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Description: | The Portland Chambers was an early 19th century building and had many names and uses over the years including being used as the Town Hall, Corn Exchange and Portland Hall. It had been used for reading sessions, plays and dances.
In 1800 Fareham was little more than a large village, chiefly comprising small houses and cottages, many of them thatched. The streets were unpaved and cart horses were left tethered to rails outside buildings. As the population rose from 3,000 in 1800 to 5,800 by 1850, old buildings were pulled down and replaced by brick structures. The old structures in the centre of West Street were demolished as well making the street wider and thus influencing its development as the business centre rather than High Street.
The most imposing building erected during this period was Portland Hall. The site was purchased by the Society for Literary and Philosophical Objects in 1834 and the building was opened in 1835 by Lord Brougham, the Lord Chancellor. It was sold in 1858 and became the Town Hall with areas of the building let to local organisations. Throughout its history, the building has been a post office, a savings bank, the meeting place for the Fareham Choral and Dramatic Societies, the Band of the Royal Marines gave concerts and very popular was Mrs Jarley's Waxworks and Tableaux Virants.
Portland Hall was also one of the first buildings in Fareham to have gas installed in 1836, the same year that the gas works were established in Fareham. Later the streets were lit by gas. This was replaced by electric lighting in 1890, and Fareham became the first town in the country to have its streets wholly lit by electricity.
References:
1. James, Alice. 1989. Fareham between the wars, p.22.
2. Brown, Ron. 1983. Fareham of yesteryear, p. 7-11.
Copy photograph of an engraving by Rock & Co. London. Number 4271. | Format: | image/jpeg | License: | http://www.sopse.org.uk/ixbin/hixclient.exe?a=query&p=gateway&f=generic_sitetext%2ehtm&_IXFIRST_=1&_IXMAXHITS_=1&cms_con_core_subtype%3acms_con_text_what=copyright&%3acms_sys_group=%22sopse%22 | Rights holder: | Hampshire Library and Information Service - Hampshire County Council | Subjects: | Fareham Choral and Dramatic Society Band of the Royal Marines building Portland Chambers fashion Corn Exchange street town hall Jarley's Waxworks play waxworks High Street West Street Society for Literary and Philosophical Objects transport event dress coach and horses Institution Hall Lord Brougham dance | Temporal: | start=1861-02-04; end=1861-02-04; | Source: | Sense of place SE | Creator: | Rock and Co, London; (Copied by: Dine, Derek; Hampshire County Library;) | Identifier: | http://www.sopse.org.uk/ixbin/hixclient.... | Language: | en-GB | Format: | image/jpeg | Go to resource |
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