Monument MPM1944 - Walls and stone arch beneath Infirmary, Gunwharf

Sections of wall interpreted as belonging to the 17th century town defences and a later stone arch observed in pits excavated below the floorboards of the Infirmary building at Gunwharf Quays in 1998. The walls were thought to belong to the Redan (V-shaped fortification) in the Sea Line wall. The arch dated to later than c1802 and its purpose is not known.

Sections of wall interpreted as belonging to the Redan (V-shaped fortification) in the 17th century Sea Line wall to the Portsmouth town defences and a later stone arch were observed in pits excavated below the floorboards of the Infirmary building at Gunwharf in 1998.

The remains of the walls thought to belong to the Redan were recorded in two pits. In one pit only one face of the wall and its broken end were visible. Here the wall had been constructed using roughly coursed stone held together with lime mortar. In another pit the wall was observed as a diagonal line of stone.

An arch made of dressed stone was observed in one of the same pits as the wall to the Redan. Nine of the voussoir stones to the arch were visible. Below the arch were two large flat stones which may have marked a channel. The purpose of the arch was not determined, but it may have been a drain or sluice. It was later in date than the New Gunwharf (1797-1802) and cut the earlier Sea Line wall.

Gifford and Partners, 1998, Gunwharf Quays Portsmouth: Infirmary Watching Brief (Unpublished document). SPM548.