Georgian Expansion of Portsea

How the dockyard quarter grew in the 18th century

The Georgian period, spanning roughly from the accession of George I in 1714 to the death of George IV in 1830, was a transformative era for Portsea. The great naval wars of the eighteenth century, fought against France, Spain and the American colonies, demanded an ever-larger fleet, and the dockyard at Portsmouth expanded dramatically to meet these demands.

The dockyard workforce grew from hundreds to thousands, and a new town, Portsea, grew up outside the walls of the original Portsmouth to house them. By the late eighteenth century, Portsea was a separate and substantial town in its own right, with its own streets, shops, churches, pubs and civic institutions. The population density was high, with families living in tightly packed terraced housing close to the dockyard gates.

The dockyard itself was rebuilt and expanded on a grand scale during this period. New building slips, dry docks, storehouses and ropewalks were constructed. Many of the finest surviving buildings within the Historic Dockyard date from the Georgian period, including the elegant storehouses that now house parts of the museum collection. The Georgian dockyard buildings are characterised by their simple, functional elegance, built in brick with large windows and regular proportions.

The fortifications around Portsea were maintained and updated during the Georgian period, with the gates, including the Lion Gate and the Unicorn Gate, providing controlled entry points. The fortifications gave Portsea a distinctive enclosed character, physically separating the dockyard community from the surrounding countryside.

HMS Victory was launched in 1765 and fought at Trafalgar in 1805, defining moments in the Georgian naval story. Brunel's Block Mills, installed in 1803, brought industrial revolution to the dockyard. The Georgian period gave Portsea its essential shape and character as a dockyard town.