TUDOR DEFENCES Portsmouth
Tudor Defences
Henry VIII's reign saw increasing tensions with the continent and in 1522 a new gun battery was added south of the Square Tower - this structure would later become the Saluting Platform. The earth and timber ramparts around Portsmouth town were first repaired in the 1520s and then rebuilt entirely in stone between 1541 and 1544. The new defences had artillery towers covering the landward north and east sides whilst an additional square artillery tower covered the Camber. The Round Tower remained in use and was also upgraded with gun ports. Along with Southsea Castle, another Tudor construction dating from 1544, the new defences came close to being tested as the Battle of the Solent was fought against French forces in sight of the town in July 1545.
Henry VIII died in 1547 and his immediate successors - first Edward VI and then Mary I - made no major upgrades in Portsmouth. In 1560 Elizabeth I added Green Bulwark, an angular bastion, on the southern corner of the town's circuit wall and this would later be upgraded into King's Bastion. The Saluting Platform, initially a timber construction, was rebuilt in stone in 1568. These upgrades were all funded by the first state run lottery.
In 1588 Spain declared war on England commencing with the Spanish Armada. Despite its upgraded defences from earlier in the Tudor era, Portsmouth was identified as vulnerable to attack. A grand scheme for new town walls, complete with arrowhead bastions and similar in design to the fortifications at Berwick-upon-Tweed, was devised. The plan was implemented, built in earth for speed, between 1584 and 1586. Both the Saluting Platform and the Square Tower were incorporated into the defensive circuit with the latter converted into a powder store around 1600 (the Governor had moved out in 1580).
Photograph Copyright:
British Photographic
All rights reserved (2019)
TUDOR DEFENCES Portsmouth
Tudor Defences
Henry VIII's reign saw increasing tensions with the continent and in 1522 a new gun battery was added south of the Square Tower - this structure would later become the Saluting Platform. The earth and timber ramparts around Portsmouth town were first repaired in the 1520s and then rebuilt entirely in stone between 1541 and 1544. The new defences had artillery towers covering the landward north and east sides whilst an additional square artillery tower covered the Camber. The Round Tower remained in use and was also upgraded with gun ports. Along with Southsea Castle, another Tudor construction dating from 1544, the new defences came close to being tested as the Battle of the Solent was fought against French forces in sight of the town in July 1545.
Henry VIII died in 1547 and his immediate successors - first Edward VI and then Mary I - made no major upgrades in Portsmouth. In 1560 Elizabeth I added Green Bulwark, an angular bastion, on the southern corner of the town's circuit wall and this would later be upgraded into King's Bastion. The Saluting Platform, initially a timber construction, was rebuilt in stone in 1568. These upgrades were all funded by the first state run lottery.
In 1588 Spain declared war on England commencing with the Spanish Armada. Despite its upgraded defences from earlier in the Tudor era, Portsmouth was identified as vulnerable to attack. A grand scheme for new town walls, complete with arrowhead bastions and similar in design to the fortifications at Berwick-upon-Tweed, was devised. The plan was implemented, built in earth for speed, between 1584 and 1586. Both the Saluting Platform and the Square Tower were incorporated into the defensive circuit with the latter converted into a powder store around 1600 (the Governor had moved out in 1580).
Photograph Copyright:
British Photographic
All rights reserved (2019)