Prior to the 18th century, almost all the area now known as “Gunwharf” was mud flats, only exposed at low water. During the first decade of the 18C, some 60,000 square yards of mud bank were enclosed by a stone wall and filled with earth, thereby extending the shoreline by some 350 yards into the harbour.
From the outset, Gunwharf was to act as the main repository for the Navy, supplying and maintaining its guns, small arms and other ordnances. It would receive the armaments of ships going into mothball or for refit and also supply outbound ships bound for war, commercial protection, or even circumnavigation of the globe. Gunwharf did store some gunpowder, but the main repository remained in the Square Tower in Portsmouth.
In 1888, a further review split the two halves of Gunwharf with the Army taking over the northern section and the Navy the southern half. Responsibility for Gunwharf remained divided until the First World War when, in 1915, the two halves were re-united under the Admiralty with the Army being relocated to Hilsea Barracks. After the end of the war, in 1919, the southern half of Gunwharf was taken over by the Mines School, followed later by the Torpedo School in the northern half. In 1923 the whole of Gunwharf became the Vernon Shore Establishment.
Although the name “Vernon” would become synonymous with torpedoes and mines, the association was entirely accidental. The name Vernon originated with Admiral Edward Vernon, who was born at Westminster on November 12th 1684 and went on to become a successful and much-loved naval captain and occasional Member of Parliament.
HMS Vernon closed in1986. Portsmouth City Council issued a development brief in 1995 and the 32-acre site, shared almost equally between commercial and residential properties, was acquired by The Berkeley Festival Waterfront Company Limited in 1998.
The first residents moved in during 1999. The site combines some 2,000 meters of waterfront pathway, divided between the residential estate and the commercial area and the two areas are divided by a canal with access bridges.
