Henry William Portman was an 18th century housing developer, the ancestor of the Viscounts Portman.

He was the son and heir of Henry William Berkeley Portman, by his wife Anne Fitch. He succeeded his father in the estates of Bryanston

Bryanston

Bryanston is a village and civil parish in north Dorset, England, situated on the River Stour one mile west of Blandford Forum. The parish has a population of 968 . The village is adjacent to the grounds of Bryanston School, an independent school.The village was named after Brian de Lisle, a...

 and Orchard Portman

Orchard Portman

Orchard Portman is a village and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated south of Taunton in the Taunton Deane district. The village has a population of 150....

 in 1761, and to the Berkeley estates at Pylle

Pylle

Pylle is a village and civil parish south west of Shepton Mallet, and from Wells, in the Mendip district of Somerset, England. It has a population of 176...

 on the death of his aunt Lady Burland. He developed 200 acre (0.809372 km²) of meadow in London (between Oxford Street

Oxford Street

Oxford Street is a major thoroughfare in the City of Westminster in the West End of London, United Kingdom. It is Europe's busiest shopping street, as well as its most dense, and currently has approximately 300 shops. The street was formerly part of the London-Oxford road which began at Newgate,...

 and the present site of Regent's Canal

Regent's Canal

Regent's Canal is a canal across an area just north of central London, England. It provides a link from the Paddington arm of the Grand Union Canal, just north-west of Paddington Basin in the west, to the Limehouse Basin and the River Thames in east London....

) he had inherited from his Tudor ancestor Sir William Portman

William Portman

Sir William Portman was an English judge and Chief Justice of the King’s Bench.-Origins and early career:Portman was the son of John Portman, who was buried in the Temple Church on 5 June 1521, by Alice, daughter of William Knoell of Dorset...

, turning it into the Portman Estate

Portman Estate

The Portman Estate is a property estate in Marylebone, Central London. It lies between Oxford Street and Edgware Road, and includes Portman Square, Manchester Square, and some parts of Baker Street and Gloucester Place....

. He began issuing its first building leases in 1755, and building began in 1764 with Portman Square

Portman Square

Portman Square is a square in London, part of the Portman Estate. It is located at the western end of Wigmore Street, which connects it to Cavendish Square to its east. It is served by London bus route 274...

, which was to owe its popularity to buildings by Robert Adam

Robert Adam

Robert Adam was a Scottish neoclassical architect, interior designer and furniture designer. He was the son of William Adam , Scotland's foremost architect of the time, and trained under him...

 and James ‘Athenian’ Stuart

James Stuart (1713-1788)

James "Athenian" Stuart was an English archaeologist, architect and artist best known for his central role in pioneering Neoclassicism.-Early life:...

. His development work was continued by his son Edward Berkeley Portman

Edward Berkeley Portman

Edward Berkeley Portman was an 18th century housing developer and politician. He was the son of Henry Portman, and ultimately a descendant of the Tudor landowner Sir William Portman. Edward continued his father's work developing the family lands in London into the Portman Estate...

.

External links

• http://www.portmanestate.co.uk/heritage/restoration.html
• John Burke
  John Burke (genealogist)
  John Burke was an Irish genealogist, and the original publisher of Burke's Peerage. He was the father of Sir Bernard Burke, a British officer of arms and genealogist....
  
  , A Genealogical and Heraldic History of the Commoners of Great Britain and Ireland, London 1834, vol. I, p. 62-64