Portsmouth, ENG - Postcode - PO6 3DF

Portsmouth, England

As a city and port, Portsmouth can be found in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in the English south. Having becoming a unitary authority on April 1, 1997, the city of Portsmouth is now run by the council of the same name. There are more people per square mile in Portsmouth than in any other city in the United Kingdom.

To the south-west of London, Portsmouth is 110 kilometers, while to the southeast of Southampton, it is only 19 kilometers. All of Portsmouth may be found on Portsea Island, making it the only major English city that isn't situated on the British mainland. Aside from Great Britain and Ireland, Portsea Island is home to the third-most people in the British Isles. Portsmouth is a member of the South Hampshire conurbation that also includes Southampton and the cities of Eastleigh, Fareham, Gosport, Havant, and Waterlooville.

Portsmouth is a major Royal Navy dockyard and station that has been in operation for centuries and is widely recognized as one of the world's best-known ports. Its origins may be traced back to Roman times. On May 2, 1194, a royal charter officially founded the town of Portsmouth. During the attempted French invasion of England in 1545, King Henry VIII watched the battle from Southsea Castle and was present at the Battle of the Solent, where the carrack Mary Rose was sunk. The Great Stone Dock, also known as No.5 Dock, was constructed in Portsmouth in 1698 and is the oldest dry dock in the world. Portsmouth was incorporated as a city on April 21, 1926, making it a part of the modern era.  As a major port of departure for the Allied forces' D-Day invasion, Portsmouth was heavily attacked during the war, with 930 lives lost in the process. A massive task force of the Royal Navy set sail from Portsmouth in 1982 for the Falklands War. After being stationed in Portsmouth and overseeing the 1997 handover of Hong Kong, Her Majesty's Yacht Britannia was decommissioned and moved to Leith to serve as a museum ship.

commercial port serving as a departure point for cruise ships and ferries to other countries. Port of Southampton sees about three million annual passengers, making it the second-busiest in the United Kingdom after Dover. Portsmouth Airport, the city's own airport, operated from the 1940s until 1973, when it was shut down. With over 23,000 undergraduate and graduate students, the University of Portsmouth is consistently listed among the world's top modern universities. Location-wise, Portsmouth is 73.5% farther from London than Heathrow Airport, 49.5% farther west than Brighton, and 35.9% farther east than Southampton.

The original part of the city was on Portsea Island, making it the only island city in the United Kingdom, although the population center is now on the mainland. Portsbridge Creek separates Portsea Island from the mainland; four bridges (the M275 motorway, the A3, and the A2030 roads), a railway bridge, and two footbridges across the creek.

The city's largest industry is defense, and the headquarters of BAE Systems Surface Ships are located in Portsmouth. The Portsmouth Naval Dockyard employs 10% of the city's workers. The two new aircraft carriers in the Queen Elizabeth-class were built at BAE's Portsmouth shipyard. The contract to build the necessary facilities for the ships was secured for £100 million. [183] Camber Quay in Old Portsmouth is home to a fishing fleet of twenty to thirty boats, and the majority of their catch is sold at the quayside fish market.

Portsmouth is home to IBM's UK headquarters and, up until 2007, it also housed Zurich Financial Services' UK operations. Commercial Road and the Cascades Shopping Centre, both built in the 1980s, are the main shopping areas in the city. Every week, between 185,000 and 230,000 people visit the shopping center. The Historic Dockyard caters to tourists and hosts an annual Victorian Christmas market, while the Gunwharf Quays (the refurbished HMS Vernon shore business, with stores, restaurants, and a cinema) have been opened as a result of the city's redevelopment. Located on the north-east side of Portsea Island, Ocean Retail Park was constructed in September 1985 on the place of a defunct metal-box plant.

The final residential tower of Gunwharf Quays, No. 1 Gunwharf Quays, was built in 2007 and stands at a height of 330 feet (101 meters). When the site of the former Brickwoods Brewery was redeveloped, the tallest building in the complex was the 22-story Admiralty Quarter Tower. On October 31, 2008, it was announced that construction would begin on Number One Portsmouth, a 25-story, 330-foot (101-meter) tower to be built opposite Portsmouth & Southsea station. Demolition of the structure's interior began in August 2009. On the site of the former Victoria Park swimming facilities, building has begun on a high-rise student dormitory known as "The Blade." The tower will be the second-tallest building in Portsmouth after the Spinnaker Tower, standing at 300 feet (91 meters).