Maritime

Portsmouth was for generations the most heavily defended town in England. The city, unsurprisingly, developed round its port and naval facilities. Whilst the original harbour and military base was located around Portchester, where the Romans built a fort, by the medieval period the major settlement was at the harbour mouth, the area now known as ‘old Portsmouth’. Here, and at various points eastward along the seafront, are the scattered remains of fortifications, some of which were in use from the 14th century as defence against French attacks, right through the Tudor period, when Henry VIII built Southsea Castle, to the Second World War. Also along the sea front are many memorials that give hints of Portsmouth’s maritime heritage. There is free access to many of these fortifications, possibly best starting off near Portsmouth’s Broad Street, where the 15th century Round and Square Towers are situated. Under parts of the walls, where ammunition was once stored, are cafes and pop-up galleries. There are fine views of the harbour and sea traffic from the walls here - and the Round Tower is the place for front-row views of major ships entering or leaving port.

On the seafront and overlooking Southsea common, Portsmouth Naval Memorial commemorates nearly 10,000 British and Commonwealth sailors of the First World War and almost 15,000 of the Second World War, whose only grave is the sea. After WW1, the Admiralty recommended that the three great Royal Navy ports of Chatham, Plymouth and Portsmouth should each have an identical memorial of unmistakable naval form, an obelisk, which would serve as a leading mark for shipping. Portsmouth's memorial was unveiled by the Duke of York, later King George VI, on 15 October 1924. The Second World War extension was unveiled by his widow, the Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother, on 29 April 1953.

The Royal Navy Submarine Museum tells the fascinating story of the RN's Submarine Service from the early 20th Century to the modern nuclear powered fleet. Centre stage are three preserved vessels - HMS Alliance (pictured), launched in 1945 and re-equipped in the 1960s for a role in the Cold War; Holland 1, the RN's first submarine, commissioned in 1901; and HMS X24, the only surviving RN midget submarine from WW2. The more traditional displays include photographs, pieces of equipment, captured trophies - and an astonishing displays of Jolly Roger flags, flown by the RN.

A visit to the RN Submarine Museum can be included in a visit to the RN Dockyard, Portsmouth, and vice versa - a shuttle boat operates between the two.

German U-boat U-534 mysteriously refused to surrender at the end of World War Two, and was on a northerly course from Denmark when it was attacked, and sunk, by an RAF Liberator. Most of the crew survived. The wreck was recovered in 1993 and now sits in Birkenhead. The ship itself has been cut away to reveal its rusted and destroyed interior. There is also an interesting exhibition.

Note - closed as of 2021 and under new management. Watch press for announcements of reopening.