BOROUGH DIRECTORY. 839 street; Thomas Batchewr, Quay gate; To PLYMOUTH, F ALHOUTH, and DuBLIN, Joseph Mitchell, S5 St George's square; Steam Ships (from Londcn) every Sunday and George Pescott r.t Son, 17 Cross st and Thursday, at eight morning. M~. R. Hatch, agent, 4 Broad street. STEAM PACKETS. SAILING VESSELS, &c. To RrnE, from the Albert and Victoria Piers, PASSAGE BoATI'l to , Bembridge, the Portsmouth and Ryd8 Union Steam Portchester, Ryde, W ootton, &e. daily; Packet Company's vessels about 12 times and to Lymington, Newport, Southamp­ a day. {See p. 266.) ton, &c. twice or thrice a. week. Enquire To SouTHAMPTON, Co"'w""ES, and RrnE from at the Roe buck, Broad street; at Bath the Piers six times a day; but in winter square, and at the Common Hard. only twice. FERRY BOATS aFe numerous, and may b~ To LYMINGTON, Ryde, Cowes, d; Yarmouth, hired for any part of the Harboqr, the Isle from the Piers every Monday, Wednesday, of Wight, &c. (See page 266.) Jllld Friday, P.t 3 afte:rnoo:u, in summer The FLOATING BRIDGE crosses to Gos• port eve"1 half hol\l.'. (See page 267.) •

GOSPORT. ( .)

GOSPORT is the western division of the Port of Portsmouth; participa.ting in its naval and military importance, and situated on the western side of the entrance to Portsmouth Harbour, opposite Portsmouth Town and the Gun Wharves, where the channel fro!19pier to pier is only about 700 yards in breadth, o.nd is crossed every half-hour by the Floating Bridge. (See page 257.) At the north end of Go sport is the extensive Naval Victualling Establishment, and beyond it is Forton Lake or creek. The south end of the town is bounded by Alverstoke Lake, another creek of the harbour, having on its opposite side Hasla:r Hospital a.nd Barracks, and a narrow promontory, which projects so far into the sea as to contract the entrance to Portsmouth Harbour to less than 300 yards. At the end of this pro· montory is Blockhouse Fort, opposite the Round Tower on the Portsmouth side. (See page 258.) Thus the town is encompassed by water on the east, north, and south ; and it is regularly fortified on the land side by a line of bastions, redoubts, counterscarps, &c., extending southward from Forton Lake to Alverstoke Lake. The town itself, within these fortifications, contajns only about 8000 inhabitants, but there are about 11,000 souls in the suburbs of Forton Hardway, Elson, Bridge­ mary, cfc., on the north; and in Alverstoke, Anglesey Ville, , Monekton, tfc., on the south and west. Gosport and all these suburbs are in ALVERSTOKE PARISH, which extends over 4077 acres of fertile laud, averaging about two mileet • in length and breadth, and bounded on the south-west by ; on the south-east by Spithead; and on the east by Portsmouth Harbour; and guarded on all sides by forts, bastions, and other fortifications, which are now being consider· ably strengthened. The whole parish had only 10,972 inhabitants in 1821, but in 1841 they had increased to 13,5100 ; and in 1851 to 16,908, of whom 7062 were in Alverstoke Liberty; 7 414 in Go sport Town; 943 in Military and Marine Barracks, &a. ; 850 convicts in the Hulks; and 382 were seamen and 257 officers a.nd their families, in Haslar Hospital. Since 1851, the population of tlte parish has so much increased, by the erection of new houses, and the great extension of government establishments that it now amounts to neaTly 20,000 souls. About 1625 acres be· long to the naval and military departments of government; snd the rest of the parish belongs to various freeholders ; but the Bishop of Winchester is lord of the manor, which was held by 1iis predecessors as early as Domesday survey, when it was called Alwarestock. It forms the two ancient Liberties of Alverstoke and Go8· port, which now form part of Fareham Petty Sessional Division, and Portsmouth County Court District. Alverstoke parish also forms Gosport Polling District in South Hants, for which it has about 440 voters, mostly owners of freehold houses. It has supported its poor under Gilbert's Act frlnce the latter v.art of last century, when its House of Indust·ry was erected near Alverstoke Village, This WoRK· HousE has been enlarged at various periods, and has now room for about 400 paupers, though it has Beldom half that nmn her. Six guardians are etill elected y 2