Site of Special Scientific Interest A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain, or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland, is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle ...

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, ...

English Channel The English Channel, also known as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates Southern England from northern France. It links to the southern part of the North Sea by the Strait of Dover at its northeastern end. It is the busi ...

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 ...

Ramsar site A Ramsar site is a wetland site designated to be of international importance under the Ramsar Convention,8 ha (O) *** Permanent 8 ha (P) *** Seasonal Intermittent < 8 ha(Ts) **

Chichester Harbour Chichester Harbour is a large natural harbour in West Sussex and Hampshire. It is situated to the south-west of the city of Chichester and to the north of the Solent. The harbour and surrounding land has been designated as an Area of Outstand ...

Special Protection Area A special protection area (SPA) is a designation under the European Union Directive on the Conservation of Wild Birds. Under the Directive, Member States of the European Union (EU) have a duty to safeguard the habitats of migratory birds and cer ...

and

Nature Conservation Review ''A Nature Conservation Review'' is a two-volume work by Derek Ratcliffe, published by Cambridge University Press in 1977. It set out to identify the most important places for nature conservation in Great Britain. It is often known by the initi ...

site. Parts are

Special Areas of Conservation A special area of conservation (SAC) is defined in the European Union's Habitats Directive (92/43/EEC), also known as the ''Directive on the Conservation of Natural Habitats and of Wild Fauna and Flora''. They are to protect the 220 habitats and ap ...

, or Local Nature Reserves, and some areas by the

Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust is a The Wildlife Trusts partnership, Wildlife Trust with 27,000 members across the counties of Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, England. The trust describes itself as the leading local wildlife conserv ...

. Historically, the harbour has been used for salt and sand production, as well as fishing and latterly leisure boating. A ferry across the mouth of the harbour has been in operation for more than 200 years.

Geography

Langstone Harbour is an inlet of the

English Channel The English Channel, also known as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates Southern England from northern France. It links to the southern part of the North Sea by the Strait of Dover at its northeastern end. It is the busi ...

in Hampshire, sandwiched between

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 ...

to the south and west, Hayling Island to the south and east, and Langstone to the north. It is part of the

Ramsar site A Ramsar site is a wetland site designated to be of international importance under the Ramsar Convention,8 ha (O) *** Permanent 8 ha (P) *** Seasonal Intermittent < 8 ha(Ts) **

Chichester Harbour Chichester Harbour is a large natural harbour in West Sussex and Hampshire. It is situated to the south-west of the city of Chichester and to the north of the Solent. The harbour and surrounding land has been designated as an Area of Outstand ...

,

Special Protection Area A special protection area (SPA) is a designation under the European Union Directive on the Conservation of Wild Birds. Under the Directive, Member States of the European Union (EU) have a duty to safeguard the habitats of migratory birds and cer ...

and

Nature Conservation Review ''A Nature Conservation Review'' is a two-volume work by Derek Ratcliffe, published by Cambridge University Press in 1977. It set out to identify the most important places for nature conservation in Great Britain. It is often known by the initi ...

site, Grade I. Parts of it are in Solent Maritime and Solent and Isle of Wight Lagoons

Special Areas of Conservation A special area of conservation (SAC) is defined in the European Union's Habitats Directive (92/43/EEC), also known as the ''Directive on the Conservation of Natural Habitats and of Wild Fauna and Flora''. They are to protect the 220 habitats and ap ...

. Three areas are Local Nature Reserves, Farlington Marshes West Hayling and The Kench, Hayling Island. Two areas are nature reserves managed by the

Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust is a The Wildlife Trusts partnership, Wildlife Trust with 27,000 members across the counties of Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, England. The trust describes itself as the leading local wildlife conserv ...

, Farlington Marshes and Southmoor Nature Reserve West of Portsmouth is

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 ...

and the three linked harbours are important recreational and conservation areas as well as supporting commercial fishing and shipping. It is administered by the Langstone Harbour Board. The eastern boundary with Chichester Harbour is defined by a historic causeway known as the Wade Way, which was originally the only crossing between Hayling Island and the mainland. It is now impassable, having been cut in two by a deep channel for the Portsmouth and Arundel Canal in the 1820s (for further information see Langstone).

Islands

Langstone Harbour contains a number of islands; Baker's Island (), North Binness Island (), South Binness Island () and

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated continental island in southeastern New York (state), New York state, extending into the Atlantic Ocean. It constitutes a significant share of the New York metropolitan area in both population and land are ...

(). These are subject to erosion and during the 1990s a seven-year archaeology project took place before their history was lost to the seas. There are two smaller islands: Round Nap Island which is connected to South Binness Island by a tidal causeway and Oyster Island.

History

Langstone Harbour was originally a river valley of one of the tributaries flowing into the then River Solent. With the end of the last ice age sea levels rose until sometime between 4000 and 3500BC the harbour took on the form it would have until the 18th century. For much of its history the harbour has been an area of salt production. 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 ...

records three salthouses around the harbour and by the early 17th century a saltern at

Copnor Copnor is an area of Portsmouth, England, 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 Domes ...

was well established. Here a large shallow area of the harbour meant that even without further improvement salt could be extracted from the area after each tide. The Copnor saltern ceased production in 1800 but salt production continued elsewhere in the harbour until 1933. Langstone salt water lagoon

In 1771 Farlington Marshes were reclaimed from the north of the harbour.

Oyster farming Oyster farming is an aquaculture (or mariculture) practice in which oysters are bred and raised mainly for their pearls, shells and inner organ tissue, which is eaten. Oyster farming was practiced by the ancient Rome, ancient Romans as early as the ...

began in the harbour around 1820 with winkle and

clam Clam is a common name for several kinds of bivalve mollusc. The word is often applied only to those that are deemed edible and live as infauna, spending most of their lives halfway buried in the sand of the sea floor or riverbeds. Clams h ...

cultivation probably starting around much the same time. Production ceased in the 1950s. An attempt at oyster farming in the 1980s soon failed. In 1997 work began to turn the remains into an artificial lagoon. The lagoon which has a small island at the centre has, as planned, become a breeding ground for birds, particularly

little tern The little tern (''Sternula albifrons'') is a seabird of the family Laridae. It was first described by the German naturalist Peter Simon Pallas in 1764 and given the binomial name ''Sterna albifrons''. It was moved to the genus '' Sternula'' whe ...

s. During the Second World War the harbour was used as Starfish decoy site to misdirect German bombers. The harbour was designated a biological

Site of Special Scientific Interest A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain, or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland, is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle ...

in 1985.

Ferry

A ferry has operated between Portsmouth and Hayling Island across Langstone Harbour for more than 200 years; in 2022-23 it carried more than 47,000 passengers.

Wildlife

The harbour is home to an extensive range of marine and bird life. Fifty species of fish have been found in the harbour. The harbour's bird life is even richer, the harbour hosting a wide range of species some of which are represented by over 10,000 individuals. This is in a large part due to the

Royal Society for the Protection of Birds The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) is a Charitable_organization#United_Kingdom, charitable organisation registered in Charity Commission for England and Wales, England and Wales and in Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator, ...

acquiring islands and a number of tidal areas in 1978 and turning them into bird sanctuaries. As a result of the number of birds the harbour as become a popular spot for

bird watchers Birdwatching, or birding, is the observing of birds, either as a recreational activity or as a form of citizen science. A birdwatcher may observe by using their naked eye, by using a visual enhancement device such as binoculars or a telescope, ...

. Seals occasionally appear in the harbour in winter. American hard-shelled clams have been found in the harbour spreading from an initial release site on the lower

River Test The River Test is a chalk stream in Hampshire in the south of England. It rises at Ashe near Basingstoke and flows southwards for to Southampton Water. Settlements on the Test include the towns of Stockbridge and Romsey. The river's vall ...

. The harbour is also home to a population of Sand smelt. On 31 July 2008 a 26-foot (8-metre), 7-tonne northern bottlenose whale was beached on a mudflat in Langstone Harbour. A rescue operation was carried out to try to save the whale off the south coast of England and managed to free the whale from mudflats using a special lifting pontoon but it remained in shallow water. A decision was made to give the whale a lethal injection as a blood test revealed that it was suffering from kidney failure. If the whale swam into deeper water it could take up to two days to die naturally from renal failure. The whale ended up about off course due to its illness.

Water quality

The quality of water in the harbour was called into question when samples taken in 2022 were found to contain traces of numerous chemical compounds including prescribed medicines. The harbour has outflow from a water treatment plant.

Economy

In most years since 2011, the harbour made a loss. About a third of its income comes from dredged sand, which is reliant upon a single dredger. In 2023, a government grant of £233,000 would be spent on upgrading facilities for local fishing and leisure boating.

Wrecks

Langstone Harbour Phoenix breakwater 2013

There are several boat wrecks in the harbour. One of these is a tug dating from 8 May 1941.Family History The tug named the ''Irishman'' was sunk by a magnetic mine and now rests partially submerged at low tide. A slightly older wreck dating from 1926 is a Bucket dredger named the ''Withern''. Of unrecorded age is the wreck of the ''Excelsior'', an 80-foot-long barge. The harbour also contains a wrecked landing craft that rests with its bows almost permanently above the surface. Close to the entrance of the harbour, there is a wrecked Phoenix breakwater type C. It was originally constructed to form part of a World War 2

Mulberry Harbour The Mulberry harbours were two temporary portable harbours developed by the Admiralty (United Kingdom), British Admiralty and War Office during the Second World War to facilitate the rapid offloading of cargo onto beaches during the Allies of ...

. Various artefacts have been found from the prison hulks that were kept in the harbour during the

Napoleonic Wars {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Napoleonic Wars , partof = the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars , image = Napoleonic Wars (revision).jpg , caption = Left to right, top to bottom:Battl ...

.

References

External links

RSPB reserve website
* {{Authority control Geography of Hampshire Transport in Portsmouth Ports and harbours of the English Channel Special Protection Areas in England Royal Society for the Protection of Birds reserves in England Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Hampshire Nature Conservation Review sites Ramsar sites in England Special Areas of Conservation in England