A HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE 



Before 16 August he was forced to abandon the 

 wooden fort at the bridge, which was at once seized 

 by the Parliamentary adherents of the neighbour- 

 hood. 384 The king's ships, which had declared for 

 Parliament, prevented stores being brought in, and 

 early in September the batteries from Gosport opened 

 fire upon the town 38i and Southse.i Castle surrendered 

 without a blow. The majority of the soldiers, find- 

 ing that no help came from the king, took part with 

 the town in opposing all further resistance, and the 

 officers were obliged to surrender on 4 September. 386 



The work of fortification was subsequently con- 

 tinued by Parliament.* 87 In 1648 the garrison peti- 

 tioned for the trial of the king, 588 but their pay was 

 still in arrears, and 6,000 was needed for the repair of 

 the fortifications to prevent the tower at the harbour 

 mouth from falling into the sea. 389 In 1660 the town 

 stood for Parliament against the army. 390 In 1665 a 

 new plan for the fortifications of the town made by 

 Sir Bernard de Gomme was carried out by Dutch 

 prisoners of war.* 91 The king himself visited these 

 new works in September i668, 3M and the lands 

 acquired for this purpose were vested in him and his 

 successors two years later. 393 



New barracks were built in 1688 at a time when 

 they were most grievously needed, for the inhabitants 

 were overburdened with the number of soldiers quar- 

 tered upon them.* 94 Nevertheless the townspeople 

 remained loyal, and in 1690 prepared to raise five 

 companies of foot should they be needed. 394 Early 

 in the eighteenth century more land was purchased 

 for the fortifications of Portsea, 396 and in 1748 the 

 town was secured from attack by land by the raising 

 of works round the dockyards and gun-wharf. At 

 this time the ancient town of Portsmouth, i.e. that 

 part which lies entirely within the south-western corner 

 of Portsea Island, was completely surrounded by earth- 

 works, the ramparts being strengthened at the angles 

 by King's Bastion, Pembroke Bastion, and East Bastion, 

 all looking over what was then a morass between 

 the town and Southsea Common, Town's Mount, 

 and Guy's Bastion facing inland, and Beeston's Bastion 

 at the corner of what is now the new gun wharf, 

 but was then below water. The Point, protected by 

 its round tower, was without the town, access to it 

 being gained through King James's Gate. This with 

 King William's Gate, Quay Gate, and Lion Gate, the 

 last being the entrance to Portsea, has been destroyed, 

 but the Landport or St. George's Gate has been 

 removed to form the entrance to the recreation 

 ground, while the old Unicorn Gate is one of the 

 entrances to the Dockyard. 397 



The town walls were demolished between the years 



1871 and i878. 399 The present line of fortifications 

 extends along the coast, a part of the old ramparts 

 remaining near Governor's Green. The most south- 

 erly point of the island is guarded by Southsea Castle, 

 a formidable building within a strong high wall partly 

 surrounded by a deep fosse, and flanked by two bat- 

 teries. The first cattle was built before 1 547, in which 

 year a stone platform was raised, and the neighbour- 

 ing bulwarks of earth strengthened. 399 It was possibly 

 identical with the Southampton Castle of Portsmouth 

 to which John Chalderton was appointed captain in 

 I555. 400 A plan of the castle of this date shows it 

 to have been a square fort within diamond-shaped 

 walls, flanked by two platforms."" In 1627 this 

 building was burnt to the ground, the woodwork 

 of the chimney having first caught fire. 40 * At the 

 time of the fire there were neither guns, men, 

 nor powder in the castle, 403 and two years later the 

 captain of Southsea complained that it was ' a 

 castle where is neither house nor lodging, to guard 

 a fort that is unprovided for defence or offence.' 4 4 

 It was rebuilt in i634, 40i but the lodgings and store- 

 rooms were again burnt down in March i639-4O. 40! 

 Its surprise and capture by the Parliamentarians du/- 

 ing the siege of Portsmouth in 1642 rendered the 

 town untenable. 4 *" Towards the end of the century 

 it was used as a state prison, 408 and was under the con- 

 trol of the governor of Portsmouth. 409 Beyond the 

 castle are the Eastney Batteries overlooking the Chan- 

 nel, and behind them a well-kept road leads past the 

 military church, known on account of its shape as the 

 ' Crinoline Church,' towards the Eastney Barracks. The 

 church has recently been replaced by a large red-brick 

 building on the Henderson Road farther inland. 



The military governor of Portsmouth at first held 

 also the office of governor of Portchester Castle.* 10 It 

 appears that in early times the latter was ex officio gover- 

 nor of Portsmouth, but during the troubled years when 

 the town was burnt by the French, separate captains 

 were appointed to the two places with full power to rule 

 and punish all the men of the towns and their neigh- 

 bourhoods as well as men-at-arms, hobelers and archers, 

 and to hold an array there in order to resist the 

 enemy. 411 A saving clause for the jurisdiction of the 

 governor was inserted in the later charters of the town. 

 After the reign of Henry VIII the office was not 

 always granted with the constableship of Portchester, 

 though the two were occasionally held together. 41 ' 

 Since 1834 a lieutenant-governor has ruled the town. 

 Governor's Green, an open turfed space forming the 

 south-east corner of Portsmouth town and protected 

 towards the sea by part of the old town ramparts, is 

 the site of the old governor's house, which has been 



884 B.M. Pamphlets, E. 112 (34), An 

 exact Relation of Fourteen Days' Passages at 

 Portsmouth 



885 Hist. MSS. Com. Rep. xiii, App. i, 55. 



886 Ibid. Ref. x, App. vi, 149. 



W Ibid. Ref. xiii, App. i, 184; Cal. 

 S.P. Dam. 1644, p. 357; 1644-5, PP- 

 244, 290, 321. 



888 B. M. Pamphlets, 669, fol. 13 (71). 

 To the . . . Commons House of Engl. the 

 humble Petition of the Officers and Soldiers 

 of Portsmouth. 



889 Cal. S.P. Dam. 1652-3, p. 171. 



89 Ibid. 1659-60, p. 281 ; SloaneMS. 

 970, fol. 6. 



891 Cal. S.P. Dom. 1664-5, PP- 5'> 



< Ibid. 1667-8, p. 582. 



898 Portsmouth Fortification Bill. See 

 Hist. MSS. Com. Ref. ix, App. ii, 5. 



894 Ibid. Ref. xi, App. 5, p. 242 ; Ref. 

 vii, 420. 



894 Cal. S.P. Dom. 1690-1, pp. 41, 56, 

 and 58. 



894 Petty Bag. Spec. Com. bdle. 18 5 

 Pat. 8 Anne, i, 4 ; i Geo. I, i, 6. 



W 7 Information kindly given by Mr. 

 W. H. Saunders ; cf. the plan of the town 

 in 1762. 



898 Information kindly supplied by Mr. 

 W. H. Saunders. 



899 Hiit. MSS. Com. Ref. on Salisbury 

 MSS. i, E. 49. 



4 Memo. R. (Exch. L. T. R.), East, 

 i Mary, ' Recorda,' m. 42. 

 41)1 S.P. Dom. Eliz. cxv, 39. 



190 



402 Hist. MSS. Com. Rep. xii, App. i, 

 299 and 301. 



408 Cal. S.P. Dom. 1627-8, p. 122. 



404 Ibid. 1628-9, P- 4- 



405 Ibid. 1634-5, p. 454. 



406 Ibid. 1 640, p. 1 73. 



4 7 Hist. MSS. Com. Rep. x, App. vi, 

 149. 



408 Ibid. Ref. iv, App. i, 279 ; Cal. 

 S.P. Dom. 1663-4, pp. 532 and 546. 



" Hist. MSS. Com. Ref. xi, App. v, 281. 



410 Cf. the list of governors printed in 

 Extracts from the Portsmouth Records, 635. 



411 Pat. 43 Edw. Ill, pt. 2, m. 22. 



413 For instance Viscount Wimbledon 

 held both offices in 1630 (Cal. S.P. Dom. 

 1629-31, p. 336), and Colonel Tolle- 

 mache in 1690 (ibid. 1690-1, p. 180). 



