Portsmouth
Portsmouth is Britain's foremost naval base and is unique among English cities in being partly situated on an island, Portsea, connected to the mainland by bridges and causeways. The Romans raised a fortress on the site and a small port developed during the Norman era, but this strategic maritime location was under-exploited until the Tudor period, when Henry VII, in 1495-6, established the world's first permanent dry dock here. In 1540, Henry VIII expanded the port into the first Royal dockyard and Portsmouth became, primarily, a naval and military base.
For most visitors the principal attractions are the historic ships located in the Royal Naval Base at the end of Queen Street. The complex comprises three ships and as many museums. The most famous incumbent of the Naval Base is the 100-gun warship HMS Victory, Admiral Nelson's flagship at the Battle of Trafalgar on September 14th 1805. Launched in 1765, Victory continued in service for a further 20-yrs after Trafalgar; she is the oldest commissioned warship in the world.
Stern of HMS Victory
Nelson himself was fatally wounded in the battle with the French & Spanish, but had no wish to be buried at sea - the normal fate of sailors dying at sea was to be sewn into their hammocks with a cannon ball and thrown overboard. Instead, Nelson's body was preserved in a huge vat of brandy pending his eventual hero's burial in St Paul's Cathedral.Nearest the entrance to the complex is HMS Warrior, Britain's first 'iron-clad' battleship, launched in 1860. Complete with sails and steam engine, Warrior was the largest, fastest and most formidable warship in the world; the pride of the fleet she was described by Napoleon III as a "black snake amongst the rabbits".
Located undercover behind Victory are the remains of Mary Rose, the pride of Henry VIII's fleet and his flagship. Unfortunately, she capsized before his eyes in 1545, as a freshening wind caused the ship to heel over taking in water through her open gun-ports - the Rose sank very quickly taking most of her 700 strong crew with her. The ship was named after Henry's daughter and the emblem of the Tudors'. In 1982, a massive conservation project successfully raised the remains of the Rose's hull, preserved in silt beneath the seabed, and it was moved to its present position. The remains, covered by a mist of water spray that preserves them, are accompanied by the Mary Rose Exhibition, displaying thousands of articles salvaged from the ship.
Various buildings house the exhaustive Royal Navy Museum, tracing naval history from Alfred the Great's fleet to the present day, and incorporates 'Action Stations', a thrilling high-tech Royal Naval experience employing film and interactive technology.
Portsmouth was heavily bombed during World War II due to its military importance. As a result, the only part of the city of historical note is known as Old Portsmouth, based around the original harbour. This quarter is certainly the most picturesque, where attractive old streets survive or have been restored. Nestling in amongst this web of intricate little roads are beautiful examples of Georgian and Victorian houses. Old Portsmouth lays back behind a 15th century wall protecting the Camber or old port, and was known as 'Spice Island', an invocation of the exotic cargoes that arrived there - this was where Sir Walter Raleigh landed his first batch of potatoes and tobacco from the New World. The 12th century Cathedral of St Thomas stands on the High Street, near to the Round & Square Towers, which punctuate the Tudor fortifications. Here too, is the Royal Garrison Church, where Catherine of Braganza married Charles II in 1662.
The city has several literary ties, the most noteworthy being the birthplace of Charles Dickens (1812-70), at 393 Old Commercial Road. Now a museum, it contains personal relics of Dickens and an extensive library of his works, including several first editions. The house is furnished in the style of the early 19th century. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (1859-1930), practised as a doctor at Bush Villas, where he wrote his first 'Sherlock Holmes' mystery, A Study in Scarlet. H.G.Wells (1866-1946), worked as a drapery assistant in a drapers on the corner of King's Road and St Paul's Road. Rudyard Kipling (1865-1936), spent six of his childhood years lodging with a woman in Campbell Road while his parents were in India.. Portsmouth was also the birthplace of Isambard Kingdom Brunel (1806-59) in Britain Street, where a memorial stone commemorates the illustrious Victorian engineer.