List of governors of Portsmouth

The Governor of Portsmouth was the Constable of Portchester Castle from the 13th Century to the reign of Henry VIII. Since then Portsmouth had its own military Captain or Governor, who was based in the Square Tower built in Old Portsmouth in 1494 as part of the fortifications to protect the rapidly expanding naval port. The Coats of Arms of former Governors of Portsmouth are displayed on the walls of the Square Tower's Lower Hall. In 1540, the Hospital of St. Nicholas, suitably converted and modernised, became the military centre of the town. Its Domus Dei, now the roofless Royal Garrison Church, became the residence of the Captain or Governor. The Governorship was abolished in 1834.

The Lieutenant Governorship was vested in the General Officer Commanding South-West District from 1793 to 1865, in the General Officer Commanding Southern District from 1865 to 1903 and in the Officer Commanding Portsmouth Defences / Portsmouth Garrison from 1903 until that post was abolished in 1968.^[1]

Constables of the King's Castle at Portchester and Town of Portsmouth

1289–1290: Henry Hussey
1316: Eustace de Haeche
1327: John de Basing
1335-1337: Richard FitzAlan, 10th Earl of Arundel^[2]
1338: John Hacket
1339-1342: Richard FitzAlan, 11th Earl of Arundel^[2]
1347: Eustace de Hocke
1361-1367: John de Edyndon
1369-1376: Richard FitzAlan, 11th Earl of Arundel^[2]
1376–1381: Sir Robert Ashton
1441: Sir John Cherowin
1451–1453: John Talbot, 1st Earl of Shrewsbury
1454: Richard Neville, 5th Earl of Salisbury
1461: John Tiptoft, 1st Earl of Worcester
1468: William Fiennes de Saye
1473: Anthony Widvile
1483: Sir William Uvedale
1483–1484: William Mirfield
1509: William Cope
1511: Stephen Cope
1513: Thomas FitzAlan, 12th Earl of Arundel

Governors of Portsmouth

1538-1540: Sir Thomas Spert (Captain of Portsmouth)^[3]
1544–1545: Sir Anthony Knyset
1545: John Chadderton (Captain of Portsmouth)
1545: William Paulet, 1st Marquess of Winchester
1551/2–1554: Richard Wingfield
1554–1559: Lord Chidiock Paulet (Captain)
1559–1571: Sir Adrian Poynings
1571–1593: Henry Radclyffe, 4th Earl of Sussex (Warden and Captain)
1593/4–1606: Charles Blount, 8th Baron Mountjoy
1606–1609: Sir Francis Vere^[4]
1609–1630: William Herbert, 3rd Earl of Pembroke
1630–1638: Edward Cecil, 1st Viscount Wimbledon
1638/9–1642: George Goring, 1st Baron Goring
1642–1643: Sir William Lewis, 1st Baronet (Parliamentary)
1644: William Jephson
1645: Richard Norton
1648: Robert Legg
1648: George Goring, 1st Baron Goring
1649: John Feilder
1649: John Desborough
1649–1659: Nathaniel Whetham
1660–1661: Richard Norton
1661–1673: Prince James, Duke of York
1673-1682: George Legge, 1st Baron Dartmouth
1682-1687: Edward Noel, 1st Earl of Gainsborough
1687-1689: James FitzJames, 1st Duke of Berwick
1690-1694: Thomas Tollemache
1694-1712: Thomas Erle
1712-1714: William North, 6th Baron North and Grey
1714-1718: Thomas Erle
1718-1719: Charles Wills
1719-1730: George MacCartney
1730-1737: John Campbell, 2nd Duke of Argyll
1737-1740: Richard Boyle, 2nd Viscount Shannon
1740-1752: Philip Honywood^[5]
1752-1759: Henry Hawley
1759-1773: James O'Hara, 2nd Baron Tyrawley
1773-1778: Edward Harvey^[6]
1778-1782: Robert Monckton^[7]
1782-1794: Henry Herbert, 10th Earl of Pembroke^[8]
1794-1810: Sir William Pitt
1810-1811: Hon. Henry Fox
1811-1826: William Harcourt, 3rd Earl Harcourt
1826-1827: Sir William Keppel^[9]
3 November 1827 – 1834: Prince William Frederick, Duke of Gloucester and Edinburgh^[10]

Lieutenant-Governors of Portsmouth

1514: Sir Thomas Wyndham
1558–1559?: Edward Turnour
1593/4?–1605: Sir Benjamin Berry
1615: Sir John Burlace
1620–1624: Sir John Oglander
1624: Sir Richard Morrison
1630?: Sir Thomas Brett
1640-1: Robert Willis
1647-?: Colonel Thomas Betsworth (or Bettesworth or Bettisworth)^[11]
1656: Major Peter Murford
1662: Sir William Berkeley
1665: Sir Phillip Honywood
1672: George Legge
1673: Henry Slingsby
1689: Colonel Rearsby
1689: Colonel Sir John Gibson
1697: Hon. Robert Fregue
1701: Colonel Sir John Gibson
1717: Hon. Colonel Peter Hawker
1731: General Hon. Peter Campbell
1751: John Leighton
15 February 1752: Captain John Murray^[12]
27 March 1775: Colonel Robert Watson^[13]
18 September 1790: Colonel Thomas Trigge^[14]
16 January 1796: Lieutenant-General Cornelius Cuyler^[15]
21 February 1799: Major-General Thomas Murray^[16]^[17]
25 June 1799: Major-General John Whitelocke^[16]^[18]
10 November 1804: Colonel Hildebrand Oakes^[19]
22 June 1805: Major-General Hon. John Hope^[20]^[21]
24 December 1805: Major-General Sir George Prevost^[22]
26 January 1808: Major-General Arthur Whetham^[23]
20 May 1813: Lieutenant-General Hon. Thomas Maitland^[24]
27 January 1814: Major-General William Houston^[25]
25 September 1814: Major-General Kenneth Alexander Howard^[26]
21 August 1819: Major-General Sir James Kempt GCB^[27]
20 October 1819: Major-General Sir George Cooke KCB^[28]
23 July 1821: Major-General Sir James Lyon KCB^[29]
20 March 1828: Major-General Sir Colin Campbell KCB^[30]
1834: Major-General Sir Thomas McMahon KCB
1839: Lieutenant-General Sir Hercules Pakenham^[31]
1846: Lieutenant-General Lord Frederick FitzClarence
1851: Major-General Sir George D'Aguilar
1852: Major-General Sir James Simpson
1855: Major-General Henry William Breton
1857: Lieutenant-General the Hon. Sir James Scarlett
1860: Major-General Lord William Paulet
1865: Lieutenant-General Sir George Buller
1870: General Viscount Templetown
1874: General Sir Charles Hastings Doyle
1877: General Sir John Garvock
1878: General Prince Edward of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach
1884: General Sir George Willis
1889: General the Hon. Sir Leicester Smyth
1890: Lieutenant-General the Duke of Connaught and Strathearn
1893: Major General Sir John Davis
1898: Lieutenant General Sir Baker Creed Russell

Town Majors of Portsmouth

16 October 1753: Patrick Douglas^[32]
1781: Thomas Smelt^[33]
to 1806: Grant
18 October 1806: Nathan Ashurst^[34]
12 January 1821: Robert Simpson^[35]
2 October 1823: Henry White
in 1849, 1854: Frederick Thomas Maitland

Sources

[1]
Governors of Portsmouth History in Portsmouth
[2]
Rickard, John. The Castle Community: The Personnel of English and Welsh Castles, 1272-1422.
[3]
Childs, David (2007). The Warship Mary Rose: the Life and Times of King Henry VIII's Flagship. Chatham Publishing. p. 59.
[4]
Markham, Clements R. (1888). The Fighting Veres. Boston, New York, Houghton, Mifflin and Co.
[5]
"No. 7909". The London Gazette. 10 May 1740. p. 2.
[6]
"No. 11374". The London Gazette. 27 July 1773. p. 2.
[7]
"No. 11865". The London Gazette. 11 April 1778. p. 1.
[8]
"No. 12300". The London Gazette. 28 May 1782. p. 5.
[9]
"No. 18319". The London Gazette. 2 January 1827. p. 2.
[10]
"No. 18412". The London Gazette. 9 November 1827. p. 2298.
[11]
Calendar of State Papers, Domestic Series, of the Reign of Charles I, page 563 and Journals of the House of Commons, page 220, A. 1647
[12]
"No. 9140". The London Gazette. 11 February 1752. p. 2.
[13]
"No. 11547". The London Gazette. 25 March 1775. p. 1.
[14]
"No. 13237". The London Gazette. 14 September 1790. p. 573.
[15]
"No. 13855". The London Gazette. 6 January 1796. p. 64.
[16]
"Army List 1799". The National Archives, War Office Records, WO65/49.
[17]
"No. 15110". The London Gazette. 23 February 1799. p. 190.
[18]
"No. 15152". The London Gazette. 25 June 1799. p. 63.
[19]
"No. 15752". The London Gazette. 6 November 1804. p. 1367.
[20]
"No. 15817". The London Gazette. 18 June 1805. p. 797.
[21]
"The Gentleman's Magazine". 1823. Retrieved 4 December 2015.
[22]
"No. 15874". The London Gazette. 21 December 1805. p. 1597.
[23]
"No. 16112". The London Gazette. 23 January 1808. p. 128.
[24]
"No. 16733". The London Gazette. 25 May 1813. p. 1018.
[25]
"No. 16851". The London Gazette. 1 February 1814. p. 262.
[26]
"No. 16967". The London Gazette. 20 December 1814. p. 2487.
[27]
"No. 17507". The London Gazette. 17 August 1819. p. 1475.
[28]
"No. 17530". The London Gazette. 30 October 1819. p. 1914.
[29]
"No. 17733". The London Gazette. 4 August 1821. p. 1617.
[30]
"No. 18457". The London Gazette. 1 April 1828. p. 629.
[31]
Henry Colburn, The United Service Magazine, vol. 29 (1839) p. 111.
[32]
"No. 9312". The London Gazette. 16 October 1753. p. 3.
[33]
"No. 12150". The London Gazette. 6 January 1781. p. 2.
[34]
"No. 15966". The London Gazette. 14 October 1806. p. 1362.
[35]
"No. 17668". The London Gazette. 13 January 1821. p. 93.

Tim Backhouse. "The Governors & Lieutenant Governors of Portsmouth". Archived from the original on 22 May 2010. Retrieved 6 December 2010.
Robert Walcott, English Politics in the Early Eighteenth Century (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1956)

[1] [1]
Governors of Portsmouth History in Portsmouth

[RFA-2] [2]
Rickard, John. The Castle Community: The Personnel of English and Welsh Castles, 1272-1422.

[3] [3]
Childs, David (2007). The Warship Mary Rose: the Life and Times of King Henry VIII's Flagship. Chatham Publishing. p. 59.

[4] [4]
Markham, Clements R. (1888). The Fighting Veres. Boston, New York, Houghton, Mifflin and Co.

[5] [5]
"No. 7909". The London Gazette. 10 May 1740. p. 2.

[6] [6]
"No. 11374". The London Gazette. 27 July 1773. p. 2.

[7] [7]
"No. 11865". The London Gazette. 11 April 1778. p. 1.

[8] [8]
"No. 12300". The London Gazette. 28 May 1782. p. 5.

[9] [9]
"No. 18319". The London Gazette. 2 January 1827. p. 2.

[10] [10]
"No. 18412". The London Gazette. 9 November 1827. p. 2298.

[11] [11]
Calendar of State Papers, Domestic Series, of the Reign of Charles I, page 563 and Journals of the House of Commons, page 220, A. 1647

[12] [12]
"No. 9140". The London Gazette. 11 February 1752. p. 2.

[13] [13]
"No. 11547". The London Gazette. 25 March 1775. p. 1.

[14] [14]
"No. 13237". The London Gazette. 14 September 1790. p. 573.

[15] [15]
"No. 13855". The London Gazette. 6 January 1796. p. 64.

[auto-16] [16]
"Army List 1799". The National Archives, War Office Records, WO65/49.

[17] [17]
"No. 15110". The London Gazette. 23 February 1799. p. 190.

[18] [18]
"No. 15152". The London Gazette. 25 June 1799. p. 63.

[19] [19]
"No. 15752". The London Gazette. 6 November 1804. p. 1367.

[20] [20]
"No. 15817". The London Gazette. 18 June 1805. p. 797.

[21] [21]
"The Gentleman's Magazine". 1823. Retrieved 4 December 2015.

[22] [22]
"No. 15874". The London Gazette. 21 December 1805. p. 1597.

[23] [23]
"No. 16112". The London Gazette. 23 January 1808. p. 128.

[24] [24]
"No. 16733". The London Gazette. 25 May 1813. p. 1018.

[25] [25]
"No. 16851". The London Gazette. 1 February 1814. p. 262.

[26] [26]
"No. 16967". The London Gazette. 20 December 1814. p. 2487.

[27] [27]
"No. 17507". The London Gazette. 17 August 1819. p. 1475.

[28] [28]
"No. 17530". The London Gazette. 30 October 1819. p. 1914.

[29] [29]
"No. 17733". The London Gazette. 4 August 1821. p. 1617.

[30] [30]
"No. 18457". The London Gazette. 1 April 1828. p. 629.

[31] [31]
Henry Colburn, The United Service Magazine, vol. 29 (1839) p. 111.

[32] [32]
"No. 9312". The London Gazette. 16 October 1753. p. 3.

[33] [33]
"No. 12150". The London Gazette. 6 January 1781. p. 2.

[34] [34]
"No. 15966". The London Gazette. 14 October 1806. p. 1362.

[35] [35]
"No. 17668". The London Gazette. 13 January 1821. p. 93.

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