Once
upon a time,
before the town of Portsmouth was founded, this coastline was made
up of creeks, low-lying marsh and water. Over the centuries the coastline
has altered, but the town's position here on the south coast, its
proximity to the open sea, coupled with control of the harbour and
its entrance, have secured Portsmouth's place in history as one of
the world's great anchorages and a rendezvous for British shipping
in times of war for over 800 years.
Languages 
Portsmouth City Museum
The City is the museum of and for the people of Portsmouth.
There are temporary exhibition galleries, which have a frequently changing parade of fascinating shows on a wide range of subjects -
recent exhibitions have included Space Exploration, Portsmouth at the
time Nelson and Eco Fashion. To see what's on at present please click on Events and Exhibitions.
The museum's main displays feature the 'Story of Portsmouth'. Discover how life at home has changed over the centuries in the 'Living in Portsmouth' Gallery which looks at life in the home with the reconstruction of a 17th century bedchamber, an 1871 dockyard worker's kitchen, a Victorian parlour, a 1930s kitchen and a 1950s living room. The story continues with 'Portsmouth at Play' on the beach, in the cinema, on the football field and dance floor.
'A Study in Sherlock: Uncovering The Arthur Conan Doyle Collection'
This new and exciting, interactive and permanent exhibition of Richard Lancelyn Green’s international Collection has been created in its own refurbished gallery.
The new display explores further the life of Arthur Conan Doyle and the creation of Sherlock Holmes. It also features a range of interactive displays, a ‘new’ Sherlock Holmes mystery, and narration by Stephen Fry, the Patron of the Collection. Come and experience the world of Sherlock Holmes and fine-tune your own powers of detection!
Click here to find more about this fabulous collection
Fine and Decorative Art
There is also a Fine and Decorative Art Gallery, which features a wide range of material from the 17th century to the present day; the Portsmouth Picture Gallery with its extensive and important collection of local paintings, prints and drawings, and the Temporary Exhibition Gallery where a regularly changing programme ensures that there is always something to see or do.
General Enquiries and Donations
The staff at Portsmouth Museums and Records Service are willing to answer any enquiries you may have about the collections of archives and objects that we hold or any questions you might have concerning Portsmouth's history. If you have any questions you want to ask please use the details below. If you have an object you would like to know more about click here for more information about how to get in touch.
The collections we hold and museums we open are only made possible by the generosity of the public. If you would like to make a donation of an object or papers please click here.
Click here to find out more about Portsmouth Museums & Records Society, our 'Friends' organisation which supports the work of our museums.
All pictures are copyright of Portsmouth Museums and Records Service
