2-798-957 - The Print Collector/Heritage Images

Keys of the Fortress of Portsmouth, 1845. '...curious and antique emblems of authority...They are of bronze, of a deep gold colour; weigh two pounds and a half, and are fastened together by a purple ribbon, with deep gold fringe. They are each nine inches long; on the flutings is the following inscription; it should, however, be explained that the ancient keys, being much corroded, were mingled with a quantity of fresh metal, and recast in1814. "The Keys of the Fortress of Portsmouth, presented to, and most graciously received by, the Prince Regent...on the twenty-first June, 1814; when Lieut.-General Houston was the Lieut.-Governor, and Major-General Fisher the Commanding Engineer. "JOHN OWEN, Fecit.'' When her Majesty [Queen Victoria] received the keys on her first visit...she took them away with her in the carriage, and kept them for some time, to examine them'. From "Illustrated London News", 1845, Vol VII.