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Portsea Island, on the W. shore of which the great naval arsenal of Portsmouth is placed, is a level tract, about 4 m. from N. to S., and 2½ m. from E. to W. It lies between Portsmouth and Langston Harbours, which are connected on N. by a shallow arm of the sea called Portbridge Creek, or “Lake,” the local name for creeks. Except at the S. extremity, which is sandy, it is very fertile, and every spot not occupied by roads and buildings is cultivated by market gardeners, for the supply of the adjacent towns. We enter the island from the London road by a handsome iron bridge, and pass by a defensible gateway through the Hilsea Lines (Rte. 4). The large Artillery Barracks are on l. The village of Hilsea is soon succeeded by Buckland, Kingston, and Fratton, and 3 m. from Portbridge we reach Landport, the E. suburb of Portsea, formerly mainly occupied by the dockyard artificers, and then known as the Half-way Houses. At the angle with the Edinburgh road, which leads direct to Portsea and the Dockkyard, is a pillar erected by the seamen and marines to the memory of Admiral Sir Charles Napier (d. 1860). A short distance S. we have the Town Rly. Stat. on l., and opposite to it the new Town Hall and Victoria Park, over which the rly. to the Harbour is carried on an embankment. Near Cumberland Fort, at the extreme S.E. corner of Portsea Island, about 2 m. from Southsea, is a steam-ferry across the mouth of Langston Harbour to Hayling Island (Rte. 2).
— Murray, John (1898) A Handbook for Travellers in Hampshire. London. source