Portsdown Hill
Portsdown Hill | |
---|---|
County Top | |
Geography | |
Location | Hampshire, England |
OS grid | SU627069 |
Topo map | OS Landranger 196 |
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/39/Paulsgrove_Chalk_Pit.jpg/220px-Paulsgrove_Chalk_Pit.jpg)
Portsdown Hill is a long
During the early part of the English Civil War, Royalist forces from Portsmouth were involved in a number of skirmishes with Parliamentarians on the hill [4]
In the Victorian era the hill was home to a fair on Easter Mondays.[5]
Portsdown Forts
The forts on Portsdown Hill were built as a result of the
Fort Fareham is now a small industrial estate.[6] The remains of the Fort are Grade II listed.[7]
Fort Widley is owned by Portsmouth council, hosting a stable and various community rooms. Tours run on summer weekends. It is Grade II* Listed.[14]
Guarding Fort Purbrook, the Crookhorn redoubt suffered from subsidence, and was demolished by 1876. The Farlington redoubt had only the ditches and gun positions dug, and was finally demolished in the 1970s.[18] The tunnel between Crookhorn and Purbrook has been rediscovered.[19]
Portsdown also gave its name to an army estate in Singapore. Long after the British army moved out (1967) the Portsdown estate continues to thrive, with Portsdown Road the main road running through the middle.
![Fort Widley from North, with Portsmouth, Isle of Wight, and Solent](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/3b/Fort_Wildley%2C_Portsdown_Hill%2C_Portsmouth_North.jpg/900px-Fort_Wildley%2C_Portsdown_Hill%2C_Portsmouth_North.jpg)
![Fort Purbrook, Portsdown Hill, Portsmouth](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/01/Fort_Purbrook%2C_Portsdown_Hill%2C_Porstmouth%2C_4-7-2018.jpg/900px-Fort_Purbrook%2C_Portsdown_Hill%2C_Porstmouth%2C_4-7-2018.jpg)
Fort Purbrook
![Fort Southwick, Portsdown Hill, Portsmouth](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/8a/Fort_Southwick_2b.jpg/900px-Fort_Southwick_2b.jpg)
Fort Southwick
Portsdown SSSI
Over fifty hectares of the south face of the hill are a Site of Special Scientific Interest owing to its chalk grassland habitat. Grazing ceased in the early 1950s, and consequently the site was gradually invaded by scrub, mostly
Several species of butterfly became extinct owing to the loss of habitat to scrub, notably the Adonis blue, silver-studded blue, dingy skipper, and dark green fritillary. Others such as the chalkhill blue and small blue were at the brink of extinction, but are now flourishing again. Indeed, the hill has now probably the largest metapopulation of the small blue in the UK.
Portsdown Technology Park
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4c/Portsdown_Technology_Park_10.jpg/220px-Portsdown_Technology_Park_10.jpg)
Portsdown Technology Park is located near Fort Southwick on Portsdown Hill. It is home to a number of defense companies including
References
- ^ British Geological Survey 1998 Fareham England and Wales sheet 316 solid and drift geology. 1:50,000 (Keyworth, Nottingham: BGS)
- ^ Hunt, Bob. ""Portsdown Tunnels - Researching the sites of Portsdown, Portsmouth, UK"". Portsdown Tunnels. Retrieved 1 July 2023.
- ^ Ordnance Survey 1:25,000 scale Explorer mapping accessed 02 November 2014
- ISBN 0-901559-33-4.
- ISBN 978-0-7524-5179-4.
- ^ "Fort Fareham, Hampshire". Subterranean History. 3 March 2009. Retrieved 1 July 2023.
- ^ Historic England. "Details from listed building database (1094240)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 26 June 2015.
- ^ "Fort Wallington Industrial Estate". fwie.co.uk. Archived from the original on 19 March 2018.
- ^ Historic England. "Details from listed building database (1094233)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 26 June 2015.
- ^ Historic England. "Details from listed building database (1350616)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 26 June 2015.
- ^ Catford, Nick (3 December 2002). "Fort Southwick NATO Communications Centre". Subterranea Britannica. Retrieved 1 July 2023.
- ^ Historic England. "Details from listed building database (1167213)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 26 June 2015.
- ^ Historic England. "Details from listed building database (1104368)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 26 June 2015.
- ^ Historic England. "Details from listed building database (1387128)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 26 June 2015.
- ^ Historic England. "Details from listed building database (1092134)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 26 June 2015.
- ^ Historic England. "Details from listed building database (1387127)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 26 June 2015.
- ^ "Heritage and Craft Workers Across England Given a Helping Hand" – Historic England, 22 October 2021
- ^ "Portsdown Tunnels - legends & mysteries - Fort Purbrook - page 1". www.portsdown-tunnels.org.uk.
- ^ "Portsdown Tunnels - legends & mysteries - Fort Purbrook - page 2". www.portsdown-tunnels.org.uk.
- ^ Kimberley Barber, National Maritime Systems Centre: £23m Portsdown Hill building at Qinetiq takes a step nearer to completion, Portsmouth News, 2nd Nov 2020
- ^ a b Richard Lemmer, Naval research hub operated by BAE Systems on Portsdown Hill lit up to mark International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia, Portsmouth News, 12 Apr 2018
External links
- Palmerston Forts Society
- Victorian Forts data sheet on Fort Purbrook
- Victorian Forts data sheet on Fort Widley
- Victorian Forts data sheet on Fort Southwick
- Victorian Forts data sheet on Fort Wallington
- Victorian Forts data sheet on Crookhorn Redoubt
- Portsdown Tunnels
- Christ Church Portsdown
- Fort Southwick
- Fort Widley
- The Royal Armouries at Fort Nelson - Official Site.
- The Royal Armouries at Fort Nelson - Guide
- Conservation Management and Volunteering on Portsdown Hill - the SSSI bit