Copnor is an area of
Portsmouth
Portsmouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. Most of Portsmouth is located on Portsea Island, off the south coast of England in the Solent, making Portsmouth the only city in En ...
,
England
England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
, located on the eastern side of
Portsea Island.
The population of Copnor Ward at the
2011 Census was 13,608.
As Copenore, it was one of the three villages listed as being on Portsea Island in the
Domesday Book
Domesday Book ( ; the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book") is a manuscript record of the Great Survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 at the behest of William the Conqueror. The manuscript was originally known by ...
.
In the late 19th, early 20th century the rapid expansion of Portsmouth saw the original village engulfed. The west of the district is now a predominantly
residential
A residential area is a land used in which houses, housing predominates, as opposed to industrial district, industrial and Commercial Area, commercial areas.
Housing may vary significantly between, and through, residential areas. These include ...
area of 1930s housing. The east of the district is an industrial and commercial area.
It was originally intended to have a
railway station
Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...
; an intermediate station between and
Portsmouth Town stations when the railway line opened. However, this never materialised, in spite of the large gap between stations, and the existence of a signalled
level crossing
A level crossing is an intersection where a railway line crosses a road, Trail, path, or (in rare situations) airport runway, at the same level, as opposed to the railway line or the road etc. crossing over or under using an Overpass#Railway, o ...
for many years, replaced by a bridge in 1908.
A road, "Station Road" was laid out, and still exists, however construction on the station never began.
Copnor's unbuilt railway station was also to have been the
interchange station
An interchange station or a transfer station is a train station for more than one railway route in a public transport system that allows passengers to change from one route to another, often without having to leave a station or pay an additional ...
for the short-lived
Southsea Railway (1885-1914), but the station was ultimately opened in 1885 at
Fratton instead.
was located in the north east of the district. After a number of accidents, the airport was closed in 1972. The land has subsequently been used for further commercial development and a housing development called Anchorage Park.
The area has been home to
Admiral Lord Nelson School since the mid 1990s.
Not to be mistaken as a part of
Hilsea, another Portsmouth district, Copnor Road passes through Hilsea as well as through Copnor itself. Copnor is one of the smaller districts of Portsmouth.
Churches
St Alban's Church was built in the area from 1913 to 1914.
It was damaged by bombs in 1940 and was repaired in the 1950s.
It is home to a 15th century font originally from
St Mary's Church, Portsea.
St Cuthberts was built a year later.
It was bomb damaged in 1941 and again repaired in the 1950s.
A stained glass window to a design by
Osmund Caine was added in 1953 with a further two, also by Caine, added in 1959.
The Roman Catholic church of St Joseph was built in the area between 1913 and 1914.
Notable people
James Callaghan
Leonard James Callaghan, Baron Callaghan of Cardiff ( ; 27 March 191226 March 2005) was a British statesman and Labour Party (UK), Labour Party politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1976 to 1979 and Leader of the L ...
, who served as prime minister of the United Kingdom from 1976 until 1979 and was in parliament from 1945 until 1987, was born at 38 Funtington Road in Copnor on 27 March 1912. He lived there until around 1930, and at the time of his death in March 2005 was living in
Ringmer,
East Sussex
East Sussex is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Kent to the north-east, West Sussex to the west, Surrey to the north-west, and the English Channel to the south. The largest settlement ...
.
References
{{Authority control
Areas of Portsmouth