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The Portsmouth Encyclopaedia

Welcome to the Portsmouth Encyclopaedia. You can use this book to look up streets, courts and alleys in Portsmouth, as well as places like schools, churches and public houses, particularly if they existed in the second half of the nineteenth century. In many cases there are references to maps from the 1860s and 1890s, which show exactly where these places were.

You can see the maps at Portsmouth Central Library or in some cases at Portsmouth City Records Office. Also in the Encyclopaedia are articles about well-known people connected with Portsmouth in some way, for example Charles Dickens, but also about Portsmouth people who were probably little-known outside Portsmouth but were well-known locally in their day, for example W.G. Gates. So far only a few events in the life of Portsmouth have been included.

Please bear in mind that this book is a work in progress and can never be complete. Some entries are unfinished and many not even begun. From time to time the version of the Encyclopaedia on this website will be updated with information that has been added more recently. In the meantime, please let us know if you spot any errors.

Historical Collections
Central Library, Portsmouth
Tel: +44 23 9268 8046
reference.library@portsmouthcc.gov.uk

Associated documents:

  The Portsmouth Encyclopaedia  (3.25 MB)