GOSPORT, a seaport and municipal borough of Hampshire, England, on a peninsula on the west side of Portsmouth harbour, 86 m. S.W. from London by the S.R. Pop. A floating bridge connects it with Portsmouth.
Gosport (Goseporte, Gozeport, Gosberg, Godsport) was origi nally included in Alverstoke manor, held in 1 o86 by the bishop and monks of Winchester under whom villeins farmed the land. In 1641, the manor of Alverstoke with Gosport was granted to George Withers, but reverted to the bishop at the Restoration. In the i6th century Gosport was "a little village of fishermen." It was called a borough in 1461, when there are also traces of bur gage tenure. From 1462 one bailiff was elected annually in the borough court, and government by a bailiff continued until 1682, when Gosport was included in Portsmouth borough under the charter of Charles II. This was annulled in 1688. In the i6th century the inhabitants held common property in the shape of tolls of the ferry. The importance of Gosport increased during the i6th and 17th centuries owing to its convenience as a victual ling station. For this reason also the town was particularly pros perous during the American and Peninsular Wars. About 1540 fortifications were built there for the defence of the harbour, and in the 17th century it was a garrison town under a lord-lieutenant. Its church of the Holy Trinity was built under William III. It owes its present importance to its being a naval depot.