Monument MPM1696 - Gatcombe Burial Ground, Hilsea

Site of the former burial ground at Gatcombe, Hilsea. 19th century sources suggest the ground had been in use by a religious order from the 14th century until the reformation but there are no earlier sources to confirm this. The burial ground was used during the mid-late 18th century until 1824 by the militia and troops stationed at Hilsea Barracks.

Site of the former burial ground at Gatcombe, Hilsea. The burial ground is marked immediately to the south of Hilsea Barracks on an 1801 chart of Spithead, which includes Portsea Island [1], and an 1805 plan of land at Hilsea [2].

19th century sources suggest the burial ground had medieval monastic origins, although there are no primary historical sources regarding this. Rawlinson's report to the Board of Health in 1850 stated that the cemetery at Gatcombe had been a burial place for 'very many ages', originally having been attached to a cell of the Premonstratensian monks of Tichfield Abbey who held lands in the area in the reign of Richard II. According to Rawlinson, the ground was also used by the residents of nearby 'Stobington' (Stubbington) farm and 'strangers'. Following the reformation the cemetery fell into disuse, until the American and Napoleonic Wars when it was used for the burial of militia and regular troops stationed at Hilsea Barracks. No further burials took place after 1824, and part of the site had been built on by 1870. [3, 4]

Burials were discovered during drainage work at Hilsea Barracks in 1897 and 1939 [see MPM1692]. It is likely that these burials formed part of the cemetery. The site is now a housing estate. It is not known whether any burials were removed prior to or during the redevelopment of the site.

<1> Baker, B, 1801, Chart of Spithead from the East End of Hayling Island to Stokes Bay (Cartographic materials). SPM343.

<2> Searle, R, 1805, A Plan of Hilsea lines and the Ground to their Rear in the Island of Portsea (Cartographic materials). SPM344.

<3> Rawlinson, Robert, 1850, Report to the General Board of Health on a Preliminary Inquiry into the Sewerage, Drainage, and Supply of Water, and the Santitary Condition of the Inhabitants of the Borough of Portsmouth in the County of Hampshire. (Bibliographic reference). SPM345.

<4> Ordnance Survey, 1870, Ordnance Survey Map 1870 (Map). SPM282.