Portsmouth Dockyard expanded under William III

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In the 1690s, under the reign of William III, Portsmouth Dockyard underwent a major expansion that transformed it into the principal naval base of England. The wars against Louis XIV's France required a greatly enlarged fleet, and Portsmouth's position on the English Channel made it the obvious base from which to contest French naval power. New dry docks, building slips, storehouses, and roperies were constructed, and the dockyard's workforce grew substantially. The expansion established the basic layout that the dockyard would retain for over two centuries. The great stone dry docks allowed ships to be built and repaired efficiently, while the ropery, stretching over a quarter of a mile, produced the vast quantities of rope needed to rig a fleet of sailing warships. The dockyard's fortifications were also strengthened, with new walls and bastions enclosing the yard and the growing town of Portsea. This period marked the beginning of Portsmouth's rise to become the world's most important naval base, a status it would hold through the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. The expansion also drove the growth of Gosport, which developed as a supply and support centre on the opposite shore of the harbour.