A little further west of Southsea walking towards the city is a large greenspace hosting Southsea Castle, a Naval Memorial and a D-Day history centre.
First off, a ground perspective
This bandstand was a fun subject to shoot. Just at the time I was shooting, none of the usual elements I look for with birdseye views were aligned. The shadow, the flattened area outside and the roof lines in the structure itself were all out.
Southsea Castle was built in 1544 as part of a response to defend Britain against Spain and France. Most coastal defence structures were privately owned by local lords but with the threat of invasion looming, Henry VIII ordered a series of castles and defensive structures be built between Essex and south Wales to assist.
The term used to describe this response was 'Device Forts' or 'Henrician castles'. I have written about Tilbury Fort here, other notable points are the south of Kent, around Poole and the Isle of Wight & Cornwall.
After passing an appropriately named 'Act Of Supremacy' that essentially made King Henry VIII Supreme Head of The Church Of England, he removed wealth and assets from Christian establishments during the Dissolution of the Monasteries in 1536. Most of the funds were used to fund the project. It was incredibly expensive- costing a total of £376,000. In todays money, that amount equates to upwards of £2 billion.
A view of the bastions and wall.
Queens Hotel is a grand Edwardian building and dates back to 1861. It was once the site of a large mansion built for Sir John and Lady Morris.
Little is known about Sir John, but to put the significance of the building into perspective- he was 2nd in line of the Morris baronetcy and heir to a copper and coal empire based in Wales.
His grandfather was a very wealthy entrepreneur who snapped up a struggling copper mine in south Wales in 1726 and his father was a magnate and masterminded construction of Morriston near said mine around 1775. At the time, Morriston town was the largest purpose built establishment for industry in the world, serving as residence for the workers in his mines.
In 1775, he also saw completion of a castle near Morriston for up to 24 families of the workers.
Just four years after the mansion was completed, it was bought by a wealthy businessman who turned it into a hotel after a boom in tourism.
In 1891 a huge fire destroyed all but two walls of the building. This presented an opportunity for the owner to build a brand new, purpose built hotel in the same footprint as the mansion.
The architect chosen for the task went on the design the Royal College of Music which uses some elements from this building.
Until the next time!
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