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Southsea

Areas of PortsmouthBeaches of HampshireFormer civil parishes in HampshireSeaside resorts in EnglandUse British English from October 2013
South Parade pier, Southsea geograph.org.uk 8163
South Parade pier, Southsea geograph.org.uk 8163

Southsea is a seaside resort and a geographic area of Portsmouth, Portsea Island in England. Southsea is located 1.8 miles (2.8 km) to the south of Portsmouth's inner city-centre. Southsea began as a fashionable 19th-century Victorian seaside resort named Croxton Town, after a Mr Croxton who owned the land. As the resort grew, it adopted the name of nearby Southsea Castle, a seafront fort constructed in 1544 to help defend the Solent and approaches to Portsmouth Harbour.In 1879, South Parade Pier was opened by Princess Edward of Saxe-Weimar in Southsea. The pier began operating a passenger steamer service across the Solent to the Isle of Wight. This service gave rise to the idea of linking Southsea and its pier to Portsmouth's railway line, and for tourists to bypass the busy town of Portsmouth and its crowded harbour. East Southsea railway station, along with the Southsea Railway and Fratton railway station were jointly opened on 1 July 1885 by Lady Ada Mary Willis (née Neeld), wife of General Sir George Willis, the Lieutenant Governor of Portsmouth.Southsea subsequently grew into a dense residential suburb and large, distinct commercial and entertainment area, separate from the town of Portsmouth up until Southsea and the whole of Portsea Island were incorporated into the town borough of Portsmouth in 1904.Due to declining use and World War I, the Southsea Railway line and its East Southsea station were closed on 6 August 1914. To maintain Southsea's tourism, the Southsea station name was moved and merged with Portsmouth's main town centre railway station in 1925, officially becoming known as Portsmouth & Southsea railway station. A year later in 1926, Portsmouth was granted official city status, while its main railway station retained its "Portsmouth & Southsea" name, which has led many non-locals and visitors to wrongly assume that Southsea is still a separate town near to Portsmouth.The areas of Southsea surrounding Albert Road, Palmerston Road, and Osborne Road contain many bars, restaurants and independent shops. Palmerston Road is the main High Street of Southsea and contains various shops and restaurants, as well as the local library, and Southsea Community Cinema and Arts Centre. Albert Road is a distinct street containing shopping and cultural venues, which include The Wedgewood Rooms, and the Kings Theatre, a regional theatre built in 1907.Southsea retains its own post town status (PO4 and PO5), even though the actual town of Southsea was merged into Portsmouth in 1904.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Southsea (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

Southsea
Festing Road, Portsmouth Milton

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Wikipedia: SouthseaContinue reading on Wikipedia

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Latitude Longitude
N 50.785 ° E -1.07 °
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Festing Road 10
PO4 0NG Portsmouth, Milton
England, United Kingdom
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South Parade pier, Southsea geograph.org.uk 8163
South Parade pier, Southsea geograph.org.uk 8163
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Fratton railway station
Fratton railway station

Fratton railway station is a railway station in the city of Portsmouth, on Portsea Island in England. It was opened in the Fratton area of Portsmouth on 1 July 1885 as an interchange station between the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway and the short-lived Southsea Railway branchline. Fratton railway station and the Southsea Railway were jointly opened on 1 July 1885 by Lady Ada Mary Willis, wife of General Sir George Willis, the Lieutenant Governor of Portsmouth.On 4 July 1905, Fratton railway station's name was changed to Fratton & Southsea to promote its Southsea Railway branchline link to the seaside resort of Southsea. After the Southsea Railway branchline was closed on 6 August 1914, the name of the station was eventually changed back to Fratton on 1 December 1921. The Southsea name was later reused in 1925 to rename Portsmouth's main Portsmouth Town station to Portsmouth & Southsea, as Portsmouth would be elevated from a town to city status in 1926. One mile to the east of Fratton railway station is Fratton Park, built in 1899 as the home football ground of Portsmouth F.C. Fratton Park's naming was purposely influenced by its proximity to the convenient Fratton railway station, although the stadium is actually located in the Milton district of Portsmouth. Today, Fratton station is located on the Portsmouth Direct Line which runs between London Waterloo and Portsmouth Harbour. Fratton is one of the four railway stations on Portsea Island. Due to its location as the last south-bound stop before the main Portsmouth & Southsea railway station, Fratton has been adopted in naval slang as a euphemism for the withdrawal method of contraception, "to get off at Fratton".

Portsmouth F.C.

Portsmouth Football Club is a professional association football club based in Portsmouth, Hampshire, England. The team competes in the EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system. They are also known as Pompey, a local nickname used by both His Majesty's Naval Base, Portsmouth and the city of Portsmouth. Founded on 5 April 1898, Portsmouth began their early history in the Southern and Western leagues, before being elected into the English Football League in 1920. Portsmouth won two promotions in 1924 and 1927 to reach the First Division, becoming the first football club south of London to do so. After finishing runners-up in two FA Cup finals in 1929 and 1934, Portsmouth won for the first time in 1939. Portsmouth won the top-flight First Division titles twice in successive 1948–49 and 1949–50 seasons. However, their 32 consecutive years in the First Division ended with relegation in 1959 and was followed by a further relegation in 1961. In 1978, Pompey were relegated to the fourth tier for the first time before earning three promotions in 1980, 1983 and 1987. After a brief spell in the top-flight, Pompey would remain in the second tier from 1988 until 2003. After winning promotion, they spent seven years in the Premier League and lifted the FA Cup again in 2008. Relegation from the Premier League in 2009–10 signalled the beginning of a difficult period where the club entered financial administration twice and were relegated three times. After the club was purchased by the Pompey Supporters Trust in 2013, Pompey would begin to recover financially as well as winning the League Two title in 2016–17. Portsmouth are one of only five English football clubs to have been champions of all four tiers of the professional English football pyramid. Portsmouth's arch-rivals are Southampton, a rivalry based in part on geographic proximity and both cities' respective maritime histories.