History of Gosport

From Saxon settlement to naval garrison and beyond

Gosport's history is inseparable from Portsmouth Harbour and the Royal Navy. For over four centuries, the town's purpose, population, economy, and character have been shaped by its position opposite the naval dockyard.

The settlement's origins are Saxon, with the name variously attributed to 'God's Port', 'Goose Port', or a corruption of an earlier form. For centuries it remained a minor harbour-side village, overshadowed by Portsmouth across the water. The first significant development came under Henry VIII, who ordered fortifications to defend the harbour entrance in 1539. Fort Blockhouse, at the tip of the peninsula, became the anchor of the Gosport defences.

The seventeenth and eighteenth centuries saw Gosport grow as a garrison and victualling town. The Gosport Lines, a continuous defensive rampart encircling the landward side, were built between 1756 and 1770, effectively defining the town's boundaries. Within the Lines, the population grew to serve the military: victuallers, chandlers, tavern keepers, and tradesmen provided for the garrison and the fleet.

The Royal Naval Hospital Haslar, opened in 1753, was the largest brick building in Europe and one of the most significant medical institutions in the country. It treated sick and wounded sailors for 250 years, from the age of sail through to the modern era.

The Victorian period brought the Palmerston Forts, a ring of defences built around the town in the 1860s to counter a perceived French threat. Fort Brockhurst, Fort Grange, and the Stokes Bay batteries survive in various states of preservation.

The railway arrived in 1841 and closed in 1953, a brief chapter in the town's transport history. The ferry, by contrast, has operated for centuries and remains the essential link to Portsmouth.

The twentieth century brought HMS Sultan, the submarine base at Fort Blockhouse, and the heavy bombing of the Second World War. Gosport played its part in D-Day, with troops embarking from Stokes Bay for Normandy.

The post-war period saw the construction of the Rowner estate and the gradual reduction in the military presence as bases closed and personnel numbers fell. The Submarine Museum, the Explosion Museum, and the Discovery Centre have helped to preserve and present the naval heritage, while the redevelopment of Haslar Hospital represents the latest chapter in the town's long relationship with its military past.