Close-up example to show detail.

The Camber Docks from the Bell Tower of Portsmouth Cathedral, circa 1890.
Inc. postage
Camber-from-tower
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This would have been the view from the Bell Tower of Portsmouth Cathedral circa 1890 and shows the Camber Dock with its collection of houses and taverns.  All now demolished except the Bridge Tavern, named after the bridge adjacent to it that once crossed the dock.  Seen beyond are the 'wooden walls' moored in Portsmouth Harbour.  H.M.S. Victory is in the extreme left, just off the Gosport shore.

The entrance to Portsmouth Harbour.
Inc. postage
Harbour entrance launch net
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This view across the narrow entrance to Portsmouth Harbour was made from the base of King Henry VII's fortification, the Round Tower.  Across the water the Haslar wall can be seen facing out onto the Solent.  The boat entering is a pilot vessel used  to guide & escort ships through the confines of Spithead & the Harbour.

Portsmouth Cathedral from Pembroke Road.
Inc. postage
Cathedral wide net
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Portsmouth Cathedral was begun in 1180 and completed in 1990.  Seen here from the junction of High Street and Pembroke Road, the oldest part is the nearest to the viewer. 

Grand Parade & the Garrison Church.
Grand Parade net
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Grand Parade is on the left, the Garrison Church, without a roof since the Second World War, is in the centre & the fortifications & sea are on the right.

 

Portsmouth viewed from Gosport.
Aerial Ports net
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This view was made from the top floor of a block of flats near to the Gosport shoreline & shows an 'aerial' view over Portsmouth & Southsea.

Eighteen Gun Battery.
Inc. postage
Broad-Street
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This view along Eighteen Gun Battery shows the Round Tower (1418) in the distance.  The road on the right is Broad Street & leads down to 'Point'.

The Hard, Portsea.
Inc. postage
Dockyard-approach
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The 'Hard' and the approach to Portsmouth Naval Base, Portsea.

Gunwharf from 'Point'.
Gunwharf from Point net
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The view from 'Point' Old Portsmouth looking up towards Portsmouth Harbour.  On the left the quay serving H.M.S. Vernon.  It was also a base for minesweepers.  Now all gone, it is the site of the new Gunwharf shopping & entertainment complex.

Rowers at the entrance to Portsmouth Harbour.
Inc. postage
Harbour entrance rowers net
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Entrance to Portsmouth Harbour.
Inc. postage
s J clas harb ent
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Victory Class yachts racing off Gosport & the entrance to Portsmouth Harbour.  Their distinctive black hulls have been a feature of the Harbour & the Solent since the 1930's.

Yachts off Portchester Castle.
Inc. postage
Portchester-yachts
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Vospers shipyard, Old Portsmouth.
Inc. postage
Vospers
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J Class Yachts in the Solent.
Inc. postage
2-j-class
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Two J Class yachts passing Spitbank Fort in the Solent.

Castle Road, Southsea.
Inc. postage
Castle Road
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Castle Road is one of the oldest thoroughfares in Southsea.  On the left was once a garage, now flats.  The little piece of fence in the lower right was owned by Mr. Ricketts who had a bicycle repair shop there for many years.  The shop was piled high to the ceiling with old bicycles, with just a 2 foot wide gap down the middle to enable him to get to his living accommodation that was accessed at the back of the shop.

Broad Street, Old Portsmouth.
Broad st
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This view shows the old 'Seagull' public house on the left & in the centre the old Broad Street Post Office.

Buckingham House, Old Portsmouth.
Inc. postage
Buckingham-House
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This building is Buckingham House in the High Street, Old Portsmouth.  It was in this building, then known as 'The Spotted Dog' that George Villiers, the Duke of Buckingham was murdered in 1628.  The murderer was John Felton, a subaltern who thought himself something of an avenger.  Felton was executed at Tyburn & his body later strung on the gibbet on Southsea Beach, near Clarence Pier, for all to see.

Eighteen Gun Battery.
Inc. postage
Broad st lamp post
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This is the view along Eighteen Gun Battery looking east.  In the distance, Battery Row, where the first Portsmouth newspaper was printed, stands opposite to the Square Tower.  Once an armoury & powder store, it had a telegraph on the roof that could get a message to Whitehall, via a chain of others, in minutes. 

The Camber Dock, Old Portsmouth.
Inc. postage
Camber
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The Camber Dock in Old Portsmouth.  This area was once a thriving commercial dock area with deliveries of fruit & vegetables from the continent and a lage coaling wharf whose hoppers once towered over the Bridge Tavern in the centre.  The Bridge Tavern has since been enlarged & the dock is now mainly used by commercial fishermen. 

Gt. Southsea Street, Southsea.
N Gt. Southsea St
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The view from Kings Road looking towards Gt. Southsea Street.  The clock tower in the distance is at the junction with Castle Road.  It was once a busy road with shops, but with the exception of two public houses they have now all been converted to houses.

Bath Square, Old Portsmouth.
H Bath Sq
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From this square and the old Quebec Hotel many pioneering people once boarded ships to take them to a new life in America.  The boats are Victory Class and date from the 1930's.  Many still race in the Solent on Tuesdays & Thursdays during the season.  The white building in the centre is the headquarters of the Portsmouth Sailing Club.


SF