Hilsea is a district of the city of

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most dens ...

in the English county of

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English citi ...

. Hilsea is home to one of Portsmouth's main sports and leisure facilities – the Mountbatten centre. Trafalgar School (formerly the City of Portsmouth Boys' School) is also in Hilsea. It is also the home of Portsmouth rugby football club Hilseamap1833

Located at the Northern end of

Portsea Island Portsea Island is a flat and low-lying natural island in area, just off the southern coast of Hampshire in England. Portsea Island contains the majority of the city of Portsmouth. Portsea Island has the third-largest population of all th ...

, for most of its history, Hilsea was a small hamlet on the Portsmouth to London road. The name "Hilsea" probably means 'holly island'. The boundaries of Portsmouth were not extended to encompass the hamlet until 1832. The last working farm in Portsmouth, Green Farm, was located in the area up to the 1990s. This area is now a residential estate and is marked by a pub and hotel, still known locally as the Green Farm, although its external sign bears only the name of the Toby Carvery chain which now owns it. Construction of

Hilsea Barracks Hilsea Barracks was a military installation at Hilsea in Portsmouth. History The site was originally occupied by Gatcombe Manor, a medieval house which was acquired through marriage by Admiral Roger Curtis, Sir Roger Curtis, Bt in the 18th centu ...

started in 1780. Over the decades, they underwent various rebuildings and changes of use, before being knocked down to allow for housing development in the 1960s. In the years after 1926, Hilsea expanded with the building of the Hilsea Crescent Estate, which was constructed on former allotments. The North of the district composes the

Hilsea Lines The Hilsea Lines are a line of 18th- and 19th-century fortifications built at Hilsea to protect the northern approach to Portsea Island, an island off the southern coast of England which forms the majority of the city of Portsmouth and its key nav ...

, former defensive fortifications that are now a nature reserve, known locally as ''Fox's Forest''. In the 1930s, the Western end of the Lines

moat A moat is a deep, broad ditch, either dry or filled with water, that is dug and surrounds a castle, fortification, building or town, historically to provide it with a preliminary line of defence. In some places moats evolved into more extensive ...

became known as the Hilsea Lagoon and in the mid-1930s work was done on the banks and it was turned into a boating lake. In the same period, the land around the Eastern end of the boating lake was converted into

Hilsea Bastion Gardens Hilsea is a district of the city of Portsmouth in the English county of Hampshire. Hilsea is home to one of Portsmouth's main sports and leisure facilities – the Mountbatten centre. Trafalgar School (formerly the City of Portsmouth Boys' School ...

. Most of the gardens were destroyed as the result of road widening in 1968–70. The terraces that formed part of the gardens were demolished in 2000. In 1938, a bridge was built across the boating lake section of the moat. It was demolished in 1999 and later replaced by the current structure. The area is home to the Coach & Horses pub. This was originally the first public house reached when arriving on Portsea island from the mainland. It was damaged in a fire in 1870 and had to be rebuilt. It was again rebuilt between 1929 and 1931 to a design by A. E. Cogswell and this is the building that stands today. Another facility in the area was the

Hilsea Lido Hilsea Lido is a freshwater Lido (swimming pool), lido at Hilsea, Portsmouth, England. The lido was closed for a number of years but reopened undergoing refurbishment under the control of Hilsea Lido Pool for the People. Description The Hilsea L ...

which opened in July 1935. It closed in 2008, although attempts are being made to reopen it. These attempts were successful and it finally re-opened in July 2014. The North West of Hilsea is protected from the sea by Stamshaw

Esplanade An esplanade or promenade is a long, open, level area, usually next to a river or large body of water, where people may walk. The historical definition of ''esplanade'' was a large, open, level area outside fortress or city walls to provide cle ...

which was built between 1936 and 1938. The Esplanade also serves to connect site of Hilsea Lido with Alexandra Park Modern Hilsea is a mixture of residential and industrial areas. One of the major routes into Portsmouth still runs through the area. In addition, a small halt called station serves the area.

Portsmouth Airport & Anchorage Park

Between 1932–1973, the North-East corner of Hilsea was previously the location of Portsmouth Airport, and was one of the last remaining commercial grass runway airports in the United Kingdom. The airport offered little scope for expansion and, following some near-miss accidents with larger Hawker Siddeley 748 aircraft in the 1960s, the airport was restricted to small aircraft from then on, was uneconomic and closed in 1973. During the 1980s, the former airport land was redeveloped into an industrial area and a housing estate now known as Anchorage Park.

References

{{Use dmy dates, date=September 2013 Areas of Portsmouth