The marshes had a new lease of life when a racecourse opened here in 1891. The site was where Walton Road now stands, and the racecourne had its own railway station.
Known as Portsmouth Park, it had a large grandstand and Royal Box. The racecourse operated for 24 years from 1891 to 1915, when it closed, during WW1.
Did You Know?
During WW1 the War Office turned the racecourse into one of the country’s biggest ammunition dumps, so they were reluctant to return it to its owner after the war. Disposal of stored ammunition began in 1922, when it was cleared at the rate of 3,000 tons a week, simply by blowing it up!
Portsmouth’s water supply also began here, with early attempts in the 1700s using springs and wells on Portsdown Hill. This was the start of modern piped water.
In the 19th Century, Portsmouth Water began to build reservoirs near Farlington Marshes. This provided fresh spring water from underground chalk streams for a growing Portsmouth City population of 100,000 residents.
The Borough of Portsmouth Waterworks Company was founded in 1857, expanding significantly. It bought up other water companies to become the Portsmouth Water company, now serving Hampshire and West Sussex.
Did You Know?
The water around Portsmouth is moderately hard, due to naturally occurring calcium and magnesium salts from the chalk based water sources.
In 1974 Farlington Marshes became a Nature Reserve. In 1985, the site was designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest.
- Find out more about Farlington Marshes nature reserve – click here
- Discover more about the history of Farlington Marshes – click here