Gosport in Hampshire
The name Gosport used to be 'Goseport' and is believed to be derived from the
word 'goose'.
Gosport is across the water from the city
of Portsmouth and the two are
linked by the Gosport Ferry.
Gosport's railway station is now a ruin overgrown with weeds but it used to be a
bustling centre of activity and was
favoured by Queen Victoria who used it on her way to Osbourne House on
the Isle of Wight.
Prince Albert greeted Louis Philippe of France at Gosport
and Albert negotiated the construction of an extension of the line through
the town ramparts to a private station, the Royal Victoria Station, built in
Royal Clarence Yard for the use of Royal family and household.
They would arrive here for the Solent crossing and for
the next fifty years, Victoria and her party landed here for her
summer holiday at Osborne.
The private station was last used for passengers following Victoria's death in 1901,
when her coffin, accompanied by her mourning family, was taken across the
Solent for the last time.
Following Victoria's death, her successor, Edward VII, found Osborne an
inconvenient white elephant, and gave the house to the nation.
During World War I Gosport's station was in demand
with supplies going to and from Royal Clarence Yard and
also large numbers of troop movements including the transportation of the wounded
en route to Haslar Hospital.
It was used in World War II by the military
including transporting supplies, hospital trains
and trains carrying prisoners of war on their way to a local internment camp.
On the night of 10 March 1941 the station received a direct hit
from an aerial attack, the main damage being to the roofing which
caught alight and collapsed.
Gosport's railway station closed to
passengers in 1953 but freight traffic
remained until 30 January 1969, when the station closed to all traffic.
Both Rowner and Alverstoke in Gosport
were mentioned in the Domesday Book.
Stokes Bay
The pebble beach at Stokes Bay slopes steeply into the sea and offers fine views of the
shipping
going in and out of Portsmouth and Southampton
and the many pleasure craft from the many
marinas along The Solent and the Isle of Wight.
Stokes Bay and the Solent are popular areas for yachting.
The Royal Navy Submarine Museum
This unique Museum offers you the chance to walk on board a real submarine,
discover true tales of heroism and relive a life under the sea through the
personal belongings of the crew.
Imagine what it must be like to be depth charged? Picture yourself in a tiny
miniature submarine about to slip under an enemy ship; you can experience the
reality at the Royal
Navy Submarine Museum. Trace the history of submarine development, from Alexander the Great, to Holland I, to the giant nuclear powered Vanguard class of the present day peace keepers.
The Museum also serves as the Regimental Headquarters for past submariners. It
houses a huge collection of photographs, transcripts, artifacts and archive material.
Fort Brockhurst
Fort Brockhurst is one of the 'Palmerston's Follies', built in the 1850s to defend Portsmouth Harbour against threats of a French invasion. A central exhibition explains Palmerston's plans to defend the key naval port. Nearby is the Gosport Aviation Heritage Museum, dedicated to the development of the Royal Air Force. The fort is owned by English Heritage.
Living History Village
Gosport is also home to The 1642 Living History Village. The village exists to educate both
children and adults about 17th Century life at the outbreak of the English Civil War and is open for
the public to meet the villagers at certain times throughout the year.
Living History Village of Little Woodham is dedicated to recreating English rural life in the South of England during 1642.
Within the Parish of Rowner, surrounded by woodland, the village of Little Woodham exists to educate both children and adults about 17th Century life at the outbreak of the English Civil War.
In the April of 1642 the King of England, Charles Stuart and his Parliament stood on the eve of Civil War. The momentous events of that year unfold as the fall approaches. Using extensively researched local events and people the villagers link their families and their lives to national and international events.
During your walking tour you will meet 'villagers', interpreters dressed in historic period costume. Little Woodham's living history interpreters involve you and your children in their daily lives. Prepare timber with the sawyers at their camp, or speak with villagers as they make lace, or card and spin wool. Those visitors with "good and lawful money of England" may enter Little Woodham's ale-house, there to join in conversation with whomever they may find within.
Explosion!
Explosion!,The Museum of Naval Firepower, tells the story of naval firepower from gunpowder to modern missiles. This modern museum is housed in historic buildings at Priddy's Hard.
The museum includes a nationally significant collection of guns and naval ordnance, an original 18th century gunpowder vault and social history of the people who supplied the Navy from the days of Trafalgar to the Gulf War.
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