Southsea
Southsea is a seaside resort and a geographic area of Portsmouth, Portsea Island in the ceremonial county of Hampshire, England. Southsea is located 1.8 miles to the south of Portsmouth's inner city-centre.
Southsea began as a fashionable 19th-century Victorian seaside resort named Croxton Town, after a Mr Croxton who owned the land. As the resort grew, it adopted the name of nearby Southsea Castle, a seafront fort constructed in 1544 to help defend the Solent and approaches to Portsmouth Harbour.
In 1879, South Parade Pier was opened by Princess Edward of Saxe-Weimar in Southsea. The pier began operating a passenger steamer service across the Solent to the Isle of Wight. This service gave rise to the idea of linking Southsea and its pier to Portsmouth's railway line, and for tourists to bypass the busy town of Portsmouth and its crowded harbour. East Southsea railway station, along with the Southsea Railway and Fratton railway station were jointly opened on 1 July 1885 by Lady Ada Mary Willis, wife of General Sir George Willis, the Lieutenant Governor of Portsmouth.
Southsea subsequently grew into a dense residential suburb and large, distinct commercial and entertainment area, separate from the town of Portsmouth up until Southsea and the whole of Portsea Island were incorporated into the town borough of Portsmouth in 1904.
Due to declining use and World War I, the Southsea Railway line and its East Southsea station were closed on 6 August 1914. To maintain Southsea's tourism, the Southsea station name was moved and merged with Portsmouth's main town centre railway station in 1925, officially becoming known as Portsmouth & Southsea railway station. A year later in 1926, Portsmouth was granted official city status, while its main railway station retained its "Portsmouth & Southsea" name, which has led many non-locals and visitors to wrongly assume that Southsea is still a separate town near to Portsmouth.
The areas of Southsea surrounding Albert Road, Palmerston Road, and Osborne Road contain many bars, restaurants and independent shops. Palmerston Road is the main High Street of Southsea and contains various shops and restaurants, as well as the local library, and Southsea Community Cinema and Arts Centre. Albert Road is a distinct street containing shopping and cultural venues, which include The Wedgewood Rooms, and the Kings Theatre, a regional theatre built in 1907.
Southsea retains its own post town status, even though the actual town of Southsea was merged into Portsmouth in 1904.
History
The history of Southsea is generally part of the history of Portsmouth, as Southsea started with the growth of Portsmouth dockyard and of the city, with the expansion of British maritime power during the British Empire. Before the 16th century Southsea was principally composed of small farms, open grassland and undrained marshland, outside the main naval base and the city itself. However the growing expectation of a possible French attack on the naval base led Henry VIII to order the building of Southsea Castle in 1544, adjacent to the channel approaches to Portsmouth Harbour. Southsea was first recorded as a place name in a Royal plan in 1577. Henry VIII visited Southsea Castle in 1545, from where he witnessed the sinking of the warship Mary Rose in the Solent.The first references to the development of the suburb appear in the Portsea Poor Rate returns of 1790 and describe small areas of building and farming plots. Most of the land was undeveloped and open grass and marshland still dominated the area. In the early 19th century, development continued on land owned by Thomas Croxton, and the community became known as Croxton Town. The first houses were built by 1809 for skilled workers in what were called the "mineral" streets. Around 1810, streets such as Hampshire Terrace, Landport Terrace, King's Terrace, Wish Street, Jubilee Terrace and Bellevue Terrace were built adjacent to the old walls of the city. Although the streets still exist, many of them were among the most heavily bombed areas of Portsmouth in the Second World War, and like much of Southsea they experienced significant redevelopment in Postwar Britain.
The development of Southsea continued during the Napoleonic era and as the dockyard continued to grow, new homes were required for the increasing personnel, and many houses, villas and apartments were built. The architect and builder Thomas Ellis Owen created many of these, and the surviving buildings retain a coherent late Georgian and early Victorian style, and form a conservation area today, with many of the buildings having listed status. Owen built properties in Kent Road, Queen's Terrace, Sussex Terrace, Elm Grove, Beach Road, Grove Road South, Clarendon Road, Osborne Road and Portland Terrace. The area between Castle Road and Victoria Road South was built up between 1835 and 1860. In 1851 St Jude's CofE church was built on Kent Road to a design by Thomas Ellis Owen.
During the same period, Southsea grew as a leisure and bathing destination. In 1816 a pump room and baths were erected near the present day Clarence Pier, and by 1820 a large complex was developed including vapour baths, showers, and card playing and assembly rooms. The remaining marshland, known locally as The Great Morass was drained, leading to the creation of Southsea Common, some 480 acres of open grassland. Due to military requirements for clear lines of fire adjacent to Southsea Castle, the area was developed and remains today as a park and garden. Apartments and hotels were constructed towards the common and waterfront, along Southsea Terrace, Western Parade and Clarence Parade. The first large hotel was the Portland Hotel near Kent Road. Others soon followed, including the purpose-built Queens Hotel, Pier Hotel and Beach Mansions Hotel. In 1852 the Clarence Esplanade and a memorial were erected by public subscription, and development of the resort led in 1861 to Clarence Pier being constructed as a promenade pier and landing place for steamers.
In August 1874, a series of riots broke out over access to a section of Southsea beach. Lasting over 4 days, this became known as the "Battle of Southsea". The Riot Act was eventually invoked with soldiers from the 9th Regiment dispersing the crowd from Southsea Common. Other piers were also built, including the Victoria and Albert Piers, with the construction of South Parade Pier in 1879 marking the culmination of seafront development in the Victorian period.
By the 1860s the suburb of Southsea had grown along Clarendon Road as far as Granada Road. In 1857 Southsea gained its own Improvement Commissioners responsible for paving, street cleaning and public lighting. The Southsea Railway came in 1885 and brought further development to the area, although it was to be financially unsuccessful and eventually closed in 1914. By the mid to late Victorian era, Southsea had become recognised as a largely middle-class neighbourhood, with many naval officers and other professionals taking up residence. During this time the writer Sir Arthur Conan Doyle lived in Portsmouth, moving to Southsea in June 1882 with less than £10 to his name. He set up a medical practice at 1 Bush Villas in Elm Grove, Southsea. Areas of Southsea suffered from the rapid development of the suburb; certain streets suffered from poverty and there was a major cholera outbreak in 1848. The works of the commission helped bring about some improvements and eventually led to the setting up of the Southsea Improvement Association.
20th century
Southsea continued to grow eastwards in the early 20th century, extending to the area of Eastney. During this time significant local public buildings were constructed including the Queens Hotel, in the Edwardian Baroque style built in 1903 and the Kings Theatre built in 1907. The onset of World War I saw an increase in fortifications on the seafront. Parades were held on Southsea Common. Southsea continued to thrive as a resort destination and a suburb of Portsmouth in the inter-war years, with many visitors in summer. At that time parts of the Common were converted into ornamental gardens and the Ladies' Mile was set out in 1925. However World War II had an immense impact on the urban and social fabric of the area. Huge areas of Southsea were destroyed by bombing during The Blitz. Although some of Victorian Southsea escaped the bombing, areas such as the Kings Road and Elm Grove were extensively damaged and the Palmerston Road shopping areas were completely destroyed. The beachfront, piers and promenades were closed for the duration of the war. Following the end of the war, in 1945 Southsea and the rest of Portsmouth embarked on a massive clearance and rebuilding scheme. Many areas of destroyed, damaged and intact low-income housing were cleared to make way for new building schemes. The Kings Road Estate and Roslyn House, among others, were developed between 1945 and the 1970s. Palmerston Road shopping area was developed in the 1950s and still stands today. Although visitor numbers to the resort area never recovered, Southsea continued to develop throughout the 20th century and today remains a mixed residential area and leisure destination.Recent history
On 15 September 2000, parts of Southsea were flooded when a month's worth of rain fell in 12 hours. The Eastney pumping station then failed due to the flood water. On 9 August 2011 a fire broke out at the former Joanna's Nightclub, then derelict and later demolished, opposite South Parade Pier. A contemporary local newspaper report states that the incident was not linked to then-ongoing riots.Southsea Common
Southsea Common is a large expanse of mown grassland parallel to the shore from Clarence Pier to Southsea Castle. The Common owes its existence to the demands of the military in the early nineteenth century for a clear range of fire from the harbour defences at any enemy ships which dared to approach Portsmouth and its dockyard. In 1874, the Southsea Pier Company closed public access to part of Southsea beach which lead to four days of rioting. These riots became known as the "Battle of Southsea". The police and army eventually dispersed the crowd but the development plans were abandoned.The common is a popular recreation ground, and also serves as the venue for a number of annual events, including the Southsea Show, Para Spectacular, Military Vehicle Show, Kite Festival, Victorious Festival and a variety of circuses including the Moscow State Circus and Chinese State Circus. It was also the place where fans of Portsmouth F.C. gathered to celebrate their victory in the 2008 FA Cup Final. It also hosts the annual Portsmouth Pride celebrations, where in 2024 an estimated 20,000 people were in attendance. The Portsmouth Pride dates for 2025 is on 7 June 2025, starting at The Briny restaurant.
On 6 June 1994 a drumhead service was held on Southsea Common in front of the Portsmouth Naval Memorial to commemorate the 50th anniversary of D-Day. The service was attended by all the heads of the states which had participated in the allied landings, notably HM Queen Elizabeth II and US President Bill Clinton. The service was also witnessed by over 100,000 members of the public. Historically, a blessing before battle was offered during a drumhead service which is conducted in the field with the drums forming the altar and the colours serving as the altar cloth.
On 28 June 2005 the Common was a venue for the Trafalgar 200 celebrations, the seafront an ideal point from which to witness the International Fleet Review and evening firework display.
In August 2010, "Ultrasauros", a life-size model of an ultrasauros dinosaur was erected on the common in conjunction with the Portsmouth's Aspex Gallery. The sculpture was destroyed by a fire, thought to have been caused by an electrical fault, on 1 October.
In 2013 Victorious Festival moved from the Portsmouth Historic Dockyard to Southsea Common. The annual festival was extended to a 3-day event in 2017.
In September 2013, it was announced that a new Parkrun would begin along Southsea seafront in October 2013. As of February 2025 the Southsea Parkrun has hosted 525 events with an average finish time of 28 minutes and 50 seconds.
In July 2015 and 2016 Southsea Common hosted the America's Cup World Series sailing event. The British sailing team Land Rover BAR is based in nearby Old Portsmouth.