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History of Gunwharf Quays

The Beginning...
The history of Gunwharf Quays can be traced right back to the 12th century when Richard I in 1194, let out land for development of a dockyard and constructed a dock for royal galleys, known as Richard's Docks. What is now the Camber Dock was the original berthing place for warships in Portsmouth. In those days, the shoreline was nothing like it is today, being some 300 yards further back, roughly where the existing perimeter wall is along Gunwharf Road. A tidal mill, King's Mill, the remains of which are still here on the Gunwharf Quays site, dates back to the 12th century

Archaeological Interest
The main archaeological interest of the Gunwharf site relates to the defences of Portsmouth dating from 1526, some 62 years before the Spanish Armada. Beeston's Bastion, which is located immediately inside the existing south gate, was the north west corner of the defences of Portsmouth.

Under the supervision of Sir Richard Lee, improvements were made to the defences in 1551 with earth embankments and a great dyke to defend Portsmouth and Gunwharf. In 1680 these were improved again by Sir Bernard de Gomme, Charles II's chief engineer.
Over the centuries, the site of Gunwharf has been incrementally reclaimed from the sea. There was a mill pond by King's Mill with a channel leading through the then reclaimed shoreline to the harbour itself. Although filled in over the centuries, when the mill became redundant, this water course has been opened up again by Berkeley to form the central water feature dividing the residential south side of the site from the commercial northern part.

A Naval Site
Gunwharf was the first main ordnance yard for the Navy, established in the late 17th century. Ships would collect their gunpowder, cannon balls and weapons before leaving Portsmouth Harbour for action at sea. It would have been from Gunwharf that Nelson's Victory would have collected her munitions before the Battle of Trafalgar.

The Vulcan Building, Nelson's Gate & Lock Keepers Cottage
The fortifications became redundant and fell into decay, and demolition started to take place to allow for developments on the southern side of the site such as Vulcan Building.  The foundation stone for the Vulcan Building was laid on 28th November 1811 by the Duke of Clarence. The building was not finally completed until 1874, we do know that the total cost was £50,140 1s 2d.

Nelson's Gate, which has been retained, was built in 1803 and formed the then main entrance to the Gunwharf site, and parts of the original boundary wall extend for about six metres to the north and south of the gate. The Lock Keepers Cottage was built in 1810 and served as a guard house for the swing bridge over the central canal.

The Old Infirmary & Vernon Building
A little earlier, The Old Infirmary was built and this is probably the oldest building now standing at Gunwharf Quays. As the name suggests, it was a hospital for Royal Marines returning wounded from duty on board HM Ships. If you look closely there are names carved in the brickwork giving names and dates back to 1835.  The Old Infirmary is on the residential side of the current Gunwharf Quays site.

The Customs and Excise House or Vernon Building was built in 1811 and served as the main customs post for Portsmouth Harbour.

HMS Vernon
In 1891 the Royal Marines vacated the barracks here and the whole site was used by the Naval Ordnance Department until 1919 when, as the newly named HMS Vernon, it was taken over as the Naval Torpedo School.

Serious damage was inflicted to HMS Vernon during the war and many of the buildings were destroyed and rebuilt - in rather unattractive MOD architecture! Not only was HMS Vernon the centre for development and training of torpedoes and torpedo men, it also became famous for its clearance diving team and its Deep-diving Trials Unit. These brave men were responsible for clearing hundreds of submerged mines around the coast of Britain and also for their exploits in locating sunken submarines, including the infamous Affray incident.

Many famous people served here including Buster Crabb, a clearance diver who was working for MI5 and disappeared after diving on the two Russian warships berthed in Portsmouth in 1956. Fourteen months later his headless and handless body was found, still in his wetsuit, off Pilsey Island in Chichester Harbour. This incident is still the cause of much speculation around the Portsmouth area.

Prince Charles also commanded HMS Bronnington from here in the 1970's. HMS Vernon finally closed in 1986.

It was in 1975 that Vernon Building, Vulcan, the Infirmary and Nelson's gate were recorded as Scheduled Ancient Monuments and in 1992 the whole site was declared a conservation area by Portsmouth City Council.

In 1996 a planning brief was issued for the development of the Gunwharf site and on 4th June 1997, Portsmouth City Council approved 'outline' planning permission for The Berkeley Group to develop Gunwharf Quays.

The Berkeley Group's Vision
The Berkeley Group plc is one of the UK's leading property development companies. Although most widely known for their residential and office developments, the company saw the potential for a truly world class waterfront on the old HMS Vernon site. Their vision was to create a leisure destination that offered the widest possible range of shopping and leisure facilities, designed to capitalise on the stunning location at the mouth of Portsmouth's busy harbour.

For this brave new venture, they decided to join forces with the South African company Lordland Holdings cc who would bring with them their experience of managing the hugely successful Victoria and Alfred Waterfront in Cape Town.

From the outset there were many similarities between the two schemes. Both would incorporate refurbished old buildings into a modern environment. At the V&A, the old Union Castle Lines office and the Port Captain's buildings were restored and to put to new uses. At Gunwharf Quays, it was agreed that the magnificent Vulcan building with its listed mezzanine level and old stone floor would be retained and used for a mixture of residential and commercial uses. The old custom house, previously called the Vernon building would also remain but would be sympathetically transformed into a traditional style pub.

The mix of retail, restaurants and leisure which was proving so popular in Cape Town was also to be a feature of the Gunwharf Quays masterplan. The V&A had demonstrated that by encouraging their stores to remain open later, visitors would shop at a leisurely pace, then remain to enjoy the evening atmosphere, visiting one of the many restaurants and bars, or taking in a film at the multi-screen cinema.

Finally, Berkeley's management team was impressed by the vibrant events programme always on offer at the V&A. The strolling performers, buskers, local bands and theatre groups created an exciting backdrop for a day out and presented locals and tourists alike with a reason to keep coming back. With this in mind, the idea for the wide boulevards, open spaces and Ships Berths were developed for Gunwharf Quays. Spaces like the waterfront walkways, Central Square and Caen Marche were planned to offer ad hoc performance venues, as well as to provide space for markets and temporary exhibitions.

In December 2000, The Berkeley Group plc sold to Land Securities a 50% stake in Gunwharf Quays, and in December 2003, Land Securities bought the remaining 50% to become sole landlord of the commercial site.

For more information visit the web sites below:

The Berkeley Group

The Victoria & Alfred Waterfront

THE FACTS & FIGURES

The Construction of Gunwharf Quays
During the construction work, Gunwharf Quays gained:
- 22 planning consents
- 5 scheduled ancient monument consents
- 2 Transport Work Acts
- 3 Harbour Revision Orders
- Approximately 7 acres on the north of the site, next to the station, has been reclaimed from Portsmouth Harbour. Due to the delicate nature of the station structure, traditional reclamation methods were not available, so the largest marine deck in Europe was constructed.

What is Gunwharf Quays today?
Gunwharf Quays is a £200 million mixed-use development on Portsmouth Harbour. The 33-acre site comprises of over 95 designer outlets, 20 bars & restaurants, an 14-screen cinema, a 26-lane bowling complex, a comedy club, 500m of berthing space, 550 homes, and 100,000 sq ft of office space.

The 210,000 sq ft of retail space houses a unique collection of high street and global brands from Paul Smith to Karen Millen Whistles and French Connection to Gap, Nike, Levi's and adidas, complemented by homeware, toys, books and accessories.

20 cosmopolitan waterfront restaurants and bars take up a large part of the 190,000 sq ft of leisure space at Gunwharf Quays.

Gunwharf Quays is also home to an Express by Holiday Inn hotel, which has 130 bedrooms, and a function area that is available for hire for meetings & conferences.  There is also a Grosvenor Casino - the largest on the south coast, and The Edge Health & Fitness club that overlooks historic Portsmouth Harbour.

The car park at Gunwharf Quays has 1530 spaces, and is a two deck underground structure. This is the largest underground car park in the UK.

Gunwharf Quays Events Marina offers 500m of prime berthing space just yards away from the entrance to Portsmouth Harbour, and the cruising waters of the Solent and English Channel. Available to Tall Ships, corporate events and visiting boats, Gunwharf Events Marina has 24-hour access and plenty of depth. The berths can take vessels up to 75m in length, and are currently amongst the most sought after berths on the south coast.

What is still to come at Gunwharf Quays?
No.1 Gunwharf Quays is the dramatic final stage of Berkeley Homes' Gunwharf Quays development. Rising to nearly 100 metres and comprising 29 storeys affording spectacular panoramic views over Portsmouth, the harbour and the ocean, No.1 Gunwharf Quays will be the tallest residential skyscraper on the South Coast of England.

This landmark tower will accommodate 139 studios, one two and three bedroom apartments including two exclusive penthouses. It will feature luxurious interior specifications offering stylish high-rise living and is right on the doorstep of dozens of exciting attractions, including the yachting playground that is the Solent. For more information please click here

Who visits Gunwharf Quays?
Over 30 million people have visited Gunwharf Quays since opening in March 2001.

The target audiences for Gunwharf Quays are:

• Day visitors living within a 60-minute drive time, approximately 6 million people. If this is extended to a two hour drive time, it increases to 10 million people.
• ABC1, 26 – 45 year olds
• Families

80% of visitors are from Portsmouth area, 20% are from other areas, principally within the Gunwharf Quays 60-minute drive time region. 3% are from overseas.

The largest customer group for Gunwharf Quays is the 25-44 year olds (31% of total visitors) and 45-64 year olds (31%). These customers visit 28 times per year; spend about an hour and half per visit and spend an average £39 per visit on non food shopping;

There is little difference between male and female demographics and behaviour at GWQ.

There are approximately 130,000 visitors per week at Gunwharf Quays, with key holiday times being peak times. Gunwharf Quays has a 3-day weekend, with 55% of visitors coming on a Friday, Saturday & Sunday. Visitors are split evenly over the year with 52% of visitors coming April – September, and the remaining 48% from October – March.

Who owns Gunwharf Quays?
Gunwharf Quays is a wholly owned subsidiary of Land Securities.

Land Securities
Land Securities is the UK's leading Real Estate Investment Trust. Our national portfolio of commercial property, worth £14.8billion, includes some of Britain's best-known shopping centres and landmarks.  We are leading urban renaissance through our billion pound development programme, transforming Exeter, Bristol and Cardiff city centres as well as key sites in Central London.  We are also one of the leading names in property partnerships and through urban community development are involved in long-term, large-scale regeneration projects in the south-east.  Land Securities is a FTSE 100 company and committed to environmental initiatives and community involvement. Our website address is www.landsecurities.com