Portsmouth Harbour

“ Portsmouth.—The existence of remains of the Roman castrum at Porchester, situated on the upper waters of Portsmouth Harbour, goes to show that in those early times the value of this part of the coast as a great harbour was recognized. It is curious, therefore, that no town of any importance was built at Portsmouth until the twelfth century. The actual building of the town was commenced in the reign of Richard I, and a charter was granted in the year 1194. ”

“ Gosport, of which our engraving represents a view, is a small, but important town, adjoining Portsmouth, from which it is separated by a wide channel, forming part of the extensive basin known as Portsmouth Harbour, and containing a large number of our "wooden walls;" some in a condition ready to put to sea at a few hours' notice, others lying in ordinary, as it is termed, that is, without rigging, sails, or other fittings requisite to render them complete and efficient for service, but which are speedily provided when required. ”

“ No hand will lift up the coffin-lid
⁠Of the silence I shall sleep in.
In Portsmouth harbour the good ship rides,
Rocked safely upon the placid tides,
As love in a happy heart abides,
⁠Moving with each emotion;
With voices and hands alive all o'er ”

“ There are recreation grounds for the naval and military forces in the vicinity. There is a railway station (Portsmouth Harbour) on the Hard, from which passenger steamers serve Ryde in the Isle of Wight. A ferry and a floating bridge connect with Gosport. The port has a considerable trade in coal, timber, fruits and agricultural produce. ”

“ There is no busier harbour on the south coast than Portsmouth, for in it business and pleasure, war and peace, are indissolubly linked. On the eastern shore is the Naval Dockyard, the steamboat stages, and most of what commerce74 comes into the harbour; on the western, chiefly construction sheds, slips, fitting-out yards, and industries connected with the pleasure craft which, during the summer months, add such life and beauty to the Solent and home waters generally. ”

“ On the right hand stands an enthusiastic group at the door of the “Jolly Sailor”: the landlord, in apron and shirt-sleeves, about to drink the soldiers’ healths in a bumper of very respectable proportions, his womenkind looking on, while a young hopeful, who has donned a saucepan by way of helmet, is “presenting arms” with a besom. An ancient, with a wooden leg and a crutch, is fiddling away with vigour, and a dog runs forward, barking. The long cavalcade is seen disappearing down the hill, while away in the distance is Portsmouth Harbour with its crowded shipping. ”

“ Portsmouth Harbour opens into Spithead, one of the arms of the Channel separating the Isle of Wight from the mainland. The harbour widens inwards in bottle form, Portsmouth lying on the east shore of the neck, with Gosport opposite to it on the west side. Portsmouth proper may be distinguished as the garrison town; Portsea as the naval station with the dockyards; Landport is occupied chiefly by the houses of artisans; and Southsea is a residential quarter and a favourite watering-place. ”

“ We reached Portsmouth at three o’clock, and found the boat all ready for us—that man, Sparshott, who has had the care of her, is a really good man, and a thoroughly discreet fellow—so we at once got on board and made our way very soberly out of Portsmouth harbour, not putting on the speed until we were well clear of all observation. We cut ourselves rather too fine, however, in the matter of time, not arriving at our destination until it was nearly dark ”

“ On the afternoon of May 29, 1875, the vessels steamed out of Portsmouth harbour. At Spithead the squadron was joined by the Valorous, which accompanied the ships as far as Disco. After a stormy but uneventful voyage the expedition stood off some distance from Cape Farewell June 25. On the 27th, a falling temperature and a peculiar light blink along the horizon gave due notice of the immediate proximity of the ice. ”

“ The Spit Sand, extending south-east from this promontory, gives name to the strait. On the north side opens the narrow entry to Portsmouth Harbour, with the towns of Portsmouth and Gosport east and west of it. On the south the coast of Wight rises sharply though to no great elevation ”

“ The time is evening, which invests the whole scene with its calm. We may conclude that the day has been fine, as both ships seem to have availed themselves of the opportunity thus afforded of "drying hammocks;" they are seen suspended from their yards and between their masts.
The roadstead of Spithead, which is sufficiently large to afford convenient anchorage for nearly all the ships of the British navy, lies between Portsmouth and the Isle of Wight; and the usual place in which ships of war ride is about three miles distant from Portsmouth harbour. ”

“ Careful steering is always required where tides run strong and vessels are assembled; but especially was it at that time, when, peace having been just proclaimed, Portsmouth Harbour was crowded with men-of-war lately returned from foreign stations, and with transports and victuallers come in to be discharged ”

“ If the reader should at any time find himself a visitor to the first naval port of Great Britain—which he need not be told is Portsmouth—he will find, lying placidly in the noble harbour, which is large enough to accommodate a whole fleet, a vessel of modern-antique appearance, and evidently very carefully preserved. ”

“ Across its placid surface may be seen the forts and mast forest of Portsmouth, with Gosport on the near, and Southsea dim and distant on the far side; to all of which the hills of Portsdown form an effective background.
Of shipping there is no lack: a cruiser of the latest pattern, newly commissioned, lies at anchor immediately before me; a deep sea cable-steamer is in the act of entering the harbour; while torpedo-boats, ferry-steamers, colliers, mud-dredgers, yachts, and such-like [Pg 3] small craft pass to and fro continually, as if for my peculiar and individual benefit. ”

“ Nowadays it is not possible to speak very authoritatively of its strength; but its usefulness has since the beginning of the nineteenth century been from time to time assured by additional armament and works.
The records of Portsmouth and its Harbour have not always been creditable. There have been mutinies, treasonable firing of the dockyard, and even assassinations in its streets, stirring the inhabitants to the core, and leading at the time to much excitement and gossip. ”

“ But now, Master Markham, I perceive that the tide runs but weakly, and the breeze is springing up. Actions, not words, must prevail, for in another half an hour day will be breaking."
We immediately set about getting the boat under way, and, pulling up the anchor, shipping the rudder, and hoisting sail, we slipped quietly out of the harbour, and shaped a course in the direction which we supposed Portsmouth to lie. ”

“ The population of Gosport, which lies to the westward of Portsmouth, on the opposite side of the harbour, is, with that of the adjacent hamlet of Stoke, about 12,000. The docks and naval storehouses are within the precinct of Portsea; the hospital and the victualling establishment are at Gosport; and the offices of the Port Admiral and the residence of the Lieutenant-Governor are at Portsmouth, within the lines of which are also the barracks for the accommodation of the garrison. ”

“ Victualling storehouses for the government had been built or bought at Ratcliff, Rochester, Gillingham and Portsmouth; ordnance wharves at Woolwich, Portsmouth and Porchester. Portsmouth was momentarily regaining favour, and the Council recommended that ships should be laid up there because the harbour afforded better opportunity for rapid action in the Channel than did the Thames. The chief shipwright was now Peter Pett who was receiving a fee of one shilling a day from the [114] Exchequer in addition to the ordinary payments made to him by the Admiralty. ”

“ In one sense the world cannot show its equal. Far away to the east stretches the low Hampshire coast, ended by the harbour of Portsmouth and its bare forest of masts. To the south, towards Spithead, rides the long line of battle-ships ”

“ The “Norfolk” navy yard is in the southern part of the city of Portsmouth. The harbour is deep, easily accessible through a channel 30 ft. in depth, and well protected by forts Monroe and Wool. The city has immense coal piers. It is the largest peanut market in the world, is in a great truck-gardening region, and makes large shipments of cotton (822,930 bales in 1905) , oysters, coal, fertilizers, lumber, grain, fruits, wine, vegetables, fish and live stock. ”

“ Mr Stewart went down to his dinner; the ladies and the coffee came on deck; the breeze was fine, the weather (it was April) almost warm; and the yacht, whose name was the Arrow, assisted by the tide, soon left the Mewstone far astern.
Chapter II CUTTER THE SECOND Reader, have you ever been at Portsmouth? If you have, you must have been delighted with the view from the saluting battery; and, if you have not, you had better go there as soon as you can. From the saluting battery you may look up the harbour, and see much of what I have described at Plymouth; the scenery is different ”

“ After remaining as long and learning as much in the dock-yards in and below London as he thought the time at his command would allow, Peter went to Portsmouth to visit the royal navy at anchor there. The arrangement which nature has made of the southern coast of England seems almost as if expressly intended for the accommodation of a great national and mercantile marine. In the first place, at the town of Portsmouth, there is a deep and spacious harbor entirely surrounded and protected by land. ”

“ Opposite to the North, and at a very small distance, about 20 leagues, is the famous Portsmouth, the grand arsenal of the English. The remainder of their coast runs nearly parallel opposite to ours. Nature has done every thing for our rivals; nothing for us. Their shores are safe and clear themselves daily from obstructions. They abound in deep soundings, in the means of shelter, in harbours and excellent ports; ours are, on the contrary, full of rocks, the water is shallow, and they are every day choking up. ”

“ The city possesses the deepest harbor on the coast and important coastwise trade. The harbor never freezes. Portsmouth contains a superior line of stores and several important manufacturing interests. ”

“ From Portsmouth Dockyard, too, went afloat the first paddle boat, the Hermes, and out of it from Henry VIII’s reign onwards have gone galleons, line-of-battle ships, ironclads innumerable, flying “the meteor flag of England,” to earn immortality and the crown of glory which attaches to brave deeds done and daring acts accomplished.
Amid the modern bustle and life of Portsmouth town there yet, happily, remain for those who care for such things some memorials of the glorious past. The old Sally Port is one of these places. ”

“ Many of her guns have been fished up, but all attempts to raise the hull have failed.
As we passed the spot where the wreck lies, I thought of the lines of the poet Cowper, which were written shortly after the occurrence:—
"Toll for the brave,
The brave that are no more!
All sunk beneath the wave,
Fast by their native shore!"
Portsmouth is an important naval and military station of England, and has a splendid harbor, four miles long by three in width, opening upon the magnificent roadstead of Spithead, where a thousand ships of the line could ride at anchor, and find plenty of room. ”

“ SAILOR-MEN
But the greater number of the travellers along the Portsmouth Road, whether they walked or rode, were sailors; and so salt of the sea are the records of this old turnpike that the romance of old-time travel upon it is chiefly concerned with them that went down to brave the elements on board ship; or with those happy mariners who, having entered port, came speeding up to home and beauty with all the ardour of men tossed and buffeted by winds and waves on a two or three years’ cruise. ”

“ But these charms, it must be confessed, were signally wanting to Portsmouth, along whose sordid streets I strolled for an hour, vainly glancing about me for an overhanging façade or a group of Maltese sailors. I was distressed to perceive that a famous seaport could be at once untidy and prosaic. Portsmouth is dirty, but it is also dull. It may be roughly divided into the dockyard and the public-houses. The dockyard, into which I was unable to penetrate, is a colossal enclosure, signalised externally by a grim brick wall, as featureless as an empty blackboard. ”

“ For reasons not worth setting forth, the trade with the Indies abruptly closed, having ruined as well as enriched many a Portsmouth adventurer. This explains the empty warehouses and the unused wharves. Portsmouth remains the interesting widow of a once very lively commerce. I fancy that few fortunes are either made or lost in Portsmouth nowadays. ”

“ On this Sound are situated some thriving towns, and into it the rivers Tar and Neuse empty their waters. The little town or village of Portsmouth is situated on an island in the immediate vicinity of Ocracoke Inlet. The inhabitants, or those who at that time deigned to pursue any regular occupation, were for the most part engaged in fishing and piloting. The sand banks, shoals, and flats in that neighborhood furnish admirable facilities for seine fisheries, and enormous quantities of mullets were taken every year on those sandy shores, packed in barrels, and sent to the West Indies. ”

“ Neither is Portsmouth a very favourable specimen of a British port, considered solely in reference to the picturesque. A town situated on a humble point, and fortified after the manner of the Low Countries, with an excellent haven, suggests more images of the useful than of the pleasing; while a background of modest receding hills offers little beyond the verdant swales of the country. In this respect England itself has the fresh beauty of youth, rather than the mellowed hues of a more advanced period of life ”