Portsea Timeline
Key events from 1495 to present
Discover the key moments that shaped Portsea. Explore the events that define our community.
1495
Henry VII Establishes the Royal Dockyard
In 1495, King Henry VII ordered the construction of what is believed to be the world's first dry dock at Portsmouth, marking the formal establishment ...
1496
Completion of the First Dry Dock
The dry dock ordered by Henry VII was completed around 1496, making Portsmouth home to one of the earliest purpose-built dry docks in European naval h...
1665
Fortification of Portsea
During the seventeenth century, particularly from the 1660s onwards under Charles II, Portsmouth and Portsea were heavily fortified to protect the inc...
1765
HMS Victory Launched at Chatham
HMS Victory, the warship that would become the most famous vessel in Royal Navy history, was launched at Chatham Dockyard in 1765. Although not built ...
1803
Brunel's Block Mills Revolutionise Manufacturing
In 1803, Marc Isambard Brunel, the French-born engineer and father of the more famous Isambard Kingdom Brunel, installed a series of purpose-built mac...
1805
The Battle of Trafalgar and Nelson's Return
On 21 October 1805, the British fleet under Vice-Admiral Horatio Nelson defeated the combined French and Spanish fleet off Cape Trafalgar on the south...
1860
HMS Warrior: The First Iron-Hulled Warship
HMS Warrior, launched at Blackwall on the Thames in 1860, was the Royal Navy's first iron-hulled, armoured warship and represented a revolution in nav...
1860
Victorian Expansion of the Dockyard
The mid-nineteenth century saw a dramatic expansion of Portsmouth Dockyard as the Royal Navy adapted to the age of steam, iron and steel. The transiti...
1876
Portsmouth Harbour Railway Station Opens
Portsmouth Harbour station opened in 1876, extending the railway line from Portsmouth Town station (now Portsmouth and Southsea) to the water's edge a...
1941
The Blitz Devastates Portsea
On the nights of 10 and 11 January 1941, the Luftwaffe launched a devastating bombing raid on Portsmouth that caused catastrophic damage across Portse...
1944
D-Day Preparations at Portsmouth
Portsmouth and its dockyard played a central role in the preparations for D-Day, the Allied invasion of Normandy on 6 June 1944. General Dwight D. Eis...
1950
Post-War Rebuilding of Portsea
The decade following the end of the Second World War saw the beginning of a massive rebuilding programme in Portsea, made necessary by the catastrophi...
1982
Recovery of the Mary Rose
On 11 October 1982, the hull of the Mary Rose, Henry VIII's flagship, was raised from the seabed of the Solent in one of the most ambitious and celebr...
1984
The Dockyard Becomes a Heritage Attraction
As the Royal Navy contracted during the late twentieth century, the active working dockyard at Portsmouth shrank, and the decision was made to open pa...
2001
Gunwharf Quays Opens on Former Naval Land
In 2001, the Gunwharf Quays retail and leisure complex opened on the site of the former HMS Vernon, a naval shore establishment that had closed in 199...
2005
The Spinnaker Tower Opens
The Spinnaker Tower, a 170-metre observation tower at Gunwharf Quays, opened to the public in October 2005 after a prolonged and at times troubled con...