Gosport

Gosport is a town and district in Hampshire with around 78,000 inhabitants, situated on the south coast of England. Part of the South Hampshire conurbation, it lies on a peninsula on the western side of Portsmouth Harbour opposite the city of Portsmouth, to which it is linked by a pedestrian ferry. Gosport is said to be the largest town in Britain without an operational railway station.

History

The Rowner area of the peninsula was known to have been settled in Saxon times (for instance, Cherque Farm) and Alverstoke (a village now within the boundaries of Gosport) was included in the Domesday Book http://www.hants.gov.uk/hampshiretreasures/vol12/page003.html. Settlements in the wider region date back much earlier http://www.hants.gov.uk/hampshiretreasures/vol10/page005.html.

Related Topics:
Cherque Farm - Alverstoke - Domesday Book

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The borough's name - an early name was Goseport - is believed to derive from "goose". An alternative etymology "gorse" (from the bushes growing on local heathland) is not supported by the regional name for the plant, "furze"; and that implied by the town's motto, "God's Port Our Haven", dates from the 19th century. http://www.discoverycentres.co.uk/gosport/localstudies/placenames.html

Related Topics:
Gorse - 19th century

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