Unicorn Road

Street guide, Portsea

Unicorn Road runs alongside the dockyard perimeter wall and takes its name from the Unicorn Gate, one of the principal entrances to the Royal Naval Dockyard. The unicorn, a supporter of the Royal coat of arms, was a common heraldic device used in naming dockyard features. The gate remains in use and is a handsome piece of dockyard architecture. Unicorn Road was historically a route heavily used by dockyard workers heading to and from their shifts, and the street would have seen enormous footfall at shift-change times. The terraced housing that once lined the street was destroyed during the Blitz, and post-war rebuilding gave the area its present character of municipal housing blocks and more recent developments. The street connects to St George's Road and Wickham Street, forming part of the internal street network of Portsea. The dockyard wall itself, a substantial brick structure, provides a distinctive backdrop to the street.