Virginia seceded from the Union on April 17, 1861. On April 2, the Governor ordered the 3rd Virginia Regiment to occupy and fortify the Navy Hospital grounds. A battery of earthen works was hastily erected on the point and renamed Fort Nelson, after . . . — — Map (db m83920) HM
After the Spanish defeat at the battle of Santiago, Cuba, in July 1898, the sick and injured needed treatment. The newly converted hospital ship USS Solace transported 55 sick U.S. Navy and 48 wounded Spanish sailors to the hospital. The . . . — — Map (db m83924) HM
World War II created the need to rapidly expand the hospital in 1941. The $1.5 million program increased the number of hospital beds to 3,441. A dental clinic, ships service, library and a bank were added. The staff -- medical officers, nurses, . . . — — Map (db m83925) HM
By 1900, time and use had taken its toll on the hospital building. In October 1907, the Navy's Bureau of Medicine and Surgery ordered hospital personnel to remove patients to tent-covered wooden platforms constructed several hundred yards away from . . . — — Map (db m83926) HM
Building 215 was constructed to provide a much needed modern hospital and to centralize the medical departments scattered around the base. The 500-bed hospital became the command’s second primary hospital facility when commissioned in April 1960. . . . — — Map (db m83930) HM
On June 17, 1898, President William McKinley signed a bill establishing the Navy Hospital Corps. Navy Corpsmen are trained in the science of health and nursing skills necessary to provide proper patient care at hospitals, ships at sea and to the . . . — — Map (db m83932) HM
In June 1855, the steamer Franklin put into Norfolk for repairs while sailing from the West Indies to New York. Mosquitoes carrying yellow fever escaped when the vessel docked. The Naval Hospital’s first yellow fever patients came from . . . — — Map (db m83935) HM
There are 840 graves of seamen and soldiers in the naval cemetery on the hospital grounds. They include the remains of seamen from the U.S., Great Britain, France, Spain, Germany, Russia, Brazil, Denmark and Japan. The oldest known burial was a . . . — — Map (db m83936) HM
In 1826, Philadelphia architect John Haviland submitted construction plans for this hospital. This building, which houses offices is now known as Building 1, was made of granite and freestone. Its style is classical Greek Revival architecture, which . . . — — Map (db m83939) HM
The Naval Hospital faces a peninsula surrounded by the Elizabeth River. In 1636, Captain Thomas Willoughby received a land grant from the King of England that included this peninsula. The land was used as a plantation and changed owners several . . . — — Map (db m83941) HM
The British had a custom of taxing its sailors for their health care. In 1798 Congress established the “Hospital Fund" based on the British system. 20 cents per month was deducted from the pay of each officer, sailor and marine to provide for . . . — — Map (db m83944) HM
Naval regulations of 1798 state: ”A convenient place be set apart for sick or hurt men, to which they are to be removed with their hammocks and bedding when the surgeon shall advise the same, and some of the crew appointed to attend . . . — — Map (db m83945) HM
The Navy Nurse Corps was created by Congress in 1908, allowing women to perform duties that previously had been done by men. They held no rank and were titled “Nurse.” The first 20 to graduate were known as the “Sacred . . . — — Map (db m83946) HM
When the United States entered World War I, immediate steps were taken to expand the hospital. Several temporary wood-framed buildings were constructed to accommodate the ever-growing number of patients. These buildings included 34 patient pavilions . . . — — Map (db m83947) HM
I.C. Norcom (1856-1916) was an African American educator and administrator who served Portsmouth schools for more than 30 years. The first school to bear his name opened in 1920 three quarters of a mile southeast of here. Principal William E. . . . — — Map (db m113668) HM
The Portsmouth Colored Community Library was the library for Portsmouth’s Black citizens from 1945 to 1962. The building serves as a reminder of the segregation when African-Americans could not use the “white’s only” public library. Thomas C. . . . — — Map (db m191677) HM
The site of this city was patented in 1659 by Captain William Carver. Established as a town in 1752 and named by its founder, Lt. Col. Wm Crawford. Chartered as a city in 1858. It has the country's oldest Naval Shipyard. Established in 1767. The . . . — — Map (db m37088) HM
The HE (high explosive) 12-inch shell was the main projectile fired by the big guns of British battleships from 1895, with gunpowder as the high pressure propellant.
The shells weighed 850lbs with an effective range of five nautical miles, . . . — — Map (db m123276) HM
64 Pounder, Rifled Muzzle Loading Gun
This cast iron gun, weighing 71cwt (over 3,600 kilos), was made at the Royal Gun Factory, Woolwich in 1872. It is mounted on a traversing platform. The shell's projecting copper studs engage the grooved rifling . . . — — Map (db m123393) HM
68-pdr Smooth-Bore Muzzle Loader Gun of 96 cwt dated 1853 mounted on a standing garrison carriage.
Guns of this type fired solid round-shot of spherical explosive shell; they were some of the largest iron guns to be cast and virtually the last . . . — — Map (db m123378) HM WM
9-inch R.M.L. Armstrong-Fraser Gun of 12 tons, MK.III Introduced 1868
Typical of the first heavy rifled muzzle loading guns to go into general service, the pattern was based on a new principle of construction from wrought-iron sections, . . . — — Map (db m123377) HM
Lord Nelson’s flagship HMS Victory is the world’s oldest commissioned warship and famous for playing a crucial role at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805, a naval battle which contributed to the defeat of Napoleon in 1815.
The ship is currently . . . — — Map (db m122726) HM
After Gallipoli, HMS M.33 supported Allied forces against the Bulgarians at Salonika in 1916. She remained in the Aegean for the rest of the war, a ‘lucky ship’ with no casualties from enemy action, although her sister M.30 was sunk . . . — — Map (db m122930) HM
Hulked & Rotten Row
On May 14th 1883 Warrior entered Portsmouth for the last time under her own steam. In her 22 years of service, six of them in full commission and eight as a first line reserve, Warrior had sailed some 90,000 . . . — — Map (db m123160) HM WM
A Soldier Of
World War Two
Decades of Easy Peace May Go Their Way
And Tide, and Time, May Drift Us Far Apart
But You Who Shared Our Savage Yesterday
Will Hold the Highest Places In Our Heart
This Statue Was Erected
From Donations Made . . . — — Map (db m123469) WM
In the dry dock below is HMS M.33, a coastal bombardment ‘monitor’. Although she seems small and insignificant, she is a unique survivor, one of only three Royal Navy warships from the First World War, and the only ship left from the huge . . . — — Map (db m122926) HM
Bandstand Field
West Battery
The earth banks around Bandstand Field were gun batteries, defending the entrance to Portsmouth Harbour. They form a natural amphitheatre looking out to sea. The bandstand was designed and constructed by a local . . . — — Map (db m123453) HM
Britannia ruled the waves when Queen Victoria came to the throne. Wooden sailing ships were on the decline, making way for new maritime innovations like the paddle steamer, Great Western and the iron-hulled, screw driven SS Great Britain. . . . — — Map (db m123173) HM
British MMK1
Magnetic Moored Mine
The MMKI Mine was designed to be laid by a surface minelayer. It is different from other British moored mines because of its oval shape, rather than the usual sphere. The mine would have been moored at a . . . — — Map (db m123316) HM
Bruce Austin Fraser
Admiral of the Fleet
Baron Fraser of North Cape
G.C.B. K.B.E.
Controller of the Navy 1939 – 1942
Second – in – Command, Home Fleet 1942 – 1943
Commander – in – Chief, Home Fleet . . . — — Map (db m122980) HM
Captain Robert Falcon Scott. RN. CVO.
Born 6 June 1868 Died about 29 March 1912 during his return from the South Pole
In his journal found 8 months later he wrote the gale is howling about us we are weak writing is difficult but for my own sake I . . . — — Map (db m122580) HM
Charles Dickens
Was Born In This
House On
7th February 1812
This plaque was placed here
by the Portsmouth Branch
of the Dickens Fellowship
in May 1978 — — Map (db m123273) HM
Charles Napier
Admiral of the Blue K.C.B.
Born 1786
Died 1860
Martinique · Cape St.Vincent · Acre · Ready Aye Ready
To Commemorate The Untiring Efforts Of
A Gallant Officer And True-Hearted Man
In Advancing The Welfare Of The . . . — — Map (db m123195) HM WM
HMS M.33 stayed in service for almost 70 years and went through many changes. Therefore, the team working on her faced hard choices: which parts of the ship to restore and which to leave alone? Should anything original ever be removed to . . . — — Map (db m122928) HM
This gate and posts are relics of the dockyard railway link that used to pass over Edinburgh Road. The track was completed in 1846 and used until 1977. The line was dismantled during the 1980s to allow for landscaping along Unicorn Road. — — Map (db m123264) HM
1899 1999
The panels around this plinth depict the history of Field Gun and commemorate the bravery of the blue jackets who took part in the Relief of Ladysmith 1899. The same courage and commitment was shown throughout the years of the Command . . . — — Map (db m122583) HM
1947 1999
This bronze statue and field gun commemorate those men from Portsmouth command who competed in the Annual Field Gun Competition at the Royal Tournament and trained at “Royal Naval Barracks” Portsmouth from 1947 until . . . — — Map (db m122722) HM
GPO K6 (Kiosk No.6)
Telephone Box
In 1935, the K6 was produced to commemorate the Silver Jubilee of King George V, and was the first telephone box to be used extensively outside London – over 65,000 were built! This telephone box was . . . — — Map (db m123315) HM
Figurehead
H.M.S. Benbow
72 Guns Launched at Rotherhithe in 1813
The Figurehead Represents
Vice Admiral John Benbow
Born 1653 and Died 1702 — — Map (db m122581) HM
Built as a First Rate of 120 guns at Woolwich and completed in 1841, 2694 tons. Took part in the bombardment of Sebastopol in 1854, being towed to her position in line by the Retribution (paddle).
Converted to a two deck screw ship of 90 . . . — — Map (db m122923) HM
HMS M.33’s low hull and flat bottom made her ideal for bombarding the shore, as well as making her a small target. However, when combined with her lack of a keel these features made her very difficult to navigate at sea. She was also slow, . . . — — Map (db m122927) HM
Hertha Ayrton was born Phoebe Sarah Marks in Queen Street, Portsea, on 28 April 1854. She was the third child of a Polish Jewish watchmaker named Levi Marks, an immigrant from Tsarist Poland, and Alice Teresa Moss, a seamstress. Her father died in . . . — — Map (db m123119) HM
First Woman to be nominated as
a Fellow of the Royal Society.
Suffragette and vigorous supporter
of Women’s rights
Born in Portsea on the
site of this building
in 1854 — — Map (db m123193) HM
We have implemented a historically accurate re-painting of HMS Victory. For the first time, visitors can see the ship in her true colors — exactly as she appeared at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805.
Several hundred paint samples . . . — — Map (db m122730) HM
HM Gunwharf, Portsmouth
The Gunwharf was built in 1662 to enable ships’ guns, tested by the Army’s Board of Ordnance, to be fitted into the warships built within Portsmouth’s Royal Dockyard. The site was in continuous military service for over 300 . . . — — Map (db m123275) HM
In June 1915, five officers and 67 men squeezed into HMS M.33’s tiny hull. Most stayed away from home for 3 ½ years. They were of all ages, and were mostly reservists returning for the war, or volunteers. None had been conscripted. . . . — — Map (db m122925) HM
In Memory of
Forty Eight
Officers & Men Who Died
During the Epidemic of
Yellow Fever On Board
H.M.S. Aboukir
at Jamaica in 1873 – 74 — — Map (db m123468) HM
HMS Centurion
Naval Brigade
North China 1900
Peit Sang
Hsiku Peiyang
Tientsin
Erected by
Admiral Sir E.H.Seymour Gcb
The Captain, Officers and Ship's Company
of
H.M.S.Centurion.
( left side )
In Memory of
The . . . — — Map (db m123196) HM WM
HMS M.33
Last Fighting Ship — Gallipoli 1915
The History of M.33
Belfast-built in 1915, the monitor HMS M.33 served Britain in peace and war. She is now one of the three remaining British fighting ships of the First World War. . . . — — Map (db m123047) HM WM
Taku Forts, Tientsin, Defence Of Legations, Pekin.
H.M.S. ORLANDO
NORTH CHINA 1900
Commander P.H. WRIGHT, died of wounds received at Tientsin
W.GINGELL Sergt R.M.L.I. · N.BERRY Ord
Killed Sir E. Seymour's Column
J.W.JOHNSON Lt. SMm. · . . . — — Map (db m123199) HM WM
Erected
by
Captain
the Hon. Hedworth Lambton C.C.
Officers
and Ship's Company
of HMS Powerful
( back )
To the Memory of
The Officers and Men Of The
Naval Brigades of H.M.S.Powerful
Who Were Killed In Action or Died . . . — — Map (db m123197) HM WM
Erected by the Officers and Men
In Memory of
Those Who Were Killed in
A Gun Accident on Board
H.M.S. Royal Sovereign
Off Platea
November 9th 1901
Whilst Discharging Their
Duty
Capt. H.W. Spurway H.M.A. · C. Primmer Cm. Armp. · F. . . . — — Map (db m123194) HM WM
HMS Sirius
This sculpture featuring the flagship of the first fleet HMS Sirius commemorates the courageous voyage of the fleet which departed from Portsmouth on 13th May 1787 and arrived in Sydney on Australia’s Foundation Day, 26th January 1788. . . . — — Map (db m123314) HM
HMS Vernon Figurehead
This figurehead originates from the fourth HMS Vernon, a 50-gun frigate that saw active service in home waters, the Americas and the East Indies between 1832 and 1848. She was then laid up in Chatham Dockyard until emerging in . . . — — Map (db m123313) HM
To the Officers and Men
Who Lost Their Lives Onboard H.M.S. “Victoria”
June 22nd 1893.
Erected by the Survivors.
( lower plaque )
This Monument
was removed from
Town Hall Square
at the request of the survivors . . . — — Map (db m123198) HM WM
On June 16th 1987, 58 years after leaving Portsmouth a forlorn hulk, Warrior made her triumphant return - a magnificent warship once more. As she came slowly towards the entrance to Portsmouth Harbour an armada of small boats greeted her, . . . — — Map (db m123056) HM
21 October
1805
( on the steps )
Here Served Horatio Nelson
You Who Tread His Footsteps
Remember His Glory.
( left side )
Nelson's Prayer
May the great God whom I worship grant to my country and for the benefit of Europe . . . — — Map (db m123542) HM WM
( north side )
Sacred
To the Memory of
Captn. Sir Wm Peel K.C.B.
Captn. Thos. Grey
Mr. M.P. Garvey Mate
Mr. M.A. Daniel Mid
The Seamen and Marines
of the Shannon Naval Brigade
Who Fell Whilst Employed In
N.W. Provinces of . . . — — Map (db m123541) WM
Isambard Kingdom Brunel was born in nearby Britain Street, Portsea, Portsmouth on 9 April 1806. His father, Marc, a French Refugee, and English mother Sophia, were living in Portsmouth while Marc supervised the installation of his machines for . . . — — Map (db m123121) HM
Isambard
Kingdom
Brunel
Born Portsea
9th April 1806
Unveiled by the Right Worshipful the
Lord Mayor of Portsmouth
Councillor Robio Sparshatt
on 7th April 2006 to commemorate the
bicentenary of the birth of
Isambard Kingdom . . . — — Map (db m123158) HM
( plaques around the fountain )
Jubilee Fountain
Refurbished by
Portsmouth City Council
Opened by
Mike Hancock CBE MP
on
6th May 2011
The Queen’s Beasts
The Black Bull of Clarence
Heraldic Beast of Edward IV
In 1982 . . . — — Map (db m123270) HM
In front of this board is the site of Portsmouth’s first royal dockyard built by King Richard I (1189-99) and extended and inproved by King John (1199-1216).
John, King of England
Born: 24 December 1166
Died: 19 October 1216
Reign: 6 . . . — — Map (db m123120) HM
In August 1979, the hulk was towed 800 miles to Hartlepool, where the world's largest maritime project ever undertaken would begin.
The intention was to restore the ship as near as possible to her condition during the first commission from . . . — — Map (db m123051) HM
Second Commission 1867-1871
When her first commission ended in November 1864 Warrior spent two and a half years in harbour undergoing her first major re-fit. On 8th July 1867 she steamed out of Portsmouth to re-join the Channel Squadron . . . — — Map (db m123166) HM
Mark VIII 21 Inch Torpedo
This torpedo was designed for use by 'O' class submarines and motor torpedo boats. First entering service in 1927, they were extensively used during World War II, and were still in use until the mid-1980's. During the . . . — — Map (db m123317) HM
Monty
Field Marshal Viscount Montgomery
of Alamein
Portsmouth Garrison Commander 1937 - 38
Allied Land Forces Commander on D-Day
and During the Normandy Campaign
This Statue Was
Erected from Donations Made by
Veterans, Organisations, . . . — — Map (db m123470) HM WM
‘Ere, Guv, put a penny in the mud,
A penny or two won’t break yer.
We’ll take all your rusty silver,
And I’ll cover my face for a tanner.
The nearby statue commemorates the generations of Portsea children who enjoyed mudlarking here . . . — — Map (db m123319) HM
Near This Memorial On The
14th September 1805 Admiral Lord Nelson
Embarked for The Last Time, Being Killed
On the Following 21st October at the
Victorious Battle of Trafalgar
The Battle of Trafalgar
The British Fleet Consisted
Of 27 . . . — — Map (db m123539) HM WM
HMS M.33’s permanent home is No. 1 Dock, part of the complex of six docks surrounding the Great Ship Basin, one of the great legacies from the golden age of sail. The Great Basin and the ‘Great Stone Dock’ (now No. 5 Dock) were begin in . . . — — Map (db m122924) HM
The Noon Day Gun was originally fired to allow ships to check the accuracy of their marine chronometers, an instrument necessary for the accurate calculation of longitude. As light travels faster than sound observers would watch for smoke from the . . . — — Map (db m123277) HM
( south side )
Erected in
Memory of Those Brave
Soldiers and Sailors
Who During the Late War
With Russia Died of Their
Wounds and Are Buried
In this Garrison
H.J. Andrews. Hon Sec
Sebastopol
( west side )
Sweaborg . . . — — Map (db m123455) WM
( south side )
1914 – 1918 1939 – 1945
In Honour of the Navy and to the Abiding Memory of These Ranks and Ratings of this Port Who Laid Down Their Lives in the Defence of the Empire and have No Other Grave Than the Sea . . . — — Map (db m123456) WM
This panel features a selection of ships on which many of the men commemorated on the First World War memorial at Portsmouth were serving when they lost their lives. Until well into the 20th century, when a man, woman or boy joined the Royal Navy . . . — — Map (db m123463) WM
More than 45,000 men and women lost their lives while serving with the Royal Navy during the First World War. Many of these were members of the Royal Naval Division who died while fighting on land, but the majority were lost at sea and have no . . . — — Map (db m123464) WM
This panel features a selection of ships on which many of the men commemorated on the Second World War extension at Portsmouth were serving when they lost their lives. Until well into the 20th century, when a man, woman or boy joined the Royal . . . — — Map (db m123465) WM
In 1946 it was decided that the existing naval memorials should be extended in order to commemorate the naval dead of the Second World War who had no grave but the sea. The architect of the Second World War extension at Portsmouth was Sir Edward . . . — — Map (db m123466) WM
This Memorial Was
Erected by the
People of Portsmouth
In Proud and Loving
Memory of Those
Who in the Glorious
Morning of Their Days
for England’s Sake Lost
All but England’s Praise
May Light Perpetual
Shine Upon Them
This . . . — — Map (db m123546) WM
RAF – HSL 102
“The sea shall not have them”
HSL 102, built by the British Power Boat Company at Hythe in 1936, is one of only 22 100-Class High Speed Launches which were used by the RAF to rescue World War 2 airmen from the sea. . . . — — Map (db m123159) HM WM
Reconstructed Well
The original well was built against the inside of the Tudor curtain wall, and was probably the Castle's first water supply. Made of chalk, it used a simple pulley block with an oak bucket counter-balanced by flints. The well was . . . — — Map (db m123382) HM
Royal Arms of Charles II
The Royal Arms commemorate improvements to the Castle made in about 1683 under the direction of Sir Bernard de Gomme, Charles II's chief military engineer. They were moved from above the original entrance to the present . . . — — Map (db m123379) HM
English Heritage Royal Garrison Church
History through unique stained glass windows
Royal Garrison Church was originally part of a hospital founded in 1212 by the bishop of Winchester. The nave housed the sick while the chancel served . . . — — Map (db m123545) HM
This plaque
Commemorates the Visit of
The Queen and
The Duke of Edinburgh
to Southsea Castle
on 29th June 1977
the day following the
Silver Jubilee Review of the Fleet
at Spithead — — Map (db m123380) HM
This Plaque Commemorates
The Dedicated of the Men and Women of
The City of Portsmouth
Who, Through Their Steadfastness and Devotion
Contributed to the Safekeeping of Their City
During the Period of World War II 1939-1945
Unveiled by . . . — — Map (db m123544) WM
Portsmouth the great waterfront city
From as early as Roman times, Portsmouth Harbour was vulnerable to attack from the sea. The town was burnt down by the French in the 14th century and by the early 1500s its military significance had grown . . . — — Map (db m123543) HM
What? The ship-side mock-up is a 3m × 3m snapshot replica of the mid-ship section of HMS Victory.
Who? T. Nielson & Co., traditional wooden ship builders, have constructed the mock-up for the National Museum of the Royal . . . — — Map (db m122725) HM
You are standing by HMS M.33’s port side. Her distinctive ‘dazzle’ paint scheme was introduced in 1918, to break up her outline, making it harder for submarines to target her. To your left is the bow (front of the ship) and the ‘forecastle . . . — — Map (db m122932) HM
In the spring of 1544, fearful of a French attack on Portsmouth, King Henry VII ordered work on a new castle to command the deep water channel into Portsmouth where ships came closest to the shore. Southsea Castle was completed in the record . . . — — Map (db m123394) HM
St. John the Evangelist
John was a fisherman and one of the twelve apostles.
He witnessed Jesus’ ministry and was inspired
to write the fourth gospel so that
You may believe that Jesus is the Christ the Son of God
and believing this you . . . — — Map (db m123274) HM
In 2013 and 2014 we undertook a series of studies to improve our understanding of HMS Victory and her significance to help decide the best ways of preserving the ship for the future.
A highly detailed laser scanning exercise revealed . . . — — Map (db m122727) HM
The Bell
After hanging in Portsmouth's Town Halls in High Street from the 17th
century until 1837, this bell was later used at the Quarter Sessions (local
courts), in Penny Street gaol and in Victoria Park. — — Map (db m123392) HM
The Figurehead
HMS Warrior was one of the last battleships to carry a figurehead. The original was made in Portsmouth at a cost of E60, but was lost in 1868 when Warrior accidentally collided with HMS Royal Oak. The figurehead's head fell off and . . . — — Map (db m123050) HM
HMS Warrior was built by The Thames Ironworks and Shipbuilding Company at Blackwall in London.
Throughout 1859 and 1860 thousands of workers were employed on the hull every day. As delays to the ship increased a 24-hour work pattern . . . — — Map (db m123167) HM
The Hard
Originally called the Common Hard, The Hard is the road that runs along the public waterfront, leading from the Historic Dockyard. It was constructed around 1720 as a landing place for small boats.
To your right is Britain’s first . . . — — Map (db m122577) HM
The Jutland Gun
German 105mm SK L/45 Naval Gun SMS B.98
SMS B.98 was the lead ship of Commander Heinrich Schuur’s 2nd Torpedo Boat Flotilla, part of Vice Admiral Franz von Hipper’s Scouting Frces at the Battle of Jutland in 1916, where she . . . — — Map (db m122579) HM WM
The Keep
The stonework is largely that of the original Castle of 1544. Tudor gunports and other earty features can still be seen. The top was rebuilt in its present form in 1814, when the interior brickwork was added. — — Map (db m123391) HM
