List of governors of Portsmouth

The Governor of Portsmouth was the Constable of Portchester Castle from the 13th Century to the reign of Henry VIII. Since then Portsmouth had its own military Captain or Governor, who was based in the Square Tower built in Old Portsmouth in 1494 as part of the fortifications to protect the rapidly expanding naval port. The Coats of Arms of former Governors of Portsmouth are displayed on the walls of the Square Tower's Lower Hall. In 1540, the Hospital of St. Nicholas, suitably converted and modernised, became the military centre of the town. Its Domus Dei, now the roofless Royal Garrison Church, became the residence of the Captain or Governor. The Governorship was abolished in 1834.

The Round Tower, Portsmouth

The Lieutenant Governorship was vested in the General Officer Commanding South-West District from 1793 to 1865, in the General Officer Commanding Southern District from 1865 to 1903 and in the Officer Commanding Portsmouth Defences / Portsmouth Garrison from 1903 until that post was abolished in 1968.[1]

Constables of the King's Castle at Portchester and Town of Portsmouth

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Governors of Portsmouth

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Lieutenant-Governors of Portsmouth

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Town Majors of Portsmouth

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  • 16 October 1753: Patrick Douglas[32]
  • 1781: Thomas Smelt[33]
  • to 1806: Grant
  • 18 October 1806: Nathan Ashurst[34]
  • 12 January 1821: Robert Simpson[35]
  • 2 October 1823: Henry White
  • in 1849, 1854: Frederick Thomas Maitland

Sources

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  1. ^ Governors of Portsmouth History in Portsmouth
  2. ^ a b c Rickard, John. The Castle Community: The Personnel of English and Welsh Castles, 1272-1422.
  3. ^ Childs, David (2007). The Warship Mary Rose: the Life and Times of King Henry VIII's Flagship. Chatham Publishing. p. 59.
  4. ^ Markham, Clements R. (1888). The Fighting Veres. Boston, New York, Houghton, Mifflin and Co.
  5. ^ "No. 7909". The London Gazette. 10 May 1740. p. 2.
  6. ^ "No. 11374". The London Gazette. 27 July 1773. p. 2.
  7. ^ "No. 11865". The London Gazette. 11 April 1778. p. 1.
  8. ^ "No. 12300". The London Gazette. 28 May 1782. p. 5.
  9. ^ "No. 18319". The London Gazette. 2 January 1827. p. 2.
  10. ^ "No. 18412". The London Gazette. 9 November 1827. p. 2298.
  11. ^ Calendar of State Papers, Domestic Series, of the Reign of Charles I, page 563 and Journals of the House of Commons, page 220, A. 1647
  12. ^ "No. 9140". The London Gazette. 11 February 1752. p. 2.
  13. ^ "No. 11547". The London Gazette. 25 March 1775. p. 1.
  14. ^ "No. 13237". The London Gazette. 14 September 1790. p. 573.
  15. ^ "No. 13855". The London Gazette. 6 January 1796. p. 64.
  16. ^ a b "Army List 1799". The National Archives, War Office Records, WO65/49.
  17. ^ "No. 15110". The London Gazette. 23 February 1799. p. 190.
  18. ^ "No. 15152". The London Gazette. 25 June 1799. p. 63.
  19. ^ "No. 15752". The London Gazette. 6 November 1804. p. 1367.
  20. ^ "No. 15817". The London Gazette. 18 June 1805. p. 797.
  21. ^ "The Gentleman's Magazine". 1823. Retrieved 4 December 2015.
  22. ^ "No. 15874". The London Gazette. 21 December 1805. p. 1597.
  23. ^ "No. 16112". The London Gazette. 23 January 1808. p. 128.
  24. ^ "No. 16733". The London Gazette. 25 May 1813. p. 1018.
  25. ^ "No. 16851". The London Gazette. 1 February 1814. p. 262.
  26. ^ "No. 16967". The London Gazette. 20 December 1814. p. 2487.
  27. ^ "No. 17507". The London Gazette. 17 August 1819. p. 1475.
  28. ^ "No. 17530". The London Gazette. 30 October 1819. p. 1914.
  29. ^ "No. 17733". The London Gazette. 4 August 1821. p. 1617.
  30. ^ "No. 18457". The London Gazette. 1 April 1828. p. 629.
  31. ^ Henry Colburn, The United Service Magazine, vol. 29 (1839) p. 111.
  32. ^ "No. 9312". The London Gazette. 16 October 1753. p. 3.
  33. ^ "No. 12150". The London Gazette. 6 January 1781. p. 2.
  34. ^ "No. 15966". The London Gazette. 14 October 1806. p. 1362.
  35. ^ "No. 17668". The London Gazette. 13 January 1821. p. 93.