The Southsea attraction famed for its guns and roses

The Lumps Fort area of Southsea, the subject of a new book. Picture: Shaun Roster

But author Jackie Baynes is about to put that straight with the publication of her latest book which traces the history of Lumps Fort, Southsea.

It’s called Guns and Roses – The Story of Lumps Fort and Canoe Lake Park and from it we learn that the fort (east of Canoe Lake) goes back to 1545.

That is when a redoubt was built to prevent a beach landing to the east of Southsea Castle.

When I published this picture of a circus at Lumps Fort the other day I was not sure of the date. It turns out it was 1949 because, as Ian Thirlwell points out in an e-mail, The Evening News of July 4 that year carried an advert for the Midget Town and Circus appearing at the fort.
Ian says: I have a particular interest in that a great uncle of mine, Robert Thirlwell, going by the show name of Bob Bernard, had an act there, Bobs Canine Stars. There is an archive at Sheffield University, the National Fairground and Circus Archive, which holds a copy of the programme for the Lumps Fort event, though there is no date on the programme.
The event was presented by Derek Roy, entertainer and entertainment producer in Southsea. The Midget Town was operated, if thats the right word, by an American, John Lester. He had a travelling company of midgets that went around the world.
Interestingly, the following year, 1950, a troupe called Burton Lesters Midgets appeared at the Theatre Royal. Burton was Johns so — When I published this picture of a circus at Lumps Fort the other day I was not sure of the date. It turns out it was 1949 because, as Ian Thirlwell points out in an e-mail, The Evening News of July 4 that year carried an advert for the Midget Town and Circus appearing at the fort. Ian says: I have a particular interest in that a great uncle of mine, Robert Thirlwell, going by the show name of Bob Bernard, had an act there, Bobs Canine Stars. There is an archive at Sheffield University, the National Fairground and Circus Archive, which holds a copy of the programme for the Lumps Fort event, though there is no date on the programme. The event was presented by Derek Roy, entertainer and entertainment producer in Southsea. The Midget Town was operated, if thats the right word, by an American, John Lester. He had a travelling company of midgets that went around the world. Interestingly, the following year, 1950, a troupe called Burton Lesters Midgets appeared at the Theatre Royal. Burton was Johns so

However, as Jackie explains, the name predates the fort and was taken from Lumps Farm to the north – the owner being Ralph Lumps.

She says: ‘Old maps also show a Lumps Mill and a Lumps Lane in the area. An early reference to Lumps Fort is in the records of the Board of Ordnance in 1805. By 1822 the fort was in use as a semaphore station on the line from London to Portsmouth.’

The book, published by the Portsmouth Society, is launched next Tuesday and should be available at bookshops and outlets around the city soon after.