Monument MPM2051 - Boundary wall, John Pounds Church, Old Portsmouth

Boundary wall to John Pounds Church in High Street, Old Portsmouth. The exact date of the wall is not known but it appears to have two or three phases of construction.

Boundary wall on the southwest, northwest and northeast sides of John Pounds Unitarian Church in High Street, Old Portsmouth. The wall has been constructed using stone/rubble and brick, with some sections built from either stone or brick and others using a combination of both materials. Different types/sizes of brick have been used in places [1]. Further investigation is needed in order to date the wall, but it appears to have at least two or three phases of construction [HER Officer]. The stone/rubble may have been reused from another building/structure. It has been suggested some stone may have come from the town fortifications that were demolished in the 1860s/70s but this is uncertain [2]. It is possible some repairs/construction work was carried out to the boundary wall when the John Pounds memorial was restored and the memorial garden created in 1955 and the present church constructed.

The original chapel that preceded the current church was built in 1718 as a Presbyterian Chapel [4, p98] and a burial ground opened in 1787 [5], part of which is now a memorial garden (see MPM1924). An 1850 report to the Board of Health states that the burial ground had 'formerly been enclosed by high walls and lofty closed gates' [5]. This would appear to suggest that the burial ground was either no longer enclosed or had a lower wall in 1850. A boundary following the same line as the current wall is clearly visible on the 1860 Ordnance Survey map [6]. Brick walls and gates can be seen on the High Street frontage in an early 20th century photograph but this does not show the area to the side and rear of the church [7].

Parts of the boundary wall are just visible in post-war aerial photographs of Old Portsmouth held in the Historic England photo archive. A photograph held by Portsmouth History Centre shows the ruined church from the High Street with low brick walls, gate piers, iron railings and gates at the front of the church which have since been demolished, but does not show the boundary wall to the side and rear [8].

<1> HER Officer, 2023, Photos of Boundary Wall, John Pounds Church (Photograph). SPM683.

<2> HER Officer, 2026, Boundary Wall John Pounds Church High Street Old Portsmouth (Unpublished document). SPM682.

<4> Offord, J, 1989, Churches, Chapels and Places of Worship on Portsea Island (Bibliographic reference). SPM39.

<5> 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.

<6> Ordnance Survey, 1860, Ordnance Survey Map 1860 (Map). SPM339.

<7> Backhouse, Tim, 2007-2016, History in Portsmouth (Bibliographic reference). SPM340.

<8> 1941?, John Pounds Church High Street (Photograph). SPM619.