubs

Public house

A public house, informally known as a pub, is a drinking establishment fundamental to the culture of Britain, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. There are approximately 53,500 public houses in the United Kingdom. This number has been declining every year, so that nearly half of the smaller...

 and houses of ill repute

Brothel

Brothels are business establishments where patrons can engage in sexual activities with prostitutes. Brothels are known under a variety of names, including bordello, cathouse, knocking shop, whorehouse, strumpet house, sporting house, house of ill repute, house of prostitution, and bawdy house...

, and appeared as such in Thomas Rowlandson

Thomas Rowlandson

Thomas Rowlandson was an English artist and caricaturist.- Biography :Rowlandson was born in Old Jewry, in the City of London. He was the son of a tradesman or city merchant. On leaving school he became a student at the Royal Academy...

's etching named after the Point. This etching was also the inspiration for William Walton

William Walton

Sir William Turner Walton OM was an English composer. During a sixty-year career, he wrote music in several classical genres and styles, from film scores to opera...

's musical piece of the same name

Portsmouth Point (Walton)

Portsmouth Point is an overture for orchestra by the English composer William Walton, composed in 1925. The work was inspired by Rowlandson's print depicting Portsmouth Point. Walton recalled that the main musical had come into his mind whilst riding the #22 bus in London...

.

The advent of steam meant that more ships entered Portsmouth harbour

Portsmouth Harbour

Portsmouth Harbour is a large natural harbour in Hampshire, England. Geographically it is a ria: formerly it was the valley of a stream flowing from Portsdown into the Solent River. The city of Portsmouth lies to the east on Portsea Island, and Gosport to the west on the mainland...

proper and as a result fewer sailors visited the point. The gates that controlled access to the point were removed in the 1860s.

Now the area is part of the historic city of Portsmouth containing the majority of the remaining early defences of the city and the Camber Docks.