Portsea, Hilsea, Eastney, Horsea.
The old name for Whale Island was Whaley Island. The old name for Stamshaw was Stampsey.
The -ea ending denotes an island in Old English - the most famous example being Athelney or the Isle of the Princes, where Alfred the Great planned his comeback tour after the Viking invasion in 878.
I think these -ea placename endings help us picture the area a thousand years ago: before the Victorians drained Pompey, it wasn’t so much an island as it was a salt marsh with some patches of high ground. Men died regularly at Hilsea Barracks from malaria right into the 19th Century.
Useful links
- wikipedia
- dockyard
- university
- portsmouth encyclopedia
- pomeroy of portsmouth
- memorials & monuments in portsmouth
- historyinportsmouth
- oldhampshiremapped
- parishmouse’s collection of hampshire directories
- university of leicester’s collection of historical directories
- hampshire records office collection search
- portsmouth history centre library catalogue search
- portsmouth museums catalogue search
- bonham carter family papers
- insurance records of john burrell junr., farmer, 1792