Portsmouth, one of our greatest naval depôts, is situated near the south-western extremity of the island of Portsea, in the county of Hampshire, and is about seventy miles S.S.W. of London. Adjoining to it, on the northward, is the town of Portsea; and to the south-east, without the walls, lies the suburb of Southsea. The three places may be considered as forming one large town, under the general name of Portsmouth, the aggregate population of which is about 50,000. The population of Gosport, which lies to the westward of Portsmouth, on the opposite side of the harbour, is, with that of the adjacent hamlet of Stoke, about 12,000. The docks and naval storehouses are within the precinct of Portsea; the hospital and the victualling establishment are at Gosport; and the offices of the Port Admiral and the residence of the Lieutenant-Governor are at Portsmouth, within the lines of which are also the barracks for the accommodation of the garrison. Portsmouth is strongly fortified by a circuit of bastions and a moat, which enclose the town on the landside, and which are connected with a similar line, extending in a semi-circular form round the landside of Portsea. In the event of a siege, it would require 14,000 men to form an efficient garrison for the united towns. The situation of Portsmouth is low and marshy; and the peculiar smell which arises from the mud at low water, and from the moat, may be perceived at the distance of two or three miles, in approaching the town from the northward. The principal church at Portsmouth stands in St. Thomas'-street, and nearly in the centre of the town. It is dedicated to St. Thomas à Becket, and was erected between 1210 and 1220, by Peter de Rupibus, Bishop of Winchester. The transept and the chancel are the only parts which remain of the original structure, the nave and side-aisles having been rebuilt in 1692. At the same time the old tower, which formerly stood above the intersection of the transepts and the nave, was taken down, and the present one erected at the western entrance. It is surmounted with a cupola, and its height is about 120 feet.