Portswood

Portswood is a suburb and electoral ward of Southampton, England. It is north-north-east of the city centre and is surrounded by several other areas, including Freemantle, Highfield, Swaythling, St. Denys, and Bevois Valley.

The Portswood Ward includes Portswood, Highfield, and St. Denys. This area is mostly made up of homes and is close to the main campus of the University of Southampton. Because of this, many of the people who live there are students.

History

The Manor of Portswood was first named in a charter from 1045. It included parts of modern-day Bevois Town, Swaythling, St Denys, and Highfield. The name Portswood comes from the Old English Porteswuda, meaning "wood of the town".

The land was given to St. Denys Priory by Richard I in 1189. It stayed with them until the Dissolution of the Monasteries by Henry VIII in 1536. It was then bought by Francis Dawtrey in 1538. Later, it passed to Giles Stibbert in 1771. Stibbert was a Lieutenant-General with the East India Company. He built the first Portswood House. The house was torn down in 1852 for new homes, and the name moved to Portswood Lodge. The estate was sold for development, and the second Portswood House was demolished in 1923.

In 1871, there was an attempt to improve the local sewage system, but it was delayed due to concerns about higher taxes. The improvements finally started in 1875.

Governance

Before 1894, Portswood was part of a larger area called South Stoneham. It included places like Eastleigh. At that time, Portswood had about thirty houses and 3,546 people.

In 1894, new rules made Portswood its own small community. Over the next few years, the number of people grew from about 10,000 to more than 22,000.

Today, Portswood is part of the city of Southampton. It has three local government members, two from the Labour party and one from the Green party.

Education

Portswood Ward has the main Highfield Campus of the University of Southampton. The university started using this site in 1914, but during the First World War, it was used as a hospital. Lectures began there in 1920.

The area has three public primary schools: Portswood Primary School on Somerset Road, Highfield School on Hawthorn Road, and St Denys School on Dundee Road. There is also a small private primary school called St Winifred's School on Winn Road. The closest secondary schools are Cantell School in Bassett Green and Bitterne Park School.

Public services

Portswood Library opened on 25 October 1915. It was built north of the old Palladium Cinema on Portswood Road. A person named J A Crowther designed it, and a local councillor named Sidney Kimber helped get the land.

The Hampshire Constabulary runs Portswood Police Station on St Denys Road. It helps keep areas like Banister Park & Bevois, Bassett, Highfield, St. Denys and Swaythling safe. Portswood gets fire service help from the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Fire and Rescue Service and the fire station in St Mary's.

Landmarks

After the original Portswood House was torn down in 1852, its lodge stayed and is now a special Grade II listed building at 324 Portswood Road.

Portswood had two cinemas in the past, but both are closed now. The Palladium Cinema was open from 1913 to 1958. It is now a supermarket. The Broadway Cinema opened on June 6, 1930, and showed its first movie, Rookery Nook. It stayed open for 33 years until October 26, 1963. After that, it was a Mecca Bingo Hall for a time, and is now a church.

Culture

Portswood has a popular live music venue called The Brook on Portswood Road. This venue can hold up to 600 people and has hosted many famous bands and musicians.

The area also has many pubs for different kinds of visitors.

Another important spot is October Books, a bookstore run by a community group. It sells books on many topics and also offers fair trade and organic products. The store moved to its current location in 2018 after raising money from the local community.

Transport

The St Denys railway station serves Portswood. It is on the London Waterloo to Weymouth mainline and the West Coastway Line. Buses to the city centre and other parts of Southampton run regularly. These buses are operated by Bluestar, UniLink, and Xelabus.

From 1879 to 1949, Portswood had a tram depot. This depot was part of the Southampton Corporation Tramways. Trams travelled from Portswood Road to Stag Gates. Many trams were made there during that time. In 1949, the depot became a bus depot and the head office of First Hampshire & Dorset. Today, the site is a Sainsbury’s Superstore that opened in February 2012.

Notable residents

R. J. Mitchell, the designer of the Supermarine Spitfire, lived at 2 Russell Place in Portswood when he was creating the airplane. He lived there until he passed away in 1937. In 2005, English Heritage put a Blue Plaque at his old home to remember him.

Coldplay drummer Will Champion once lived in Portswood and went to a youth group at Highfield Church. Captain Edward J. Smith, who led the RMS Titanic on its first trip, also lived in Portswood in a big house named "Woodhead" on Winn Road. That house is not there anymore; it has been replaced by apartments. Broadcaster and naturalist Chris Packham spent part of his childhood in Portswood.