Gunwharf Quays
Aerial view of Gunwharf Quays | |
| Location | Portsmouth, Hampshire, England |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 50°47′42″N 1°06′21″W / 50.7949°N 1.1058°W |
| Owner | Land Securities |
| Stores and services | 93 plus a cinema, 25 pubs and restaurants |
| Floors | 2 |
| Website | gunwharf-quays |
Gunwharf Quays is a shopping centre located in the Portsea area of the city of Portsmouth in England. Opened in the early 21st century, it was constructed on the site of what had once been HM Gunwharf, Portsmouth. The Gun Wharf, dating from the early 18th century, was a storage facility (one of several established by the Board of Ordnance close to the Royal Dockyards) where cannons, ammunition and other armaments were kept, repaired and made ready for use on land or at sea. It later served as HMS Vernon, the Royal Navy's torpedo and anti-submarine school (latterly its mine warfare and diving training establishment).
The military site closed in 1995. After six years of reconstruction (which included the restoration of some of the surviving 18th and 19th-century Gun Wharf buildings), the area was opened to the public as Gunwharf Quays on 28 February 2001. The site contains the landmark Spinnaker Tower, built on pilings on the edge of Portsmouth Harbour, which was opened on 18 October 2005.