Spithead
a roadstead on the S. coast of England, and a favorite rendezvous of the British navy; is the E. division-the SOLENT (q. v.) being the W.-of the strait that separates the Isle of Wight from the mainland. It is protected from all winds, except those from the S. E., and its noted security warranted the name which has been applied to it by sailors of the "king's bed-chamber." It receives its name from the "Spit," a sandbank stretching S. from the Hampshire shore for 3 miles; and it is 14 miles long by about 4 miles in average breadth. Spithead has been strongly defended since 1864 by fortifications completing those of Portsmouth.