Summary
Terraced shop. Built in about the C18. Altered around the late C20 when the ground floor shopfront was replaced.
Reasons for Designation
88 High Street, Gosport, is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:
History
Gosport was recorded in 1206 as a ‘newly built’ port town. That which survives of the medieval grid pattern of streets and tenements is situated in what is now ‘Old Gosport’ and incorporates the east-west running High Street (‘Middle Street’ on C18 maps) which is flanked by North Street and South Street, with small cross streets and lanes (such as North Cross Street, South Cross Street and Bemisters Lane) linking the three. By 1417, Gosport was involved in the defensive system of Portsmouth Harbour with a blockhouse (fort) on Blockhouse Point. A ferry service linked the two towns from the C16 onwards and the subsequent development of Gosport was largely driven by its role in defending the western landward and seaward approaches to the harbour and supplying the Royal Navy. From the late C17 onwards, a line of ramparts and artillery bastions, known as the Gosport Lines, were built surrounding the town. Gosport’s growth over the following three centuries mirrored that of the navy, as boatyards, rope-making facilities, victualling yards, a prison, hospitals, barracks and naval bases were constructed. It also led to demand for housing in large new residential areas beyond the Gosport Lines. In the mid-C19, invasion fears saw new fortifications built, including the five artillery forts of the Gosport Advanced Line, and the Stokes Bay Lines. Gosport continued to have an important military role in providing bases and training facilities during the First and Second World Wars. However, the town suffered major bomb damage during the latter conflict, and there was extensive post-war rebuilding, particularly of new housing developments. Gosport’s military establishments continued to modernise and diversify until the 1990s, which saw the beginning of a period of closures and redevelopments that has continued into the 2020s.
Details
Terraced shop. Built in about the C18. Altered around the late C20 when the ground floor shopfront was replaced.
Legacy
The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.
Legacy System number:
409007
Legacy System:
LBS
Sources
Other
Legal
This building is listed under the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 as amended for its special architectural or historic interest.
End of official list entry
