Eastney is a district in the south-east corner 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 ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, on

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 ...

. Its

electoral ward A ward is a local authority area, typically used for electoral purposes. In some countries, wards are usually named after neighbourhoods, thoroughfares, parishes, landmarks, geographical features and in some cases historical figures connected to t ...

is called Eastney and Craneswater. At the 2011 Census the population of this ward was 13,591.

History

Main Gate, Eastney Barracks-Portsmouth - geograph

Barracks and fortifications

Eastney Barracks Eastney Barracks was a military installation occupied by the Royal Marines and located at Eastney near Portsmouth. History Eastney Barracks, designed by William Scamp (assistant director, Admiralty Works Department), was built as headquarters for ...

were built as headquarters for the

Royal Marine Artillery The history of the Royal Marines began on 28 October 1664 with the formation of the Duke of York and Albany's Maritime Regiment of Foot soon becoming known as the Admiral's Regiment. During the War of the Spanish Succession the most historic achi ...

, who moved in during 1867. At the same time as the barracks, a pair of small artillery forts were built on the foreshore. Eastney Fort East is still extant (having remained in military use until 1989); Eastney Fort West has been converted into a walled garden. The small hamlet of Eastney and surrounding farmland were developed and absorbed into Portsmouth in the period 1890–1905, with a network of streets built to house Marines and their families that spread west from the barracks site. The streets were mostly named after famous military and naval engagements in which the Royal Marines had taken part. Due to the heavy bombing suffered by

during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, many displaced people found refuge along the north shore of Eastney Lake, living in makeshift houseboats, converted railway carriages, and fisherman huts. Many of these homes lacked the basic amenities of electricity and plumbed water supplies. The community survived into the mid and late 1960s when the city council began to relocate families to its newly built housing estates in

Leigh Park Leigh Park is a large suburb (population 27,500) of Havant, in Hampshire, England. It currently forms the bulk or whole of four electoral wards: Battins, Bondfields, Barncroft and Warren Park (generally referred to as 'The Warren'). Staunton C ...

and

Paulsgrove Paulsgrove is an area of northern Portsmouth, Hampshire, England. Initially a small independent hamlet for many centuries, it was admitted to the city limits in 1920 and grew rapidly after the end of the Second World War. History Paulsgrove exi ...

Claims to fame

Eastney was the first venue for an underwater hockey game called

Octopush Underwater hockey (UWH), (also known as Octopush in the United Kingdom) is a globally played limited-contact sport in which two teams compete to manoeuvre a puck across the bottom of a swimming pool into the opposing team's goal by propelling ...

, invented by Alan Blake of the newly formed

Southsea Southsea is a seaside resort and a geographic area of Portsmouth, Portsea Island in England. Southsea is located 1.8 miles (2.8 km) to the south of Portsmouth's inner city-centre. Southsea is not a separate town as all of Portsea Island's s ...

Sub-Aqua Club. Fraser Range, a (then) Royal Navy gunnery range establishment in Eastney, was used in October 1971 as a filming location for ''

The Sea Devils ''The Sea Devils'' is the third serial of the ninth season of the long-running British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', which was first broadcast in six weekly parts on BBC1 from 26 February to 1 April 1972. It was written by Ma ...

'', a serial of ''

Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series depicts the adventures of a Time Lord called the Doctor, an extraterrestrial being who appears to be human. The Doctor explores the u ...

'' broadcast between 26 February and 1 April 1972. In late 2017, the Fraser Range site was purchased by National Regional Property Group, who have plans to preserve its naval heritage and to also develop the site for future residential use.

Today

The area is home to

Eastney Beam Engine House Eastney Beam Engine House is a Grade II -listed Victorian engine house in Portsmouth, Hampshire, England. Dating from 1887, it contains two 150 hp James Watt & Co. beam engines. The pumps were built as part of a plan to improve Portsm ...

, as well as a council swimming pool, a camping and caravan site, and an estate of homes occupied by personnel of the UK Armed Forces and their families. Eastney is also home to an unofficial

naturist Naturism is a lifestyle of practising non-sexual social nudity in private and in public; the word also refers to the cultural movement which advocates and defends that lifestyle. Both may alternatively be called nudism. Though the two terms ar ...

beach, which may be under threat from property development. The University of Portsmouth's Marine Science department is along Ferry Road. Southsea Marina,

Fort Cumberland A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...

, and a nature reserve are also in the district. Eastney Lake, also known by locals as 'Eastney Creek' or 'The Creek', is a natural tidal inlet of Langstone Harbour and is located on the northern side of the Eastney peninsular, with Milton on the northern side. A small enclosed lagoon nicknamed 'The Glory Hole' is located on the southern shore of Eastney Lake, and is refilled with Langstone Harbour's salt-water on high spring tides.

Transport

The

Hayling Ferry The Hayling Ferry is a foot passenger ferry across the mouth of Langstone Harbour linking the Ferry Point on the west tip of Hayling Island with Eastney, Portsmouth on Portsea Island. The current owner, Baker Trayte Marine Ltd, has operated the ...

runs from Eastney, linking it to Ferry Point on

Hayling Island Hayling Island is an island off the south coast of England, in the borough of Havant in the county of Hampshire, east of Portsmouth. History An Iron Age shrine in the north of Hayling Island was later developed into a Roman temple in the 1st c ...

References

{{Authority control Areas of Portsmouth Populated coastal places in Hampshire Nude beaches