Thanks Bob. Peter. ----- Original Message ----- From: <bob.newell@ntlworld.com> To: <ENG-HAM-PORTSMOUTH-GOSPORT-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Tuesday, May 17, 2005 5:51 PM Subject: Re: [PORTSMOUTH-GOSPORT] Portsea, Portsmouth Common,, etc. > Brilliant thank you for that information. > > Bob > > > > > > > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Peter Gawn" <pgawn@dccnet.com> > To: <ENG-HAM-PORTSMOUTH-GOSPORT-L@rootsweb.com> > Sent: Wednesday, May 18, 2005 1:19 AM > Subject: [PORTSMOUTH-GOSPORT] Portsea, Portsmouth Common,, etc. > > > > The following is a copy of an email I sent recently to a correspondent. > > I thought it might be of interest to others. > > > > "You wondered if the reason why your Portsmouth ancestors moved around a > > lot (in the 19th century?) might be related to some sort of "Job Package". > > I don't think so. Apart from barracks for the military (Army), the Marines > > and, later, Navy seamen I've not come across any mention of housing for > > employees in Portsmouth. Servants and apprentices usually lived with their > > employers of course, but I don't expect that's what you had in mind. > > > > The question is a social history matter and not one specific to > > Portsmouth. Before about the 1930s relatively few people owned the houses > > they lived in. In fact until the latter part of the 19th century > > relatively few people owned anything at all. They didn't have all the > > stuff that we accumulate, so moving was not the hassle it is today. You > > just bundled up your meagre clothing and pots and pans and trudged off to > > the next place, perhaps borrowing a handcart if needed. People moved > > either to be closer to their employment or because of their financial > > situation - if times were good they'd look for somewhere better to live; > > when times were bad they looked for cheaper lodgings. The family of > > Charles Dickens is an example. He was born in Commercial Road in 1812 but > > his father, who was a clerk in the Navy Pay Office in Portsmouth Dockyard, > > soon moved the family to a smaller and cheaper house in Hawke Street, just > > outside the Dockyard, before they re-located to Chatham, Kent in 1! > > 815. > > > > It helps to know something about the development of Portsmouth. The > > original 12th century settlement was a trading post just inside the > > harbour mouth, around the inlet known as the Camber. The settlement grew > > slowly over the centuries. It's sometimes referred to as Old Portsmouth. > > Later, and gradually, the Royal Dockyard was developed further up > > Portsmouth Harbour adjacent to what is now called Portsea. Portsmouth and > > Portsea were separated by the Mill Pond. They were distinct, walled towns > > until the fortifications were pulled down in the 1870s and the land > > between them was built on. The parish church of Portsmouth is St Thomas, > > which became Portsmouth Cathedral in 1926. Portsea's parish church is St > > Mary's. > > > > The area outside the Dockyard walls was originally known as Portsmouth > > Common. When the Dockyard grew in importance in the late 17th century > > houses were put up on the Common so that Dockyard workers who lived in Old > > Portsmouth could move closer to the Yard. The military was unhappy about > > this housing because it jeopardised the Dockyard defenses - the military > > governor even threatened to turn his guns on it - but in 1703 Queen Anne > > (1702-1714) gave the workers permission to build on the Common. Portsmouth > > Common was officially re-named Portsea in 1792. > > > > Portsea's fortunes fluctuated with those of the Dockyard. The Yard was > > extremely busy in the 40 years between the start of the American > > Revolution in 1775 and the end of the French Wars in 1815 and Portsea grew > > "with wonderful rapidity." Unhappily bust followed boom and almost > > immediately, and at other times during the 19th century, there were > > massive layoffs from the Dockyard. Since Portsea was basically a > > one-industry town (the Dockyard was one of the largest industrial > > undertakings in England at the start of the century) alternative > > employment was scarce and there was considerable hardship. There was no > > state-run social assistance and the Dockyard, which was not an enlightened > > employer, offered few if any benefits or security to its workforce. > > > > Men who had worked on the construction and repair and so on of wooden > > ships were especially hard hit because there was no large private > > shipbuilding yard nearby and the smaller yards in Hampshire were in > > decline because for some 20 years after 1815 there was a surplus of both > > warships and merchant shipping. And to cap it all, the 1850s saw the start > > of the replacement of wooden sailing ships by iron, steam-powered ones and > > the consequent shift in shipbuilding to northern parts of the UK closer to > > the resources, iron foundries and coal. The situation got so bad, > > particularly for shipwrights, that assisted emigration to Canada was > > offered to them and other laid-off Dockyard employees & their families in > > both 1869 and 1870, and possibly as many as 1,500 people sailed from > > Portsmouth in the troopships Crocodile and Serapis. > > > > Housing in Portsea in the 19th century was appalling. Contemporary > > descriptions by social reformers run out of adjectives to describe it - > > perhaps squalor sums it up. Dingy pubs and beerhouses were on every > > corner, drunkenness was rife and prostitution notorious. Some of the first > > efforts at slum clearance in England focussed on Portsea although, > > unfortunately, not until the end of the century. It must have been a grim > > place to live in, like parts of so many other Victorian towns. > > > > Landport, which you also mentioned, developed eastwards from Portsea, > > roughly in what is now known as Fratton, to the north of Southsea. Here > > the housing was somewhat better and the streets better laid out - in > > Portsea the streets and alleys had grown haphazardly - and in this it was > > typical of the lower-income areas of row housing in mid-to-late Victorian > > cities (Victoria was queen from 1837 to 1901). > > > > By charter from Charles I (1625-1649) the borough of Portsmouth > > encompassed Old Portsmouth and Portsmouth Common, and part of the > > adjoining area. This stayed unchanged until the Municipal Reform Act of > > 1832 when the whole of Portsea parish was added to the borough. Two years > > later the jurisdiction of the borough was again extended and divided into > > six wards: St Thomas (Portsmouth), St George (Portsea South), St John > > (Portsea North), All Saints (Landport), St Paul (Southsea), and St Mary > > (Kingston). Portsmouth was " raised to the dignity of a city" in 1926. > > > > I hope the foregoing might help put things in context. I expect your > > families moved around either for economic reasons or because of any of the > > multitude of problems that crop up when one is living in rented > > accommodation." > > > > Peter Gawn (Canada). > > > > > > ==== ENG-HAM-PORTSMOUTH-GOSPORT Mailing List ==== > > Family historian love graveyards they are the sort of places they like to > > visit to meet up with old relatives > > > > ============================== > > Search the US Census Collection. Over 140 million records added in the > > last 12 months. Largest online collection in the world. Learn more: > > http://www.ancestry.com/s13965/rd.ashx > > > > ______________________________