Gosport ( ) is a town and

non-metropolitan district Non-metropolitan districts, or colloquially "shire districts", are a type of Districts of England, local government district in England. As created, they are sub-divisions of non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties (colloquially ''s ...

with

borough status Borough status is granted by royal charter to local government districts in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The status is purely honorary, and does not give any additional powers to the council or inhabitants of the district. In Scotland, si ...

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Berkshire to the north, Surrey and West Sussex to the east, the Isle of Wight across the Solent to the south, ...

, England. At the 2021 Census, the town had a population of 70,131 and the district had a population of 81,952. Gosport is situated on a

peninsula A peninsula is a landform that extends from a mainland and is only connected to land on one side. Peninsulas exist on each continent. The largest peninsula in the world is the Arabian Peninsula. Etymology The word ''peninsula'' derives , . T ...

on the western side of

Portsmouth Harbour Portsmouth Harbour is a / biological Site of Special Scientific Interest between Portsmouth and Gosport in Hampshire. It is a Ramsar site and a Special Protection Area. It is a large natural harbour in Hampshire, England. Geographically it ...

, opposite the city 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 ...

, to which it is linked by the

Gosport Ferry The Gosport Ferry is a ferry service for pedestrians and cyclists operating between Gosport and Portsmouth in Hampshire, southern England. It is currently operated by Gosport Ferry Ltd, a subsidiary of the Portsmouth Harbour Ferry Company Ltd, ...

. Until the last quarter of the 20th century, Gosport was a major naval town associated with the defence and supply infrastructure of His Majesty's Naval Base (HMNB) Portsmouth. As such over the years extensive fortifications were created. Gosport is still home to and a Naval Armament Supply Facility, as well as a helicopter repair base. As part of the ''Renaissance of Portsmouth Harbour''

Millennium A millennium () is a period of one thousand years, one hundred decades, or ten centuries, sometimes called a kiloannum (ka), or kiloyear (ky). Normally, the word is used specifically for periods of a thousand years that begin at the starting ...

project, a large sundial, known as the Millennium Timespace, was installed on the harbour front in 2000. Alongside this sundial, a long meandering path of designed paving stones can be found, known as the Millennium Path; this can also be seen across the Solent in Portsmouth.

Name

Though there are multiple theories which point towards the etymology of Gosport, it is widely purported to derive its name from "goose". An alternative etymology of "gorse" (from the bushes growing on local heathland) is not supported by the regional name for the plant, "furze". A third theory, claiming a derivation from "God's Port" is believed to be a 19th-century invention. This is, however, the slogan of Gosport as demonstrated on its emblem.

Geography

The Town area of the Borough, including Newtown, consists of the High Street, Stoke Road shopping area, Walpole Park, Royal Clarence Yard and three modern marinas: Royal Clarence, Gosport Marina and Haslar Marina. South of the centre is Haslar Creek, which flows into Portsmouth Harbour near the harbour mouth. The lowest part of Haslar Creek is called Haslar Lake; at its western end, the creek splits into two branches. These are called Workhouse Lake (the northern branch) and Stoke Lake (the southern branch). South East of Stoke Lake and along Gilkicker Point is the area of Clayhall. West, Northwest and South of Stoke Lake is the district and village of

Alverstoke Alverstoke is a village in the borough of Gosport, on the south coast of Hampshire, England. It stretches east–west from Fort Blockhouse, Haslar to Browndown Battery, and is centred east of the shore of Stokes Bay and near the head of a cree ...

. To the west of which is Browndown, where the River Alver flows into The Solent at Stokes Bay. Further west from Browndown point is the district of

Lee-on-the-Solent Lee-on-the-Solent, often referred to as Lee-on-Solent, is a seaside district of the borough of Gosport in Hampshire, England, about five miles (8 km) west of Portsmouth. The area is located on the coast of the Solent. It is primarily a resi ...

with the former RNAS ''Daedalus'' which is now home to a hovercraft museum and several marine related businesses, and CEMAST College (Fareham College). It is also used as a base for glider clubs, light aeroplanes,

HM Coastguard His Majesty's Coastguard (HMCG) is the section of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency responsible, through the Secretary of State for Transport to Parliament, for the initiation and co-ordination of all maritime search and rescue (SAR) within th ...

heliport and police aircraft. In the west of Gosport is the naval base HMS ''Sultan''. West of ''Sultan'' is the district of Rowner, which includes Alver Village. There are several districts north, northwest and west of the town centre. These include areas that extend to the inland areas of the peninsula, Hardway (including Priddy's Hard and

Forton Lake Forton Lake is a tidal creek located in the town of Gosport, Hampshire. A small area of the lake is within the grounds of St Vincent College. The locality is the subject of a painting by Martin Snape, which hangs in Gosport Town Hall. The Lake i ...

) Elson, Brockhurst, Bridgemary and Rowner. Hoeford (A32 Gosport Road) is the most northwesterly area within Gosport, and ends at the boundary with the

Borough of Fareham The Borough of Fareham is a Non-metropolitan district, local government district with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in Hampshire, England. Its council is based in Fareham. Other places within the borough include Portcheste ...

Climate

The climate of Gosport is milder than that of the surrounding areas, winter frosts being light and short-lived and snow quite rare. Temperatures rarely drop much below freezing, because the peninsula has water to the south and east. Portsdown Hill also protects the town from the cold northerly winds during the winter months. Located on the south coast, Gosport also receives more sunshine per annum than most of the UK. The average maximum temperature in January is 8C with the average minimum being 3C. The average maximum temperature in July is 21C, with the average minimum being 14C. The record high temperature is 32C and record low is -9C. The

Met Office The Met Office, until November 2000 officially the Meteorological Office, is the United Kingdom's national weather and climate service. It is an executive agency and trading fund of the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology and ...

has a weather station at the M.R.S.C. in Lee-on-the-Solent.

History

The Rowner area of the peninsula was settled by the

Anglo-Saxon The Anglo-Saxons, in some contexts simply called Saxons or the English, were a Cultural identity, cultural group who spoke Old English and inhabited much of what is now England and south-eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. They traced t ...

s, and is mentioned in the ''

Anglo Saxon Chronicle The ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'' is a collection of annals in Old English, chronicling the history of the Anglo-Saxons. The original manuscript of the ''Chronicle'' was created late in the ninth century, probably in Wessex, during the reign of ...

'' as Rughenor ("rough bank or slope"). Both Rowner and

, the name coming from the point where the River Alver entered

the Solent The Solent ( ) is a strait between the Isle of Wight and mainland Great Britain; the major historic ports of Southampton and Portsmouth lie inland of its shores. It is about long and varies in width between , although the Hurst Spit whic ...

Stokes Bay Stokes Bay (British national grid reference system, grid ref.:)) (50.782982, -1.163868) is an area of the Solent that lies just south of Gosport, between Portsmouth and Lee-on-the-Solent, Hampshire. There is a shingle beach with views of Ryde an ...

, were included 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 ...

. Rowner was the earliest known settlement of the peninsula, with many

Mesolithic The Mesolithic (Ancient Greek language, Greek: μέσος, ''mesos'' 'middle' + λίθος, ''lithos'' 'stone') or Middle Stone Age is the Old World archaeological period between the Upper Paleolithic and the Neolithic. The term Epipaleolithic i ...

finds and a hunting camp being found, and

tumuli A tumulus (: tumuli) is a mound of Soil, earth and Rock (geology), stones raised over a grave or graves. Tumuli are also known as barrows, burial mounds, mounds, howes, or in Siberia and Central Asia as ''kurgans'', and may be found through ...

on the peninsula investigated.

Bronze Age The Bronze Age () was a historical period characterised principally by the use of bronze tools and the development of complex urban societies, as well as the adoption of writing in some areas. The Bronze Age is the middle principal period of ...

items found in a 1960s construction in included a hoard of axe heads and torcs. A three-celled dwelling unearthed during construction of the Rowner naval Estate in the 1970s points to a settled landscape. Next to the River Alver which passes the southern and western edge of Rowner is a

Norman Norman or Normans may refer to: Ethnic and cultural identity * The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 9th and 10th centuries ** People or things connected with the Norma ...

motte and bailey, the first fortification of the peninsula, giving a vantage point over the Solent,

and the

Isle of Wight The Isle of Wight (Help:IPA/English, /waɪt/ Help:Pronunciation respelling key, ''WYTE'') is an island off the south coast of England which, together with its surrounding uninhabited islets and Skerry, skerries, is also a ceremonial county. T ...

Gosport Town Hall Gosport Town Hall is a municipal structure in the High Street, Gosport, Hampshire, England. The structure currently serves as the headquarters of Gosport Borough Council. History The first municipal building in Gosport was an ancient market ha ...

, designed by W. H. Saunders and Sons, was completed in 1964. The former Rowner naval married quarters estate, now mostly demolished, and HMS ''Sultan'' were built on a former military airfield, known first as

RAF Gosport Gosport ( ) is a town and non-metropolitan district with borough status in Hampshire, England. At the 2021 Census, the town had a population of 70,131 and the district had a population of 81,952. Gosport is situated on a peninsula on the west ...

and later as HMS ''Siskin'', which gives its name to the local infant and junior schools. The barracks at Browndown (Stokes Bay) were used in the ITV series '' Bad Lads' Army''.

Government and politics

The borough is administered by

Gosport Borough Council Gosport Borough Council is the local authority for the borough of Gosport, in the county of Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Berks ...

. In the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of ...

Gosport Gosport ( ) is a town and non-metropolitan district with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in Hampshire, England. At the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 Census, the town had a population of 70,131 and the district had a pop ...

has been represented by

Caroline Dinenage Caroline Julia Dinenage, Baroness Lancaster of Kimbolton, (born 28 October 1971), also styled as Dame Caroline Dinenage, is a British Conservative Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Gosport since 2010. Dinenage ...

of the Conservative Party since 2010.

Naval and military

Until the last quarter of the 20th century, Gosport was a major naval town associated with the defence and supply infrastructure of His Majesty's Naval Base (HMNB) Portsmouth. As such over the years extensive fortifications were created. The first fortifications were in 1678 during the reign on Charles II. These consisted of two forts, Fort James and Fort Charles, and a series of bastions and double ditches to encircle the town, known as the Gosport Lines. During the Georgian period in 1751 and 1752 they were rebuilt, enlarged and extended. Further additions were made in response to the French invasion threat of 1779. By 1860, the Gosport Lines had 58 guns. No.1 Bastion, for example, had mounted 14 guns in brick lined emplacements firing over the parapet. The 1859 Royal Commission on the Defences of the United Kingdom proposed the completion of a line of forts to protect the outer approach to Gosport town, making the earlier defences redundant. However, they were retained to constrain any expansion of the town towards the new line of forts. From the 1890s road widening meant some parts of the ramparts and gates were demolished. Further sections were demolished in the 1920s and 1960s. Today, the little that remain are protected ancient monuments. The town is still home to and a Naval Armament Supply Facility as well as a Helicopter Repair base; however, Gosport's naval history is very long, and the town has several buildings of historic interest as well as connections with many people who became famous. Most of the former naval and military installations have closed since the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, leaving empty sites and buildings. In response to this, museums have opened, and many of the fortifications and installations (such as

Fort Brockhurst Fort Brockhurst is one of the Palmerston Forts, in Gosport, England, and a scheduled monument. It is now an English Heritage property. History Construction, 1858–1862 Fort Brockhurst was designed by William Crossman in the 19th century to ...

Priddy's Hard Priddy's Hard is a former military installation in Gosport on the south coast of England, named for the original landowner and the firm beach found there. The site originated as a 1750s Fortification, fort, and then became an Weapons, armament ...

(formerly an Armament Depot, now the

Explosion! Museum of Naval Firepower The Explosion Museum of Naval Firepower is situated in the former Royal Naval Armaments Depot at Priddy's Hard, in Gosport, Hampshire, England. It now forms part of the National Museum of the Royal Navy. The museum includes a wide variety of ex ...

) and the

Royal Navy Submarine Museum The Royal Navy Submarine Museum at Gosport is a maritime museum tracing the international history of submarine development from the age of Alexander the Great to the present day, and particularly the history of the Royal Navy Submarine Service fr ...

in Haslar Road) have been opened to the public as tourism and heritage sites. One of the more recent additions is the Diving Museum at No 2 Battery at Stokes Bay which is bidding to become the National Diving Museum for the British Isles. Several sites have also been redeveloped to provide housing, including the New

Barracks Barracks are buildings used to accommodate military personnel and quasi-military personnel such as police. The English word originates from the 17th century via French and Italian from an old Spanish word 'soldier's tent', but today barracks ar ...

(opened 1859, renamed St George Barracks in 1947, having served as HMS ''St George'' during the Second World War; closed 1991), the Royal Clarence Victualling Yard (opened 1828 on the site of an earlier

victualling In the age of sail, arming or victualling a war ship, or war vessel had the meaning of equipping the ships with all the materials to navigate and the " victuals" necessary for the crew to subsist. So, in addition to the rigging (masts, sails and ...

facility, closed 1992) and

Royal Hospital Haslar The Royal Hospital Haslar in Gosport, Hampshire, which was also known as the Royal Naval Hospital Haslar, was one of Britain's leading Royal Naval Hospitals (and latterly a tri-service Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom), MOD hospital) for over ...

(formerly the last military hospital of the UK: opened as a

Royal Naval Hospital A Royal Naval Hospital (RNH) was a hospital operated by the British Royal Navy for the care and treatment of sick and injured naval personnel. A network of these establishments were situated across the globe to suit British interests. They were p ...

in 1753, later served other armed forces personnel and latterly the wider community of Gosport; closed as a military hospital in March 2007, the

NHS The National Health Service (NHS) is the term for the publicly funded health care, publicly funded healthcare systems of the United Kingdom: the National Health Service (England), NHS Scotland, NHS Wales, and Health and Social Care (Northern ...

withdrew in 2009 and the hospital closed).

Forton Barracks Forton Barracks was a military installation near Gosport in Hampshire, which served first as an Army barracks and then as a divisional headquarters for the Royal Marines. It subsequently served as a Royal Navy training establishment. Today, the sit ...

(opened 1811, closed 1923, re-opened as in 1923, closed 1969) was part-demolished and is now St Vincent College. There has also been extensive redevelopment of the harbour area as a marina.

Graves of Turkish sailors 1850–51

In November 1850, two ships of the Ottoman Navy, '' Mirat-ı Zafer'' and '' Sürağ-ı Bahri Briki'', anchored off the Hardway near Gosport. The visit lasted several months and during this time some of the members of the crew contracted

cholera Cholera () is an infection of the small intestine by some Strain (biology), strains of the Bacteria, bacterium ''Vibrio cholerae''. Symptoms may range from none, to mild, to severe. The classic symptom is large amounts of watery diarrhea last ...

and were admitted to Haslar Hospital for treatment, where most of them died. In addition, some other sailors died because of training accidents. In total 26 died and were laid to rest in the grounds of Haslar. At the turn of the 20th century the bodies were exhumed and transferred to the R.N. Military Cemetery, Clayhall Road, in

Preparations for the D Day Landings

In the first week of June 1944, tanks, scout cars and wheeled vehicles of the

Sherbrooke Fusilier Regiment The Sherbrooke Fusilier Regiment was a Second World War Canadian armoured regiment created in 1940 with officers and men from two Militia regiments in Sherbrooke, Quebec. The name is a blend of Les Fusiliers de Sherbrooke, a francophone infant ...

Canadian Army The Canadian Army () is the command (military formation), command responsible for the operational readiness of the conventional ground forces of the Canadian Armed Forces. It maintains regular forces units at bases across Canada, and is also re ...

loaded

Landing craft tank The Landing Craft, Tank (LCT) (or tank landing craft, TLC) was an amphibious assault craft for landing tanks on beachheads. They were initially developed by the Royal Navy and later by the United States Navy during World War II in a series of ver ...

s in Gosport. Convoys of vehicles had been carefully concealed from German discovery in the areas further inland, and in daylight on 3 June moved through Titchfield and Stubbington to G3 Hard on the Gosport waterfront. There, the

M4 Sherman The M4 Sherman, officially medium tank, M4, was the medium tank most widely used by the United States and Western Allies in World War II. The M4 Sherman proved to be reliable, relatively cheap to produce, and available in great numbers. I ...

tanks were backed into position in preparation for the Channel crossing. The initial plan was for the invasion to begin on 5 June, but bad weather, with the various vessels riding at anchor off Calshot in the Solent, delayed the plans by one day.

Gallery of historic buildings

Naval

File:Royal Naval Hospital Haslar - geograph.org.uk - 593470.jpg, Royal Naval Hospital, Haslar File:St Vincent's College - geograph.org.uk - 1327446.jpg, Forton Barracks (Royal Marine Light Infantry; later ) File:Haslar Road - geograph.org.uk - 877388.jpg,

Haslar Haslar is on the south coast of England, at the southern tip of Alverstoke, on the Gosport peninsula, Hampshire. It takes its name from the Old English , meaning "hazel-landing place". It may have been named after a bank of hazel strewn on mar ...

Gunboat Yard and Admiralty Experimental Works (perimeter wall) File:Gate to Clarence Yard - geograph.org.uk - 510.jpg, Gate to the Royal Clarence Victualling Yard File:St Clarence Yard Gate Maintenance.jpg, Gate to the Royal Clarence Victualling Yards under Maintenance, 2019. File:Priddy's Hard Building 2019.jpg, Offices & Storehouse,

Royal Naval Armaments Depot A Royal Naval Armament Depot (RNAD) is an armament depot (or a group of depots) dedicated to supplying the Royal Navy (as well as, at various times, the Royal Air Force, the British Army, and foreign and Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth f ...

(2019)

Military

File:Fort Blockhouse 03.jpg,

Fort Blockhouse Fort Blockhouse is a former military establishment in Gosport, Hampshire, England, and the final version of a complicated site. At its greatest extent in the 19th century, the structure was part of a set of fortifications which encircled much ...

File:Moat around Fort Brockhurst (1) - geograph.org.uk - 1038063.jpg,

, moat File:Fort Grange-Gosport - geograph.org.uk - 704885.jpg, Fort Grange File:Fort Rowner-Gosport - geograph.org.uk - 704877.jpg, Fort Rowner, entrance File:St.Georges Barracks - Gosport - geograph.org.uk - 814259.jpg, St George Barracks (Infantry) File:Gosport Barracks geograph-4115962-by-Ben-Brooksbank.jpg, St George Barracks, guardhouse

Transport

Gosport has no railway station. However, it may be considered that the town does not require a railway station due to the ferry connection to

. The

provides quick access to

Portsmouth Harbour railway station Portsmouth Harbour railway station serves the city of Portsmouth, in Hampshire, England. It is situated in Portsmouth Harbour, between the Gunwharf Quays shopping centre and the Historic Dockyard. It is an important transport terminal, with a ...

, terminus of the Portsmouth Direct Line to

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. Due to heavy traffic (see below) this ferry is very well used. At one time the Gosport Ferry Company operated steam ferries, until the arrival in 1966 of two identical (and then very modern) diesel ferries, named ''Gosport Queen'' and ''Portsmouth Queen''. In 1971 a third ferry called ''Solent Enterprise'' joined the fleet. She was a slightly larger, more luxurious version of the "Queens". The company now operates two new modern ferries along with the two 1966 veterans. The first was built in 2001 and is named ''Spirit of Gosport''. After the retirement of the ''Solent Enterprise'' in 2003, a second modern and slightly larger ferry was added to the fleet and was named the ''Spirit of Portsmouth''. All ferries have been able to carry cycles and motorcycles. Gosport received its railway before Portsmouth, but it closed to passengers in 1953. In 1841 a railway opened between the

London and Southampton Railway London is the capital and largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Western Europe, with a population of 14.9 million. London stands on the River Tha ...

at via to Gosport, where a

terminus Terminus may refer to: Ancient Rome *Terminus (god), a Roman deity who protected boundary markers Transport *Terminal train station or terminus, a railway station serving as an end destination *Bus terminus, a bus station serving as an end des ...

was built to an

Italianate The Italianate style was a distinct 19th-century phase in the history of Classical architecture. Like Palladianism and Neoclassicism, the Italianate style combined its inspiration from the models and architectural vocabulary of 16th-century It ...

design of Sir

William Tite Sir William Tite (7 February 179820 April 1873) was an English architect who twice served as President of the Royal Institute of British Architects. He was particularly associated with various London buildings, with railway stations and cemetery ...

. Gosport railway station was intended to serve Portsmouth across the water, but was sited at Gosport away from the harbour because the railway company was not allowed to breach either the Hilsea Lines, defences at the northern end of

Portsea Island Portsea Island is a flat and low-lying natural island in area, just off the southern coast of Hampshire in England. The island contains the majority of the city of Portsmouth. Portsea Island has the third-largest population of all the i ...

protecting

, or the Gosport Lines protecting depots such as Royal Clarence Yard. An extension to Royal Clarence Yard was opened in 1846, and branch lines to

(open from 1863 to 1915), and to

(open to passengers 1894 to 1931). Due to declining traffic, the connection to Fareham was closed for passenger services in 1953 and to freight traffic in 1969, although trains to the armament depot in Frater ran until the late 1970s. The trackbed of the former Gosport – Fareham railway is now an exclusive fast bus route and cycle lane. Tite's station building has been retained for its historical and architectural value and has been converted into a small number of residential properties and offices. The main gate in Spring Garden Lane has been opened up for vehicle access. A further development of six terraced homes has been built at the north western end of the site linking with George Street. Being a peninsula town without a railway system, Gosport relies heavily upon the major

A32 road The A32 is a road in Hampshire, southern England, that links Gosport and Alton. Starting at Gosport, facing Portsmouth, it travels north via Fareham, Wickham, Droxford, before joining the A31 road near Alton. The road is long from the sea ...

in and out of the town. Plans existed in the 1970s to widen the road to accommodate expected increases in traffic flow, but this did not take place. In the early 1990s a computerised system controlling traffic lights along the route was installed to improve the rate of flow of traffic but this failed to work and had to be switched off since it could not cope with the traffic volumes. Now, in the 21st century, the A32 is much the same as it was thirty years ago and the traffic using it has increased to such an extent that the journey time to the nearby M27, about , can routinely take anything from 45 minutes and often longer at peak times between 07:30 & 09:00 and 16:00 & 18:30. The station site was linked with the South Hampshire Rapid Transit scheme, which would have made use of the former railway route. However, due to Government refusal to fund the scheme, it was formally abandoned in November 2006. During 2010, construction started on the same route to provide a rapid bus route between the Holbrook area of Gosport and the town of Fareham. Now completed, regular service buses between Gosport and Fareham divert onto the new route avoiding lengthy queues on the A32 and speeding up commuting time between the towns for bus passengers. Gosport bus station serves the town.

Proposed tunnel

In 1999, a study was undertaken by the

Light Rail Transit Association The Light Rail Transit Association (LRTA), formerly the Light Railway Transport League (LRTL), is a non-profit organisation whose purpose is to advocate and encourage research into the retention and development of light rail and tramway/streetc ...

in regard to a proposed tunnel connecting Gosport to Portsmouth, crossing under

. The study proposed a 670m

Immersed tube An immersed tube (or immersed tunnel) is a kind of undersea tunnel composed of segments, Modular construction, constructed elsewhere and floated to the tunnel site to be sunk into place and then linked together. They are commonly used for road an ...

which would not require long closures of the harbour to construct, and would alleviate traffic congestion in Gosport and the surrounding area. The tunnel was intended for construction in 2002, but financial problems delayed the project. The government declined to fund the initiative in 2005.

Present day

The 2021 Census recorded 81,952 people in Gosport district of working age between the ages of 16 and 74. The economic activity of the residents in the Gosport Borough was 39.73% were in full-time employment, 12.9% were in part-time employment, 6.23% were self-employed, 2.16% were unemployed, 1% were students with jobs, 2.6% were students without jobs, 20/81% were retired, 3.47% were looking after the home or family and 2.16% were permanently sick or disabled. As part of the ''Renaissance of Portsmouth Harbour''

project, a large sundial, known as the Millennium Timespace, was installed on the harbour front in 2000. Its timekeeping is partially restricted each day by shadowing caused by large tower blocks either side of the 'timespace'. These towers, Seaward Tower and Harbour Tower, were built in 1963. Their surfaces are covered in mosaic murals designed by Kenneth Barden that rise the full height of the buildings and are illuminated at night. They were controversial initially but are now a tourist attraction. The tiles were produced by

Poole Pottery Poole Pottery is a British pottery brand owned by Denby Pottery Company, with the products made in Stoke on Trent, Staffordshire. It was founded as a manufacturer in 1873 on Poole quayside in Dorset where it produced pottery, before moving ...

. The International Festival of the Sea drew over 250,000 tourists to the

area in 1998, 2001 and 2005. The most recent festival was held in 2007. The

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

maintains a presence in Gosport at HMS ''Sultan'', which is the home of the Defence School of Marine Engineering (DSMarE) and the Royal Naval Air Engineering and Survival School (RNAESS). The ''Sultan'' site occupies of land within a perimeter and is the largest of the Royal Navy's training establishments, with around 3,000 service and civilian personnel when working at full capacity.

Education

The Borough of Gosport has the following schools and colleges:

Sixth form college

* St Vincent Sixth Form College * Bay House Sixth Form College

Secondary schools

* Bay House School which is a former grammar school, located near the coast, in Stanley Park. Bay House School also includes a sixth-form. * Bridgemary Community School, located in Wych Lane. *

Brune Park Community School King's Academy Brune Park, formerly Brune Park Community School, is a coeducational secondary school on Military Road, Gosport, Hampshire, England. History The name comes from the Prideaux-Brune family, who donated the land on which the schoo ...

is a performing arts college, with the Joe Jackson Theatre, named after the 1970s pop star and past Brune Park pupil.

Libraries

There are public libraries at Bridgemary, Elson, and at Gosport Discovery Centre. In 2020, Hampshire County Council announced plans to close the council-run Elson library. Following this, a bid was made to save the library from closure, following consultations with the community. The library reopened on 12 May 2021, operating as Elson Community Library and Hub, registered as a charity.

Culture

In November 2022 the Gosport Museum and Art Gallery opened in the old Gosport Grammar School building. The building had previously been the Gosport Museum from 1975, and then the Gosport Gallery and reference library. The museum is run by Hampshire Cultural Trust. It is part of the council's

urban regeneration Urban renewal (sometimes called urban regeneration in the United Kingdom and urban redevelopment in the United States) is a program of land redevelopment often used to address real or perceived urban decay. Urban renewal involves the clearing ...

plans. One of the aims of Hampshire Cultural Trust is to get "the community back in. We want to get the building back into use and the public back into the High Street ... nd to attract peoplewho do not normally go to museums". The town has a theatre, Thorngate Hall, which was opened in 1960. It is named after an earlier Thorngate Hall, on a different site in South Street, which was destroyed by bombing in the Second World War. The earlier hall was built in 1885 and funded by the Thorngate Trust. The town had an earlier theatre, opened in 1923.

Media

Regional TV news is provided by

BBC South BBC South is the BBC English Region serving Hampshire, Isle of Wight, Dorset, West Sussex, Oxfordshire, Berkshire and parts of Gloucestershire, Buckinghamshire, Northamptonshire, Surrey, and Wiltshire, with geographic coverage varying between ...

and

ITV Meridian ITV Meridian (previously Meridian Broadcasting) is the holder of the ITV franchise for the South and South East of England. The station was launched at midnight on 1 January 1993, replacing previous broadcaster Television South, and is owned ...

. Television signals are received from the Rowridge TV transmitter. Local radio stations are

BBC Radio Solent BBC Radio Solent is the BBC's local radio station serving Hampshire, Dorset and the Isle of Wight, broadcasting on FM, DAB, digital TV and via BBC Sounds from studios on Havelock Road in Southampton. According to RAJAR, the station has a w ...

on 96.1 FM,

Heart South Heart South is a regional radio station owned and operated by Global as part of the Heart network. It broadcasts to the south and south east of England. The station launched on 3 June 2019 as a result of a merger between four sister stations: H ...

on 97.5 FM, Capital South on 103.2 FM, Easy Radio South Coast on 107.4 FM,

Nation Radio South Coast Nation Radio South is an Independent Local Radio station broadcasting on 106 Hertz, MHz & 106.6 Hertz, MHz FM across the The Solent, South Coast of England, and on Digital Audio Broadcasting, DAB on the South Hampshire, Bournemouth, Sussex, Sali ...

on 106.0 FM,

Radio Victory Radio Victory was the Independent Local Radio (ILR) station for Portsmouth in southern England. It was launched on 14 October 1975 and served south Hampshire, West Sussex and the Isle of Wight initially until 1986, with various later reincarnat ...

on 95.8 FM, Angel Radio on 98.6 FM and Gosport Hospital Radio that broadcast local programming to patients from the Gosport War Memorial Hospital in town. The town is served by these local newspapers *The Gosport Globe * The News

Sport

The town of Gosport has many sports clubs and organisations including

boxing Boxing is a combat sport and martial art. Taking place in a boxing ring, it involves two people – usually wearing protective equipment, such as boxing glove, protective gloves, hand wraps, and mouthguards – throwing Punch (combat), punch ...

judo is an unarmed gendai budō, modern Japanese martial art, combat sport, Olympic sport (since 1964), and the most prominent form of jacket wrestling competed internationally.『日本大百科全書』電子版【柔道】(CD-ROM version of Encyc ...

angling Angling (from Old English ''angol'', meaning "hook") is a fishing technique that uses a fish hook attached to a fishing line to tether individual fish in the mouth. The fishing line is usually manipulated with a fishing rod, although rodless te ...

rugby Rugby may refer to: Sport * Rugby football in many forms: ** Rugby union: 15 players per side *** American flag rugby *** Beach rugby *** Mini rugby *** Rugby sevens, 7 players per side *** Rugby tens, 10 players per side *** Snow rugby *** Tou ...

cricket Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

model yachting Model yachting is the pastime of building and racing model yachts. It has always been customary for ship-builders to make a miniature model of the vessel under construction, which is in every respect a copy of the original on a small scale, wheth ...

sailing Sailing employs the wind—acting on sails, wingsails or kites—to propel a craft on the surface of the ''water'' (sailing ship, sailboat, raft, Windsurfing, windsurfer, or Kitesurfing, kitesurfer), on ''ice'' (iceboat) or on ''land'' (Land sa ...

, and

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...

. Gosport Borough F.C. play their home games at Privett Park and cater for players of either sex from age six upwards. The club play in the

Southern Football League The Southern League is a football competition featuring semi-professional clubs from East Anglia, the South and Midlands of England, and South Wales. Together with the Isthmian League and the Northern Premier League it forms levels seven a ...

and represent the town at a national level in the

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...

and

FA Trophy The Football Association Challenge Trophy, also known as the Isuzu FA Trophy for sponsorship reasons, is a men's football knockout cup competition run by and named after The Football Association (the FA) and competed by mainly National League ...

. The area also has another

Non-League football Non-League football describes association football, football leagues played outside the top leagues of a country. Usually, it describes leagues which are not fully professional. The term is primarily used for football in England, where it is ...

club Fleetlands F.C. who play at Lederle Lane Stadium. RMLI Gosport F.C. were a former team to represent the town winning the 1910

FA Amateur Cup The FA Amateur Cup was an English football competition for amateur clubs. It commenced in 1893 and ended in 1974 when the Football Association abolished official amateur status. History Following the legalisation of professionalism within footb ...

. Gosport and Fareham Rugby Football Club has six senior sides, a Ladies team, and 10 youth sides. Gosport Borough Hockey Club, based at St Vincent College, has three Men's teams, a Ladies team and Junior teams. Gosport Borough Cricket Club was formed in 1966 following the merger of Gosport Amateurs & Gosport C.C., and also play at Privett Park. They reached the ECB National Club Cricket Championship final at Lord's in 1980. Future England players

Trevor Jesty Trevor Edward Jesty (born 2 June 1948
at ESPN CricInfo) is an English former

and Phil Newport played for the club before moving on to first-class careers. In 2008 18 year old

Chris Lynn Christopher Austin Lynn (born 10 April 1990) is an Australian cricketer. He is a right-handed batsman who plays for Queensland and the Adelaide Strikers in Australian domestic cricket. Lynn was born in Brisbane, Queensland, and attended St Jos ...

was their overseas player, later going on to represent Australia in ODI & T20I matches. They currently run four adult league sides, and colts teams from Under 9 to Under 15. Gosport is known for its ice hockey. Solent Devils, the top level men's team are based out of Planet Ice Gosport and play in the NIHL South 1 with the club's second team playing in South 2. The Devils were runners up in the league and playoffs in 2022/23. The women's team, Solent Amazons play in the WNIHL structure. Gosport has two Synchronised Ice Skating teams who compete in national level competitions, including the British Synchronised Skating Championships. The club uses Planet Ice Gosport to train. Gosport has a model yachting lake which has had national and international events held there. Boats sailed include the Vane A class, Vane 36, 1 meter, multihull, dragon force and laser. Model yachting used to be one of the most popular sports in Britain. Now it is one of only a few lakes in the world that still races vane steered boats, the more traditional kind without remote control or electricity. A

greyhound racing Greyhound racing is an organized, competitive sport in which greyhounds are raced around an oval track. The sport originates from Hare coursing, coursing. Track racing uses an artificial lure (usually a form of windsock) that travels ahead of th ...

track called the Gosport Greyhound and Whippet Track existed from April 1930 until June 1936 and held racing every Friday evening and Saturday afternoon. The racing was independent (not affiliated to the sports governing body the

National Greyhound Racing Club The National Greyhound Racing Club was an organisation that governed Greyhound racing in the United Kingdom Greyhound racing is a sport in the United Kingdom. The industry uses a parimutuel betting tote system with on-course and off-course be ...

) and was known as a flapping track, which was the nickname given to independent tracks. The stadium was located on the Forton Road and distances raced were mainly over 400 yards. Gosport and Stokes Bay Golf Club is located on the Southern tip of the Gosport peninsula. The original 9-hole

golf course A golf course is the grounds on which the sport of golf is played. It consists of a series of holes, each consisting of a teeing ground, tee box, a #Fairway and rough, fairway, the #Fairway and rough, rough and other hazard (golf), hazards, and ...

was built in the late 19th century.

Tourism

The Gosport peninsula has of waterfront on

and

The Solent The Solent ( ) is a strait between the Isle of Wight and mainland Great Britain; the major historic ports of Southampton and Portsmouth lie inland of its shores. It is about long and varies in width between , although the Hurst Spit whic ...

. The pebble beach at

slopes steeply into the sea and offers views of the shipping going in and out of

and

Southampton Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...

and the many pleasure craft from the many marinas along

and the

. The town has three marinas: Gosport Marina, north of the Highstreet; Haslar Marina, south of the Highstreet near the former site of

; and Royal Clarence Marina which also has a Cruising Club. The town has a strong military history – chiefly with the Royal Navy. The

has exhibits including – the Royal Navy's first submarine and the Second World War submarine . Explosion! tells the story of naval firepower from gunpowder to modern missiles. The museum is housed in historic buildings at

, the Navy's former armaments depot, with views across Portsmouth Harbour.

is one of the " Palmerston's Follies", built in the 1850s to defend Portsmouth Harbour against threats of a French invasion. A central exhibition explains Palmerston's plans to defend the key naval port. Nearby is the Gosport Aviation Heritage Museum, dedicated to the development of the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...

. The fort is owned by

English Heritage English Heritage (officially the English Heritage Trust) is a charity that manages over 400 historic monuments, buildings and places. These include prehistoric sites, a battlefield, medieval castles, Roman forts, historic industrial sites, Lis ...

. Gosport is also home to

Little Woodham Little Woodham, also known as "The Living History Village of Little Woodham" or "The Seventeenth Century Village", is a living museum dedicated to recreating life in a rural village in the mid-17th century. It is situated in ancient woodland in ...

, the 1642 Living History Village. The village exists to educate both children and adults about 17th century life at the outbreak of the

English Civil War The English Civil War or Great Rebellion was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Cavaliers, Royalists and Roundhead, Parliamentarians in the Kingdom of England from 1642 to 1651. Part of the wider 1639 to 1653 Wars of th ...

and is open for the public to meet the villagers at certain times throughout the year. In September 2016, the

became the set for a scene in '' Transformers: The Last Knight'', which starred . The filming brought many locals to see what was occurring.

Twin towns

Royan Royan (; in the Saintongeais dialect; ) is a commune and town in the south-west of France, in the Departments of France, department of Charente-Maritime in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region. Capital of the Côte de Beauté, Royan is one of the mai ...

, France

Notable people

:''See :People from Gosport''

Freedom of the Borough

The following people and military units have received the Freedom of the Borough of Gosport.

Individuals

* Alex Thomson: 11 April 2014.

Military Units

* The Engineering Training School

: 1974. * The

Royal Marines The Royal Marines provide the United Kingdom's amphibious warfare, amphibious special operations capable commando force, one of the :Fighting Arms of the Royal Navy, five fighting arms of the Royal Navy, a Company (military unit), company str ...

: 10 November 2005. *

: 28 March 2007. * Ministry of Defence Hospital Unit Portsmouth: 8 March 2007. * 33 Field Hospital 2nd Medical Brigade

RAMC The Royal Army Medical Corps (RAMC) was a specialist corps in the British Army which provided medical services to all Army personnel and their families, in war and in peace. On 15 November 2024, the corps was amalgamated with the Royal Army De ...

: 23 April 2010. * , RN: 22 March 2013.

References

* * * * – history *

External links

Gosport Borough Council
* * * *
Gosport Museum and Art Gallery
{{authority control Towns in Hampshire Non-metropolitan districts of Hampshire Populated coastal places in Hampshire Unparished areas in Hampshire Boroughs in England