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PORTSDOWN, a hill and a hundred in the S E of Hants. The hill extends from the neighbourhood of Havant, 6 miles westward, to the neighbourhood of Fareham; culminates at an altitude of 447 feet; flanks allthe N side of Portsmouth harbour; commands a magnificent view to the E, the S, and the W; is crowned, at itshighest point, by a lofty obeliskal pillar, to the memory of Nelson, and serving as a land-mark to mariners approaching Spithead; consists of chalk rocks; has fortifications, constructed in 1865 and following years, addinglargely and very materially to the defences of Portsmonth and Gosport; and, at the Running Walk near Widley, has a great fair on 26, 27 and 28 July. The hundred contains Bedhampton parish, and eight other parishes; and is in Fareham division. Acres, 21, 943. Pop. in 1851, 4, 547. Houses, 888.
(John Marius Wilson, Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales (1870-72))
Linked entities: | |
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Feature Description: | "a hill and a hundred" (ADL Feature Type: "mountains") |
Administrative units: | Hampshire AncC |
Place: | Portsdown |
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