Portsmouth enrols 23,000 students and is ranked among the world's best modern universities. Portsmouth is also the birthplace of author Charles Dickens and engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel. The Romans built Portus Adurni, a fort, at nearby Portchester in the late third century. The city's Old English name "Portesmuða" is derived from "port", meaning a haven, and "muða", the mouth of a large river or estuary. The "Anglo-Saxon Chronicle" has a warrior called Port and his two sons killing a noble Briton in Portsmouth in 501. Winston Churchill, in his "A History of the English-Speaking Peoples", says that Port was a pirate
King James's and Landport Gates end of the High Street. Unlike the majority of Portsmouth's defences, the gate is still in its current position. King James's and Landport Gates King James's and Landport Gates are two English Heritage gateways in Portsmouth, Hampshire, England. Earthen ramparts protecting the land side of the port containing munitions, international goods storage, warehouses, shops and homes were constructed in the 14th century which were strengthened by order of Henry VIII in the 16th. Four ornate gateways were originally access points to Portsmouth through the town walls. The majority of the town walls were demolished in 1860. <br> King James's Gate