Naval Dockyards Society
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20TH CENTURY NAVAL DOCKYARDS: DEVONPORT AND PORTSMOUTH CHARACTERISATION REPORT Naval Dockyards Society Devonport Dockyard Portsmouth Dockyard Title page picture acknowledgements Top left: Devonport HM Dockyard 1951 (TNA, WORK 69/19), courtesy The National Archives. Top right: J270/09/64. Photograph of Outmuster at Portsmouth Unicorn Gate (23 Oct 1964). Reproduced by permission of Historic England. Bottom left: Devonport NAAFI (TNA, CM 20/80 September 1979), courtesy The National Archives. Bottom right: Portsmouth Round Tower (1843–48, 1868, 3/262) from the north, with the adjoining rich red brick Offices (1979, 3/261). A. Coats 2013. Reproduced with the permission of the MoD. Commissioned by The Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission for England of 1 Waterhouse Square, 138-142 Holborn, London, EC1N 2ST, ‘English Heritage’, known after 1 April 2015 as Historic England. Part of the NATIONAL HERITAGE PROTECTION COMMISSIONS PROGRAMME PROJECT NAME: 20th Century Naval Dockyards Devonport and Portsmouth (4A3.203) Project Number 6265 dated 7 December 2012 Fund Name: ARCH Contractor: 9865 Naval Dockyards Society, 44 Lindley Avenue, Southsea, PO4 9NU Jonathan Coad Project adviser Dr Ann Coats Editor, project manager and Portsmouth researcher Dr David Davies Editor and reviewer, project executive and Portsmouth researcher Dr David Evans Devonport researcher David Jenkins Project finance officer Professor Ray Riley Portsmouth researcher Sponsored by the National Museum of the Royal Navy Published by The Naval Dockyards Society 44 Lindley Avenue, Portsmouth, Hampshire, PO4 9NU, England navaldockyards.org First published 2015 Copyright © The Naval Dockyards Society 2015 The Contractor grants to English Heritage a non-exclusive, transferable, sub-licensable, perpetual, irrevocable and royalty-free licence to use, copy, reproduce, adapt, modify, enhance, create derivative works and/or commercially exploit the Materials for any purpose required by Historic England. All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise), without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book. British Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library ISBN 978-0-9929292-0-6 ebook ISBN 978-0-9929292-2-0 Design © Tricorn Books, 131 High Street, Old Portsmouth, PO1 2HW www.tricornbooks.co.uk This book is printed in UK on Forest Stewardship CouncilTM certified paper Contents Preface xi Acknowledgements and Permissions xiii Abbreviations and Glossary xvii List of tables xxi Abbreviated list of figures xxii Part 1: Historical background and characterisation 1 1 Dockyards 1 1.1 Historical background to British twentieth century dockyards 2 1.2 Political and strategic background to British twentieth century dockyards 4 1.3 First to second world wars 12 1.4 War damage 15 1.5 After the second world war 19 1.6 Into the twenty-first century 27 1.7 Dockyard and naval personnel 28 1.8 Women in dockyards 29 1.9 Fuel, ordnance, submarines and missiles 32 1.10 Devonport Dockyard overview 36 1.11 Portsmouth Dockyard overview 37 2 Characterisation 38 2.1 Characterisation process 43 2.2 Military characteristics 46 2.3 Industrial characteristics 47 2.4 Material characteristics 50 2.5 Architectural characteristics 54 2.5.1 Form and Function 54 2.5.2 Spaces and Vistas 58 2.5.3 Copying 60 2.5.4 Innovation 64 2.5.5 Usage 66 3 Changes to the naval estate 68 4 Conclusions 74 Illustrations Part 2: Devonport Dockyard in the twentieth century 77 2.1 Introduction 77 2.2 From 1895 to the second world war 78 2.3 The second world war and its consequences 80 2.4 A new era begins 83 2.5 The Modern Movement arrives at Devonport 87 2.6 The Submarine Refit Complex 94 2.7 A green policy is formulated for Devonport 98 2.8 Modernisation and enhancement of nuclear submarine support facilities 99 2.9 Modernisation and changing rôles of earlier buildings 101 Illustrations Part 3: Portsmouth Dockyard in the twentieth century 105 3.1 Introduction 105 3.2 Geology 107 3.3 Characterisation 109 3.4 Road names 109 3.5 Materials 110 3.6 Buildings 110 3.6.1 Area 1 110 3.6.2 Area 2 150 3.6.2.1 Railways 171 3.6.3 Area 3 173 3.6.4 Area 4 HMS Nelson accommodation and services 188 3.7 Conclusions 196 Appendix: Summary of significant twentieth century changes 200 at Portsmouth Dockyard Illustrations Part 4: Conclusions and recommendations 205 4.1 Primary findings 206 4.2 Stories 208 4.2.1 Portsmouth Dockyard Model 208 4.2.2 Dockyard museums 210 4.2.3 On the Knee Mutiny, 1906 210 4.2.4 Floating docks 210 4.2.5 Portsmouth Promontory stones re-used? 210 4.2.6 Pevsner and Lloyd critique 210 4.2.7 Dockyard amenities 211 4.3 Research questions 211 4.4 Finally 212 Appendix 1 Project methodology 213 1 Non-technical summary 213 2 Background 214 3 Research aim and objectives 216 4 Contents 216 5 Business case 217 6 Scope 220 7 Research strategy 220 8 Risk and ethics assessment 226 9 How the Naval Dockyards Society fulfilled the business case 228 10 Stakeholders 229 11 Archives 229 12 Document and building/structure record forms 230 13 Archive and dissemination 230 14 Timescale 232 15 Results 233 16 Conclusions and recommendations 233 Appendix 2 List of sources for maps, plans, models, aerial and ground 237 photographs relating to Devonport and Portsmouth Dockyards Appendix 3 Devonport Dockyard designations 255 3.1 Listed and scheduled buildings 255 3.2 English Heritage (2013), South West Heritage at Risk Register 302 3.3 Buildings at Risk Register for Plymouth (2005) 302 Buildings at Risk Register for Plymouth (2013) 3.4 Plymouth Conservation Areas 306 3.5 Further relevant Plymouth City Council documents 306 Appendix 4 Portsmouth Dockyard designations 309 4.1 Listed and scheduled buildings 309 4.2 English Heritage (2013), South East Heritage at Risk Register 356 4.3 Hampshire County Council (2005). Threatened Historic Buildings 359 in Hampshire Register: Portsmouth 4.4 City of Portsmouth (2005). Portsmouth Conservation Area 22 359 HM Naval Base and St George’s Square - including the Historic Dockyard and The Hard 4.5 Conservation Area No. 18 Guildhall & Victoria Park 359 4.6 City of Portsmouth (December 2006, updated 2011). 360 Statutory List of Buildings & Ancient Monuments 4.7 City of Portsmouth (2011). Local List of Buildings of Architectural 360 or Historic Interest References 361 Bibliography 405 PREFACE This characterisation study was commissioned by English Heritage, now Historic England, to increase our overall understanding of the dockyard built environment by telling the national story of twentieth century dockyards and the particular narratives of Devonport and Portsmouth Dockyards, the two remaining English naval bases. Before this study, twentieth century dockyards had not been appraised holistically. It will inform possible future discussions with the MoD and Dockyards to enable Historic England to focus its resources effectively in managing these historic environments. It was also important to assess them before imminent naval policy changes further affect the built environment. The tender to provide information for the understanding of the significance and value of naval dockyards and to produce a report was awarded to the Naval Dockyards Society in December 2012. The report was compiled through archival and library research and short field visits with the approval of the Ministry of Defence, the Defence Infrastructure Organisation, Babcock International Group (Devonport), BAE Systems (Portsmouth) and Portsmouth Naval Base Property Trust. The research team, all members of the Naval Dockyards Society, comprised two architectural historians, one industrial archaeologist, two maritime historians and an experienced finance officer. The frequency with which the names Coad, Evans and Riley occur in the designations underlines their expertise. As volunteers the team was sensitive to the range of stakeholders and depth of interpretations which are vital to characterisation. The period covered by the study starts with the Naval Defence Act (1889) and the 1895 Naval Works Act, which expanded the major British naval dockyards. The end of the twentieth century was marked by the Strategic Defence Review Report (July 1998) and the 2005 Defence Industrial Strategy which focused resources on increased offensive air power, two Queen Elizabeth class aircraft carriers and the Astute class of nuclear submarines. Devonport and Portsmouth have been subject to divisive naval cuts in the late twentieth century, their future often posed as either/or. Ownership and management have also changed significantly, with implications for historic buildings. It should be noted that while ‘dockyard’ remained the official term until supplemented by ‘naval base’ in the late 1960s, the terms are used interchangeably by historians and residents. To professionals the naval base is the total RN area and the dockyard is the operational area. Part 1 describes the historic topographical development through technological developments and phases related to changing technological and strategic needs. It analyses the changes driven by naval platforms, ordnance, fuel, materials, architecture, and the economic and cultural ramifications. Part 2 Devonport, and Part 3 Portsmouth, convey the findings which can be cross-referenced with Appendices 3 and 4, collations of Devonport and Portsmouth Dockyard Designations. Parts 2 and 3 are dissimilar in structure because the team had differing levels of access to the dockyards. The Conclusions summarise the primary findings and recommend ways in which this study will lead to future research. Appendix 1 provides a more detailed explanation of the methodology used in assembling this report. The report is illustrated by copies of plans and air and ground photography, listed in Appendix 2, which indicate significant phases of expansion and individual buildings.