The magic of the Rock Gardens enthralled me

The Rock Gardens fountain in its heydayThe Rock Gardens fountain in its heyday
The Rock Gardens fountain in its heyday
I wonder how many of you can remember when the Rock Gardens, along South Parade, were the wonder of the seafront?

There were many caged birds within the grounds until the local hooligans thought they had been alive for to long.

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As a kid, I used to be enthralled by the fountain after sunset when it was illuminated.

I have not been down that way for some time so cannot say what state the fountain is these day.

Marching through Portsmouth Guildhall Square during a wartime parade, here we see members of a Scots regiment leading a parade, bottom right.

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There is no caption with this photograph, so if anyone can tell me more about this I would be obliged.

Long lost local locations can be seen in the back ground, including Verrecchia’s ice cream parlour and Finlay & Co tobacconist.

Looking like a scene from a Western movie, here we see West Street, Fareham in 1901, bottom left.

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In the distant left can be seen a car hidden amid the horses and carts of the time.

To think that within a few decades the whole scenario of this photograph would change completely with the invasion of the motor car.

Over the page are officers and their ladies on the quarterdeck of HMS Hindustan.

This was the ship part of the Fleet Review held at Torquay in 1911.

It is one of the photographs from a collection and memoirs of Albert William Symonds.

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