Historic Pubs of Portsea

Drinking establishments with a naval past

The pub has been at the centre of Portsea's social life for as long as the dockyard has existed. Dockyard workers and naval ratings needed somewhere to drink after their shifts, and at the height of the Victorian era Portsea was packed with public houses, beer shops and taverns serving this vast thirsty workforce. The Blitz of 1941 destroyed the great majority of these establishments along with the streets they stood in, but a handful of pubs with long histories survive or have been re-established.

The Bridge Tavern at The Hard has occupied its harbourside position for many years, though the current building is relatively modern. A pub on this site has served travellers, dockyard workers and ferry passengers for generations. Its position overlooking the harbour gives it a timeless quality despite the modern structure.

The Ship Anson, also on The Hard, is named after Admiral George Anson, whose circumnavigation of 1740-44 was one of the great voyages of the age. The naming of pubs after naval heroes was a natural practice in Portsea, where the navy touched every aspect of life.

The Still and West in nearby Old Portsmouth has been serving drinks at Bath Square since at least the eighteenth century, though the building has been rebuilt. Its name derives from a former distillery on the site. The Spice Island Inn, at the very tip of Old Portsmouth, also has deep roots.

Many of the old Portsea pubs are now just names in historical records, their buildings and communities swept away by bombs and bulldozers. Those that remain provide a valuable physical connection to the district's drinking heritage.