This illustrated history portrays one of England’s finest cities. It provides a nostalgic look at Portsmouth’s past and highlights the special character of some of its most important historic sites. The photographs are taken from the Historic England Archive, a unique collection of over 12 million photographs, drawings, plans and documents covering England’s archaeology, architecture, social and local history. Pictures date from the earliest days of photography to the present and cover subjects from Bronze Age burials and medieval churches to cinemas and seaside resorts. Historic England: Portsmouth shows the city as it once was, from its streets and alleys to its illustrious dockyard – the oldest Royal Navy dockyard in the country, and one which boasts one of the oldest dry docks in the world. Portsmouth has been functioning in a naval capacity since 1495 and few other places have such a prominent place in Britain’s naval history. This books helps you discover this maritime city’s long and distinguished past.

Philip MacDougall writes books for Amberley on southern England, but with a particular interest in the military and naval complexes that arose in and around South Hampshire (especially Portsmouth), coastal Sussex (especially Chichester) and Kent (especially Medway). As a social historian, he is interested in the people and the resources of those areas and the support provided for each of those military complexes. Possibly that interest was first sparked by having a distant ancestor who served as Nelson’s secretary during the 1790s and who first joined the future Admiral at the Great Nore anchorage and which lies off North Kent. As well as the author of a number of published books, Philip has contributed biographical material on selected naval officers for the widely-acclaimed Dictionary of National Biography. A speaker at events, both local and national, he offers a wide-range of talks connected with the books he has written.