These pages feature details and photographs of all pubs currently known to be trading throughout the Portsea Island districts of Portsmouth. Further entries are listed on the Mainland Pubs page.
Some pubs may also be listed with additional information on one or more of the following pages:
Pub Architecture, Pub Crawls, Pub Reviews, Best Ale Houses
CLICK ON THE PHOTOGRAPHS TO SEE THE FULL SIZE IMAGES
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 Opened around the beginning of the 21st century, Regent Inns' chain of fake Australian pubs finally arrived in Portsmouth, on what had already become a street saturated with drinking establishments. Located in the former office block of Hippodrome House (named after the theatre that once occupied the site), the bar is obviously aimed at the younger drinker, showing sport on TV and having various theme nights to pull in the punters. The bar stays open 'til late each night. There is one large room selling overpriced drinks. A reasonably-priced bar menu is available.
| Pub Operator: Regent Inns |
Licenced Opening Hours:
Mon-Sat 10:00 'til 02:30; Sun 12:00 'til 01:00
Bank Holiday Sundays 12:00 'til 02:30 |
| Photographed 19th September 2004 |
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| The Wellington |
62 High Street, Old Portsmouth, PO1 2LY |
| 023 9281 8965 |
   This old tavern in historic Sallyport was sporadically known as the Duke of Wellington until the 1850s, by which time it had settled simply for the Wellington. Once part of the Peters Brewery estate, by the 1980s it was owned by Allied Breweries of Burton and branded as a Friary Meux pub. Now owned by Punch Taverns, the inn has remained a pleasantly quiet place in which to enjoy a meal or one of the two or three cask ales that are on offer. The pub gets busy during the summer months when many tourists decend on this part of the city.
| Pub Operator: Punch Taverns |
Licenced Opening Hours:
Mon-Thu 11:00 'til 00:30; Fri Sat 11:00 'til 01:30
Sun 11:00 'ti 00:00; Bank Holiday extensions |
Photographs, left to right:
27th January 2008; 30th September 2006;
11th May 1989 |
| Visit the Pub Crawls page to read a
detailed description of this pub (January 2008) |
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| The Wheelbarrow |
1 Kent Road, Southsea, PO5 3EG |
| 023 9282 1693 |
   This 18th century inn is one of the oldest in Portsmouth and was once known as Wheelbarrow Cottage. Later the Castle Hotel, it was around the turn of the 20th century that the pub received the extension at the front of the building. Known for a brief spell as Wheelies in the 1980s, the pub thankfully regained its proper name later that decade.
However, another name change courtesy of Whitbread's marketing department came in the mid '90s when the house reopened as part of the short-lived Tut 'n' Shive chain before once again reverting to its proper name.
What we have today is a rather run-down, one-bar pub, with a bright interior and rather shabby seating. A pool table and jukebox can be found at the Castle Road end of the bar. Cask ale quality leaves much to be desired (October 2009).
As at October 2009, the upper floors of the pub are being stripped out for refurbishment, and it is rumoured that the bar area will follow suit during the winter. It is planned to have the pub reopened and looking far better in January 2010, though this is subject to a lot of conflicting reports throughout the licenced trade in Portsmouth. Watch this space.
| Pub Operator: Treginnis Ltd (Punch Taverns) |
Licenced Opening Hours:
Mon-Sat 10:00 'til 00:30;
Sun 12:00 'til 00:30
Bank Holiday and Occasional Day extensions |
Photographs, left to right:
13th July 2008; 14th August 2005; 11th May 1989 |
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| The White Horse |
51 Southsea Terrace, Southsea, PO5 3AU |
| 023 9281 8979 |
   Known as the White Lodge in the 1940s, this pub is best known as the White Horse - the name it received in 1953. In 1988 the pub closed and received a major transformation, doubling its size and even including inside toilets! It reopened as Langtry's - taking its name from Lily Langtry - the Jersey actress who was known to have stayed here.
In 2005 the pub regained its proper name when it was purchased by local brewers George Gale & Co. A second major refurbishment followed and what we now have is a very pleasant pub indeed, including one of the most attractive beer gardens in Portsmouth - which soon becomes full on summer days.
The archive photograph to the right shows the pub as it looked until the mid 1980s, prior to expansion.
Now owned by independent company Merlin Inns following the pub's sale by Fuller Smith & Turner in 2008, the pub nevertheless looks to have a rosey future ahead. Recommended.
| Pub Operator: Merlin Inns |
Licenced Opening Hours:
Mon Tue Wed Thu Sun 01:00 'til 01:00
Sat Sun 07:00 'til 02:00 |
Colour photographs, left to right:
13th July 2008; 14th August 2005; 14th August 1988 |
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| The White House |
Eastney Road, Milton, PO4 8EA |
| 023 9229 4195 |
    This prominent Victorian tavern sited at a busy road junction has retained its name for around 150 years. The pub once stood on the abandoned Portsmouth and Arundel Canal. This two bar pub is frequented mostly by locals, though its car park ensures that it also takes advantage of passing trade.
Regular events include open mic nights on Thursdays and karaoke on Fridays. A good range of pub food is also on offer.
| Pub Operator: Enterprise Inns |
Licenced Opening Hours:
Mon-Thu 10:00 'til 00:30;
Fri Sat 10:00 'til 01:30
Sun 12:00 'til 00:00; Bank Holiday extensions |
Photographs, left to right:
13th July 2008; 3rd January 2005
11th May 1989; September 1998 (by Ray Scarfe) |
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| The White Swan |
26 Guildhall Walk, Landport, PO1 2DD |
| 023 9282 4792 |
   This ornate Edwardian pub, designed by A H Bone in 1906, includes six ornately carved caryatids flanking the entrance doors and is of similar design to the former Air Balloon on Mile End Road. Being located on Guildhall Walk, the pub used to be busy with young clubbers most nights, whilst daytime custom was much more thin on the ground.
After a short spell as a pseudo-American-style sports bar called Pitchers in the late 1990s it later thankfully regained its old identity, though never seemed to be able to attain similar levels of custom, mainly due to the multitude of other bars that opened on Guildhall Walk throughout the 1990s.
  However, after a period of closure in 2008, which initially looked ominous, the pub was rescued by national pub company JD Wetherspoon, who reopened the house following an extensive refurbishment in June 2009. The White Swan is now a very nice, traditional-style pub, with varied daytime clientele and a younger customer base in the evenings.
| Pub Operator: J D Wetherspoon |
Grade II Listed |
Licenced Opening Hours:
Mon-Thu 09:00 'til 23:00; Fri-Sat 09:00 'til 01:00
Sun 09:00 'til 23:00 |
Photographs, clockwise from top left:
13th July 2009; 13th July 2009; 13th July 2008
11th May 1989; 15th July 2007 |
| see the Pub Reviews page for a detailed description of this pub (July 2009) |
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| The Wig & Pen |
1 Landport Terrace, Southsea, PO1 2RG |
| 023 9277 9870 |
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   One of Portsmouth's most attractive pubs, this house was originally known as the Balmoral, as shown in the black and white photographs below. This name survived for well over one hundred years.
In 1982 it became the Wig & Pen (its name reflecting the large number of solicitors' offices nearby) and was successfully run by local beer champion Tony Mitchell and his wife, Wendy. Sadly, the pub company that owned the Wig & Pen at that time did not share the Mitchells' interest in quality real ales and continually tried to prevent Tony from serving beers that he had sourced himself. This led to the inn sign being removed by the Mitchells and replaced with one depicting a white elephant, to symbolise what Tony and his regulars believed (prophetically) what the house would become if it lost its interesting ales.
  Soon after, the Mitchells departed to run their own free house nearby and the Wig & Pen was subsequently ruined by the pubco, who renamed it Seamus O'Donnell's - a fake Irish theme bar. Thankfully, as predicted by Tony and his customers, this guise lasted only a few years due to a lack of custom and the pub thankfully reverted to the Wig & Pen. The house has once again become a popular venue and is gaining a reputation for its quality home cooked food.
Following a number of licensee changes in recent years, the Wig & Pen is now once again trading and offers a Quiz & Curry night on sundays. A food menu is to be introduced in the spring of 2010, followed by (hopefully) the addition of a real ale - once trade has reached the level necessary to sustain cask beer.
| Pub Operator: Southern Counties Taverns |
Colour photographs, left to right:
April 2002 (by Ray Scarfe); 11th May 1989; 4th February 2007 |
Licenced Opening Hours:
Mon-Sun 11:00 'til 00:30
(two hour extension on New Year's Eve) |
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| The Winchester Arms |
99 Winchester Road, Buckland, PO2 7PS |
| 023 9266 2443 |
   The Winchester Arms is one of the great success stories of the Portsmouth pub scene in recent years. Built around 1887, the pub had, by the 1990s, fallen into decline and seemed to be a prime candidate for closure. Its fortunes changed when the pub was bought by Jeff Hartridge of Winchester Ale Houses and it reopened in 1999 after a major refurbishment, complete with its own microbrewery.
It has since ceased brewing and is now in the hands of Punch Taverns, but remains an excellent ale house, with a good selection of cask beers. The pub is a regular entry in CAMRA's Good Beer Guide and is well worth a visit. A beer festival is held each May and regular live music is performed.
| Pub Operator: Punch Taverns |
see also Best Ale Houses |
Licenced Opening Hours:
Mon-Thu 11:00 'til 23:30;
Fri Sat 11:00 'til 00:30
Sun 12:00 'til 00:30;
Bank Holiday extensions |
Photographs, left to right:
13th July 2008; 2003; 18th February 1990 |
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  Opened in the 1980s in a converted shop, the Wine Vaults' name was deceiving, as it was actually a first class ale house, with around a dozen cask beers (and no lagers) on tap. Since expanded into three more shop units (and including a seperate café) the house also opened its own microbrewery in the mid 1990s. This has since folded and the pub was sold on to London brewer Fullers. It still remains a quality ale house and stocks a good selection of guest beers in addition to Fullers' standard cask ale range.
| Pub Operator: Fuller Smith & Turner |
Licenced Opening Hours:
Mon Tue Wed Sun 10:00 'til 23:30
Thu Fri Sat 10:00 'til 00:30 |
Photographs, left to right:
11th May 1989; 19th September 2004 |
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| Please note that the Licenced Opening Hours stated are the hours for which each premises has a licence to open its doors to the public. The hours for sale of alcoholic liquor may well be shorter than the Licenced opening hours. Some pubs may choose to open for shorter hours than their licence allows. Therefore it is always adviseable to check ahead to ensure that the premises shall be open at the time of your planned visit. |
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