Spithead
Roadstead between Hampshire, England and the Isle of Wight
Spithead is an eastern area of the Solent and a roadstead for vessels off Gilkicker Point in Hampshire, England. It is protected from all winds except those from the southeast, with the Isle of Wight lying to the south-west. Spithead and the channel to the north is the main approach for shipping to Portsmouth Harbour and onwards to Southampton. Spithead itself is an important naval anchorage. Historically, Spithead was used for assembling Royal Navy ships, including as a formation area for squadrons or fleets at anchor, as well as for the resupply of ships.
The artist Clarkson Frederick Stanfield described Spithead as "marked out by buoys at regular intervals, and is often the spot chosen for the assembling of the English fleet. The port is the general rendezvous where all ships homeward or outward bound take convoy, and frequently seven hundred merchantmen have sailed at one time from Spithead."
01Geography
It receives its name from the Spit, a sandspit that stretches south from the Hampshire shore for 5 km (3.1 mi). Spithead is 22.5 km (14.0 mi) long by about 6.5 km (4.0 mi) in average breadth. Horse and Dean Sand lie to the NE side and Ryde Sand and No Man's Land to the South side.
As of 2004, the main channel was reported as being maintained at a dredged depth of 9.5m.
02History
There is evidence of submerged prehistoric landscapes at Spithead.
On 19 July 1545, Mary Rose sank off Spithead.
The Spithead mutiny occurred in 1797 in anchored ships of the Royal Navy Channel fleet.
HMS Royal George sank in 1782 while under maintenance at Spithead with the loss of more than 800 lives.
The Fleet Review is a British tradition that usually takes place at Spithead, where the monarch reviews the massed Royal Navy. The 1937 Coronation Fleet Review and 1953 coronation reviews were two of the largest assembly of warships in history, described by military historian Hedley Paul Willmott as "the last parade of the Royal Navy as the world's greatest and most prodigious navy".
In July 2007, Admiral Alan West, a former First Sea Lord, took the name Spithead when he was appointed to the House of Lords, taking the title Baron West of Spithead.
03Infrastructure
Spithead is strongly defended by four Solent Forts, which complement the fortifications of Portsmouth. The forts were begun in 1865 under Lord Palmerston and completed by 1880.
At the eastern end of the approaches to Spithead lies Nab Tower, which is sunk in place over rocks, replacing an earlier light vessel.
In 2016, several new Spithead navigational lights were installed on pile driven into the seabed, to be used by the Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carriers.
Sources and credits
This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article “Spithead”, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.
Images, from Wikimedia Commons:
- Joseph Mallord William Turner (1775-1851) - Spithead, Two Captured Danish Ships Entering Portsmouth Harbour - N00481 - National Gallery.jpg by J. M. W. Turner, Public domain
- Spithead.jpg by Ordnance Survey, Public domain
- Admiralty Chart No 2050 Eastern approaches to the Solent, Published 1967.jpg by United Kingdom Hydrographic Office, Public domain
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