Fratton, Portsmouth
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Fratton is a residential and formerly industrial area of Portsmouth, Hampshire. It consists of mostly Victorian terraced houses, and is typical of the residential areas in the city. In the past it housed a huge railway depot, but this has mostly been dismantled now, making way for a shopping complex and the redevelopment of Portsmouth FC's stadium, Fratton Park.
There is also a modest shopping centre on Fratton Road, called The Bridge, which is dominated by a large ASDA supermarket, and in atmosphere reflects the working class roots of the neighbourhood, with local, low-budget shops and cafes.
Fratton is also one of the four railway stations on Portsea Island. Due to its location as the last stop before the main Portsmouth railway station (Portsmouth & Southsea) Fratton has been adopted in naval slang as a euphamism for the withdrawal method "getting off at Fratton".
[edit] History
Fratton Farm and Fratton Common were part of the original Portsea Downs which extended North and Northeast of Portsea Island and Portsmouth, Hampshire. It was a small rural village into the early 1800s originally called Frodington and latterly, Fraddington. Due to developments during the Industrial age, more of the surrounding land was absorbed by Portsmouth in the 1870s and 1880s, principally by new housing developments.
