Updated from original 2014 post... 177 years ago, Gosport and Royal Clarence Yard became global news with the arrival of King Louis Philippe of France aboard his paddle-frigate, the Gomer. Greeted by Prince Albert and the Duke of Wellington, the King travelled in the Royal train to Windsor where he spent several days with his great-niece, Queen Victoria. There is an interesting exchange of letters between Queen Victoria and Louis Philippe’s daughter, Louise, Queen of the Belg

Good news for the future of RCY as most of the land previously retained by the MOD is finally sold for development. Hopefully this will open up the Waterfront Trail between RCY and the ferry and bring more jobs to Gosport. Looks as though there could be interesting plans for the restoration of Queen Victoria's railway station. (More information , click here for Portsmouth News article). More information in the Gosport & Fareham Globe (p5). Hopefully, this will also lead to

The Victualler restaurant in the former Bakery on the RCY Waterfront has just launched a new weekend brunch menu. It's a fascinating place to visit, with the old ovens which used to turn out over 10,000 ships biscuits a day are on view. We understand that there is a new team in place at The Victualler, new menus being launched and more to come. Their website and Facebook page are in the process of being updated. Manager is Michael Wells. Assistant Manager is Fran Watts. The

The RCY Waterfront will be buzzing on the weekend of 10-11th September as part of Gosport's Heritage Open Days. From 10am-5pm on Saturday and Sunday, there will be lots for families to see and do. Free entry. Stalls on the Waterfront Vintage Fair in the former Slaughter House (which is not normally open to the public) Food Music (inc Solent Brass performance on Sunday) Guided history walks (free but limited spaces on each walk. Must be pre-booked here) Children's activities

The last public event in the Bakery for 2015 will be a celebration of Christmas, led by the Gosport Waterfront Baptist Church (which is based in Cooperage Green). The afternoon will include: Music and Carols Puppets Children's activities Tree-dressing Exhibition Cake Stall Cafe Lots of fun for the whole family. Do come along - and spread the word! 4hr free visitor parking in Cooperage Green, Weevil Lane, Gosport PO12 1AX For more information, contact: royalclarenceyard@gmai

Royal Clarence Yard will be hosting a Christmas Craft & Food Market on Saturday 21st November from 11am to 4pm. The former Slaughterhouse will house the majority of stalls, while the former Bakery will contain a pop-up cafe and exhibition. On the Waterfront there will be freshly cooked artisan pizzas available from Catch A Fire Pizza and a mobile bar provided by the Silver Bullet. Local history guide, Terry Hinkley willl be offering two free history of RCY tours at 11am and 1

Royal Clarence Yard is participating in Gosport's Heritage Open Days for the first time in 2015. Please put this in your diaries, come along, and bring friends! Here's an outline of the expected programme: All 4 days The former Bakery will be open 10am - 5pm, containing display of artwork & local history. Refreshments/cake available (provided by the Pump House cafe) Guided history walks through RCY (bookable at the Discovery Centre today or from Sunday via the Tourist Info

There is an interesting free history walk through RCY with local expert, Terry Hinkley, on 16 May 2015. It is a 2hr walk through Royal Clarence Yard on Saturday, 16th May. Starts outside the Pump House in Cooperage Green at 12.30pm. Booking is required for this walk. Please contact the Gosport Tourist Centre on 02392522944 . #events #heritage

Berkeley Homes has submitted a new formal application for change of use for the Slaughterhouse on the Royal Clarence Marina Waterfront to become a church. Permission had been previously been granted for the Slaughterhouse tio be used as one or two restaurants. The planning application documents can be found online at the GBC Planning portal. Application number: 15/00153/FULL. Case Officer is David Cranmer. Here are links to the main documents: Design and Access Statement Chu

The ' Christmas in the Bakery' event on Satururday 13th December attracted over 170 visitors, many of whom were new faces. The children's activities, the puppets and the cakes stall were particularly popular. Some RCY businesses had stalls or displays, including Colin M. Baxter, One of a Kind, Llaaj studio and the Royal Clarence Fitness Studio. Another stall run by a RCY resident offered Hawkshead Relish pickles & chutnies and Leather to Treasure returned with their hand-ma

Here's a fascinating look at the work of the last cooper working in Royal Clarence Yard. It's also interesting to see how the place looked before it finally closed and before the current redeveleopment. Many thanks to Terry Hinkley for sharing this video. #heritage #rcybusinesses

It's been announced that the remaining areas of Royal Clarence Yard are to be released for development. In behind the barbed wire there are a number of important historic buildings, including Queen Victoria's railway station and the Rum Store. And this is the last piece of the jigsaw which will allow the Waterfront to be opened up all the way from Haslar to Priddy's Hard. Hooray! Portsmouth News story here #waterfront #heritage

Interesting to read that Gosport MP, Caroline Dinenage, hosted a meeting last week with an official from the Dfefence Infrastructure Organisation (DIO), the body responsible for MOD property such as the retained area of the Royal Clarence yard waterfront next to RCM. If (when) the rest of the RCY waterfront is opened up, the vision for a pedestrian trail running along along the waterfront from Priddy's Hard to Fort Blockhouse might become closer to being achieved. There are s