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).

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 >