Editing Southsea (section)

==History==
[[File:Southsea Front and Common.png|thumb|left|250px|Southsea Front and Common {{Circa|1905}}]]
The history of Southsea is generally part of the history of Portsmouth, as Southsea started with the growth of [[Portsmouth dockyard]] and of the city, with the expansion of British maritime power during the [[British Empire]].<ref>Quail, Sarah (2000) ''Southsea Past'', Philimore Publishing. p.1</ref> Before the 16th century Southsea was principally composed of small farms, open grassland and undrained marshland (morass), outside the main naval base and the city itself. However the growing expectation of a possible French attack on the naval base led [[Henry VIII]] to order the building of [[Southsea Castle]] in 1544, adjacent to the channel approaches to [[Portsmouth Harbour]]. Southsea was first recorded as a place name in a Royal plan in 1577.<ref>Quail, Sarah (2000) ''Southsea Past'', Philimore Publishing. pp.5–7</ref> Henry VIII visited Southsea Castle in 1545, from where he witnessed the sinking of the warship [[Mary Rose]] in the [[Solent]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.southseacastle.co.uk/tudor-castle/about-the-castle|title=Southsea Castle History|publisher=Portsmouth Museums|publication-date=2015|access-date=2016-10-03}}</ref>

The first references to the development of the suburb appear in the Portsea [[Poor rate|Poor Rate]] returns of 1790 and describe small areas of building and farming plots. Most of the land was undeveloped and open grass and marshland still dominated the area.<ref>Quail, Sarah (2000) ''Southsea Past'', Philimore Publishing. p.14</ref> In the early 19th century, development continued on land owned by Thomas Croxton, and the community became known as Croxton Town. The first houses were built by 1809 for skilled workers in what were called the "mineral" streets (such as Silver Street and Nickel Street). Around 1810, streets such as Hampshire Terrace, Landport Terrace, King's Terrace, Wish Street (which later became King's Road and Elm Grove), Jubilee Terrace and Bellevue Terrace were built adjacent to the old walls of the city. Although the streets still exist, many of them were among the most heavily bombed areas of Portsmouth in the [[Second World War]], and like much of Southsea they experienced significant redevelopment in [[Social history of the United Kingdom (1945–present)|Postwar Britain]].<ref>Quail, Sarah (2000) ''Southsea Past'', Philimore Publishing. p.15</ref>

The development of Southsea continued during the [[Napoleonic era]] and as the dockyard continued to grow, new homes were required for the increasing personnel, and many houses, villas and apartments were built. The architect and builder [[Thomas Ellis Owen]] created many of these, and the surviving buildings retain a coherent late [[Georgian architecture|Georgian]] and early [[Victorian architecture|Victorian]] style, and form a [[conservation area]] today, with many of the buildings having listed status.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.portsmouth.gov.uk/ext/documents-external/dev-cons-area-2-guidlines-owenssouthsea.pdf|title=Portsmouth Council – Owen Conservation Area Details|publisher=Portsmouth Council|publication-date=2015|access-date=2016-10-03|archive-date=2 April 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402092936/https://www.portsmouth.gov.uk/ext/documents-external/dev-cons-area-2-guidlines-owenssouthsea.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref> Owen built properties in Kent Road, Queen's Terrace, Sussex Terrace, Elm Grove, Beach Road, Grove Road South, Clarendon Road, Osborne Road and Portland Terrace. The area between Castle Road and Victoria Road South was built up between 1835 and 1860. In 1851 [[St Jude's Church, Southsea|St Jude's CofE church]] was built on Kent Road to a design by [[Thomas Ellis Owen]].<ref name=Bailey467>{{cite book |last1=O’Brien |first1=Charles|last2=Bailey |first2=Bruce|last3=Pevsner |first3=Nikolaus |last4=Lloyd |first4=David W. |date=2018 |title=The Buildings of England Hampshire: South |publisher=Yale University Press |page=467-468|isbn=9780300225037}}</ref>

During the same period, Southsea grew as a leisure and bathing destination. In 1816 a pump room and baths were erected near the present day [[Clarence Pier]], and by 1820 a large complex was developed including vapour baths, showers, and card playing and assembly rooms.<ref>Quail, Sarah (2000) ''Southsea Past'', Philimore Publishing. pp.16–17</ref> The remaining marshland, known locally as ''The Great Morass'' was drained, leading to the creation of ''Southsea Common'', some 480 acres (about 2&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup>) of open grassland. Due to military requirements for clear lines of fire adjacent to Southsea Castle, the area was developed and remains today as a park and garden.<ref name="Quail, Sarah 2000 pp.19–20">Quail, Sarah (2000) ''Southsea Past'', Philimore Publishing. pp.19–20</ref> Apartments and hotels were constructed towards the common and waterfront, along Southsea Terrace, Western Parade and Clarence Parade. The first large hotel was the Portland Hotel (destroyed in the Second World War) near Kent Road. Others soon followed, including the purpose-built Queens Hotel (1861), Pier Hotel (1865) and Beach Mansions Hotel (1866).<ref>Quail, Sarah (2000) ''Southsea Past'', Philimore Publishing. pp.42–43</ref> In 1852 the Clarence Esplanade and a memorial were erected by public subscription, and development of the resort led in 1861 to [[Clarence Pier]] being constructed as a promenade pier and landing place for steamers.<ref>Quail, Sarah (2000) ''Southsea Past'', Philimore Publishing. pp.45–47</ref> Other piers were also built, including the Victoria and Albert Piers, with the construction of [[South Parade Pier]] in 1879 marking the culmination of seafront development in the Victorian period.<ref>Quail, Sarah (2000) ''Southsea Past'', Philimore Publishing. p.46</ref>  
[[File:Kings Tower Web-Res.jpg|thumb|250px|[[Kings Theatre, Southsea|Kings Theatre]]]] 
By the 1860s the suburb of Southsea had grown along Clarendon Road as far as Granada Road. In 1857 Southsea gained its own Improvement Commissioners responsible for [[Pavers (flooring)|paving]], [[street cleaning]] and [[Street light|public lighting]]. The [[Southsea Railway]] came in 1885 and brought further development to the area, although it was to be financially unsuccessful and eventually closed in 1914.<ref>Quail, Sarah (2000) ''Southsea Past'', Philimore Publishing. p.51</ref> By the mid to late [[Victorian era]], Southsea had become recognised as a largely middle-class neighbourhood, with many naval officers and other professionals taking up residence. During this time the writer [[Sir Arthur Conan Doyle]] lived in [[Portsmouth]], moving to Southsea in June 1882 with less than £10 (£{{Inflation|UK|10|1882|r=-2}} today{{Inflation-fn|UK|df=y}}) to his name. He set up a medical practice at 1 Bush Villas in Elm Grove, Southsea.<ref>Daniel Stashower, (2000). Teller of Tales: The Life of Arthur Conan Doyle. Penguin Books, pp.58–59.</ref> Areas of Southsea suffered from the rapid development of the suburb; certain streets suffered from poverty and there was a major [[cholera]] outbreak in 1848.<ref name="autogenerated71">Quail, Sarah (2000) ''Southsea Past'', Philimore Publishing. p.71</ref> The works of the commission helped bring about some improvements and eventually led to the setting up of the Southsea Improvement Association.<ref name="autogenerated71"/>

===20th century===
Southsea continued to grow eastwards in the early 20th century, extending to the area of [[Eastney]]. During this time significant local public buildings were constructed including the [[Queens Hotel (Southsea)|Queens Hotel]], in the [[Edwardian Baroque architecture|Edwardian Baroque style]] built in 1903 and the [[Kings Theatre, Southsea|Kings Theatre]] built in 1907. The onset of [[World War I]] saw an increase in fortifications on the seafront. Parades were held on Southsea Common. Southsea continued to thrive as a resort destination and a suburb of Portsmouth in the inter-war years, with many visitors in summer. At that time parts of the Common were converted into ornamental gardens and the Ladies' Mile was set out in 1925.<ref>Quail, Sarah (2000) ''Southsea Past'', Philimore Publishing. pp.88–102</ref> However [[World War II]] had an immense impact on the urban and social fabric of the area. Huge areas of Southsea were destroyed by bombing during [[The Blitz]]. Although some of Victorian Southsea escaped the bombing, areas such as the Kings Road and Elm Grove were extensively damaged and the Palmerston Road shopping areas were completely destroyed. The beachfront, piers and promenades were closed for the duration of the war.<ref>Quail, Sarah (2000) ''Southsea Past'', Philimore Publishing. p.113</ref> Following the end of the war, in 1945 Southsea and the rest of Portsmouth embarked on a massive clearance and rebuilding scheme. Many areas of destroyed, damaged and intact low-income housing were cleared to make way for new building schemes. The Kings Road Estate and Roslyn House, among others, were developed between 1945 and the 1970s. Palmerston Road shopping area was developed in the 1950s and still stands today.<ref>Quail, Sarah (2000) ''Southsea Past'', Philimore Publishing. pp.116–117</ref> Although visitor numbers to the resort area never recovered, Southsea continued to develop throughout the 20th century and today remains a mixed residential area and leisure destination.<ref>Quail, Sarah (2000) ''Southsea Past'', Philimore Publishing. p.120</ref>

===Recent history===
On 15 September 2000, parts of Southsea were flooded when a month's worth of rain fell in 12 hours. The Eastney pumping station then failed due to the flood water.<ref>{{Cite web | title=NOSTALGIA: Day the sky fell in on Portsmouth | url=https://www.portsmouth.co.uk/news/nostalgia-day-the-sky-fell-in-on-portsmouth-1082571 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240817114648/https://www.portsmouth.co.uk/news/nostalgia-day-the-sky-fell-in-on-portsmouth-1082571 | access-date=2024-12-23 | archive-date=2024-08-17}}</ref> On 9 August 2011 a fire broke out at the former Joanna's Nightclub, then derelict and later demolished, opposite South Parade Pier. A contemporary local newspaper report states that the incident was not linked to then-ongoing [[2011 England riots|riots]].<ref name="Notriots">{{cite web|url=http://www.portsmouth.co.uk/news/local/east-hampshire/southsea_fire_not_linked_to_riots_1_2947396|title=Southsea fire not linked to riots|publisher=The News|location=Portsmouth|publication-date=19 August 2011}}</ref>