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The Roman Fort at Portchester was built between 285AD & 290AD and was home to the Roman fleet in Britain. The D shaped Roman towers remain today and were incorporated into the Norman castle when it was built sometime between 1066AD & 1100AD. The Anglo Saxons used the fort after the Romans left until the Norman invasion in 1066. Portchester is the best preserved Roman fort north of the Alps. Portchester has been home to many kings and chieftains. See Wiki link below
Portchester Castle in Hampshire is a castle of many periods and many uses. It has been a Roman fort, a Saxon settlement, a powerful medieval castle, a priory, a place of conspiracy and a prisoner of war camp.
Portchester started as the Roman ‘Saxon Shore’ fort of Portus Adurni in about the 3rd century A.D. The present square plan of outer walls are Roman and are well preserved, with medieval improvements. These are still some of the best Roman walls in Britain. Wiki claims they are the best preserved Roman walls north of the Alps.
The term ‘Saxon Shore’ has to be used with caution as, while these forts may have served in the later defence of Britain against European tribes such as the Saxons, most evidence suggests they were first built to defend against other Romans during a period of rival Roman emperors. Indeed Portchester is so far to the south as to have been useless against Saxons, Angles or Jutes invading from Denmark or Holland but well placed against invaders from Roman-held France/Gaul. Like all these forts it was a base for the Roman navy as much as their army.
Post-Roman there is evidence and records of a Saxon settlement or burgh within the Roman walls but the coming of the Normans in 1066 meant that the new invaders recognised the value of the site as a large and almost ready-made base for the Norman Conquest. As at Pevensey, in Sussex, the Roman walls were supplemented by a Norman ‘inner bailey’ and then a tall keep. The keep at Portchester is square and still well preserved but is the least disability friendly of a large and generally flat site.
The pious Normans also allowed the Augustinians to build a priory in one corner of the site, where the present church is, while high on the walls there are nine ‘garderobe’ or toilet chutes to allow the monks to relieve themselves straight into the harbour, which then came up to the Roman walls on that side.
Various kings spent money here; Edward II spent £1,100 in the early 14th century in anticipation of a French invasion while Richard II remodelled the great hall, concealing older Norman material under his work. The 1415 ’Southampton’ plot against Henry V was discovered here - this also features in Shakespeare’s Henry V. The Earl of Cambridge, Baron Scrope of Masham and Sir Thomas Grey were arrested and executed.
Sold in 1632, the castle was in private hands but often used as a prison. Prisoners included Dutch from the Second Anglo-Dutch war (1665-67) and French and their allies from the War of the Spanish Succession and the Napoleonic Wars. Some 7,000 Napoleonic prisoners were kept here with the castle being so overcrowded that they hung their hammocks from the huge floor beams high up inside the keep, often with an enormous drop beneath them should the hammock split or they fell out. Many died and were buried on the tidal mudflats where their bones still turn up today.
Today the site is in the hands of English Heritage.
The Roman Fort at Portchester was built between 285AD & 290AD and was home to the Roman fleet in Britain. The D shaped Roman towers remain today and were incorporated into the Norman castle when it was built sometime between 1066AD & 1100AD. The Anglo Saxons used the fort after the Romans left until the Norman invasion in 1066. Portchester is the best preserved Roman fort north of the Alps. Portchester has been home to many kings and chieftains. See Wiki link below
The Roman Fort at Portchester was built between 285AD & 290AD and was home to the Roman fleet in Britain. The D shaped Roman towers remain today and were incorporated into the Norman castle when it was built sometime between 1066AD & 1100AD. The Anglo Saxons used the fort after the Romans left until the Norman invasion in 1066. Portchester is the best preserved Roman fort north of the Alps. Portchester has been home to many kings and chieftains. See Wiki link below
St Mary's Anglican parish church, was built in the 1130s in the outer bailey of Portchester Castle. The church was built for an Augustinian priory which Pont de l'Arche established within the castle in 1128. Part of the priory was demolished leaving just the church. Portchester castle was built by the Normans sometime between 1066 and 1100. The castle was built on a former Roman Fort which was built between 285AD & 290AD and was home to the Roman fleet in Britain.
The Roman Fort at Portchester was built between 285AD & 290AD and was home to the Roman fleet in Britain. The D shaped Roman towers remain today and were incorporated into the Norman castle when it was built sometime between 1066AD & 1100AD. The Anglo Saxons used the fort after the Romans left until the Norman invasion in 1066. Portchester is the best preserved Roman fort north of the Alps. Portchester has been home to many kings and chieftains. See Wiki link below
Inside the Norman castle. The tower in front ties the Norman inner castle wall into the longer Roman wall. The Normans also raised the Roman wall in this section.
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Portchester Castle in Hampshire is a castle of many periods and many uses. It has been a Roman fort, a Saxon settlement, a powerful medieval castle, a priory, a place of conspiracy and a prisoner of war camp.
Portchester started as the Roman ‘Saxon Shore’ fort of Portus Adurni in about the 3rd century A.D. The present square plan of outer walls are Roman and are well preserved, with medieval improvements. These are still some of the best Roman walls in Britain. Wiki claims they are the best preserved Roman walls north of the Alps.
The term ‘Saxon Shore’ has to be used with caution as, while these forts may have served in the later defence of Britain against European tribes such as the Saxons, most evidence suggests they were first built to defend against other Romans during a period of rival Roman emperors. Indeed Portchester is so far to the south as to have been useless against Saxons, Angles or Jutes invading from Denmark or Holland but well placed against invaders from Roman-held France/Gaul. Like all these forts it was a base for the Roman navy as much as their army.
Post-Roman there is evidence and records of a Saxon settlement or burgh within the Roman walls but the coming of the Normans in 1066 meant that the new invaders recognised the value of the site as a large and almost ready-made base for the Norman Conquest. As at Pevensey, in Sussex, the Roman walls were supplemented by a Norman ‘inner bailey’ and then a tall keep. The keep at Portchester is square and still well preserved but is the least disability friendly of a large and generally flat site.
The pious Normans also allowed the Augustinians to build a priory in one corner of the site, where the present church is, while high on the walls there are nine ‘garderobe’ or toilet chutes to allow the monks to relieve themselves straight into the harbour, which then came up to the Roman walls on that side.
Various kings spent money here; Edward II spent £1,100 in the early 14th century in anticipation of a French invasion while Richard II remodelled the great hall, concealing older Norman material under his work. The 1415 ’Southampton’ plot against Henry V was discovered here - this also features in Shakespeare’s Henry V. The Earl of Cambridge, Baron Scrope of Masham and Sir Thomas Grey were arrested and executed.
Sold in 1632, the castle was in private hands but often used as a prison. Prisoners included Dutch from the Second Anglo-Dutch war (1665-67) and French and their allies from the War of the Spanish Succession and the Napoleonic Wars. Some 7,000 Napoleonic prisoners were kept here with the castle being so overcrowded that they hung their hammocks from the huge floor beams high up inside the keep, often with an enormous drop beneath them should the hammock split or they fell out. Many died and were buried on the tidal mudflats where their bones still turn up today.
Today the site is in the hands of English Heritage.
The Roman Fort at Portchester was built between 285AD & 290AD and was home to the Roman fleet in Britain. The D shaped Roman towers remain today and were incorporated into the Norman castle when it was built sometime between 1066AD & 1100AD. The Anglo Saxons used the fort after the Romans left until the Norman invasion in 1066. Portchester is the best preserved Roman fort north of the Alps. Portchester has been home to many kings and chieftains. See Wiki link below
The Roman Fort at Portchester was built between 285AD & 290AD and was home to the Roman fleet in Britain. The D shaped Roman towers remain today and were incorporated into the Norman castle when it was built sometime between 1066AD & 1100AD. The Anglo Saxons used the fort after the Romans left until the Norman invasion in 1066. Portchester is the best preserved Roman fort north of the Alps. Portchester has been home to many kings and chieftains. See Wiki link below
St Mary's Anglican parish church, was built in the 1130s in the outer bailey of Portchester Castle. The church was built for an Augustinian priory which Pont de l'Arche established within the castle in 1128. Part of the priory was demolished leaving just the church. Portchester castle was built by the Normans sometime between 1066 and 1100. The castle was built on a former Roman Fort which was built between 285AD & 290AD and was home to the Roman fleet in Britain.
The Roman Fort at Portchester was built between 285AD & 290AD and was home to the Roman fleet in Britain. The D shaped Roman towers remain today and were incorporated into the Norman castle when it was built sometime between 1066AD & 1100AD. The Anglo Saxons used the fort after the Romans left until the Norman invasion in 1066. Portchester is the best preserved Roman fort north of the Alps. Portchester has been home to many kings and chieftains. See Wiki link below
The Roman Fort at Portchester was built between 285AD & 290AD and was home to the Roman fleet in Britain. The D shaped Roman towers remain today and were incorporated into the Norman castle when it was built sometime between 1066AD & 1100AD. The Anglo Saxons used the fort after the Romans left until the Norman invasion in 1066. Portchester is the best preserved Roman fort north of the Alps. Portchester has been home to many kings and chieftains. See Wiki link below
This a full size tableau set out in The Keep at Portchester Castle and not on the ground level but a fair way up . This was one really tricky shot as I had to watch out for other visitors with very young children who kept running into the front of the boat . Lighting was a nightmare and things like a fire extinguisher and other items that go with a place open to the public . I did not get ant other useable shots here from any of the angles .
BLACK PRISONERS OF WAR AT PORTCHESTER CASTLE .
In October 1796 a fleet of ships from the Caribbean carrying over 2,500 prisoners of war, who were mostly black or mixed-race, began to dock in Portsmouth Harbour. By the end of that month almost all of them, apart from about 100 women and children, were living at Portchester Castle.
English Heritage curator Abigail Coppins, who is researching their extraordinary story, explains how the prisoners were captured, how they were treated at the castle, and what happened to them after their release.
I don't think the daisy chain is part of the display , more likely put there by one of the many young visitors of the day .
For those of you interested in reading of this in much more detail here is a link to the English Heritage wepage ---
www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/portchester-cast...
The Roman Fort at Portchester was built between 285AD & 290AD and was home to the Roman fleet in Britain. The D shaped Roman towers remain today and were incorporated into the Norman castle when it was built sometime between 1066AD & 1100AD. The Anglo Saxons used the fort after the Romans left until the Norman invasion in 1066. Portchester is the best preserved Roman fort north of the Alps. Portchester has been home to many kings and chieftains. See Wiki link below
The Roman Fort at Portchester was built between 285AD & 290AD and was home to the Roman fleet in Britain. The D shaped Roman towers remain today and were incorporated into the Norman castle when it was built sometime between 1066AD & 1100AD. The Anglo Saxons used the fort after the Romans left until the Norman invasion in 1066. Portchester is the best preserved Roman fort north of the Alps. Portchester has been home to many kings and chieftains. See Wiki link below
A view within Portchester Castle looking up at the Keep . The Castle may well have at one time been a palace for Richard II but for many years it was used as a prison for prisoners of war .
Portchester Castle was first used to house captured enemy soldiers in 1665, when England was at war with the Netherlands. The government rented the castle from its owners and housed about 500 Dutch prisoners here. It was used as a prison again during all the major wars of the 18th century, mainly to house French captives. During the War of Austrian Succession (1740–48) Portchester housed around 2,500 prisoners – about a quarter of all the prisoners of war in Britain.
The most important period in Portchester’s history as a prison was that of the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic wars of 1793–1815. Portchester was one of 12 main prisoner-of-war depots in Britain, and housed up to 8,000 prisoners at any one time.
Prisoners of many different nationalities and backgrounds were brought to Portchester in the course of the wars. A group of about 2,000 mainly black and mixed-race prisoners were brought to the castle from the Caribbean in 1796, and remained at Portchester for over a year. Later, a number of prisoners who were among a large group of French captives brought here from the Mediterranean in 1810 transformed one of the rooms in the keep into a theatre. The last prisoners left the castle in May 1814.
The above was taken from the English Heritage page on Portchester Castle and from this piece there is a link to a huge history of the prisoners here and is too large to post here , but worth investigating if you are intrigued .
The back of the Water Gate - medieval in a Roman wall.
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Portchester Castle in Hampshire is a castle of many periods and many uses. It has been a Roman fort, a Saxon settlement, a powerful medieval castle, a priory, a place of conspiracy and a prisoner of war camp.
Portchester started as the Roman ‘Saxon Shore’ fort of Portus Adurni in about the 3rd century A.D. The present square plan of outer walls are Roman and are well preserved, with medieval improvements. These are still some of the best Roman walls in Britain. Wiki claims they are the best preserved Roman walls north of the Alps.
The term ‘Saxon Shore’ has to be used with caution as, while these forts may have served in the later defence of Britain against European tribes such as the Saxons, most evidence suggests they were first built to defend against other Romans during a period of rival Roman emperors. Indeed Portchester is so far to the south as to have been useless against Saxons, Angles or Jutes invading from Denmark or Holland but well placed against invaders from Roman-held France/Gaul. Like all these forts it was a base for the Roman navy as much as their army.
Post-Roman there is evidence and records of a Saxon settlement or burgh within the Roman walls but the coming of the Normans in 1066 meant that the new invaders recognised the value of the site as a large and almost ready-made base for the Norman Conquest. As at Pevensey, in Sussex, the Roman walls were supplemented by a Norman ‘inner bailey’ and then a tall keep. The keep at Portchester is square and still well preserved but is the least disability friendly of a large and generally flat site.
The pious Normans also allowed the Augustinians to build a priory in one corner of the site, where the present church is, while high on the walls there are nine ‘garderobe’ or toilet chutes to allow the monks to relieve themselves straight into the harbour, which then came up to the Roman walls on that side.
Various kings spent money here; Edward II spent £1,100 in the early 14th century in anticipation of a French invasion while Richard II remodelled the great hall, concealing older Norman material under his work. The 1415 ’Southampton’ plot against Henry V was discovered here - this also features in Shakespeare’s Henry V. The Earl of Cambridge, Baron Scrope of Masham and Sir Thomas Grey were arrested and executed.
Sold in 1632, the castle was in private hands but often used as a prison. Prisoners included Dutch from the Second Anglo-Dutch war (1665-67) and French and their allies from the War of the Spanish Succession and the Napoleonic Wars. Some 7,000 Napoleonic prisoners were kept here with the castle being so overcrowded that they hung their hammocks from the huge floor beams high up inside the keep, often with an enormous drop beneath them should the hammock split or they fell out. Many died and were buried on the tidal mudflats where their bones still turn up today.
Today the site is in the hands of English Heritage.
The Roman Fort at Portchester was built between 285AD & 290AD and was home to the Roman fleet in Britain. The D shaped Roman towers remain today and were incorporated into the Norman castle when it was built sometime between 1066AD & 1100AD. The Anglo Saxons used the fort after the Romans left until the Norman invasion in 1066. Portchester is the best preserved Roman fort north of the Alps. Portchester has been home to many kings and chieftains. See Wiki link below
The Roman Fort at Portchester was built between 285AD & 290AD and was home to the Roman fleet in Britain. The D shaped Roman towers remain today and were incorporated into the Norman castle when it was built sometime between 1066AD & 1100AD. The Anglo Saxons used the fort after the Romans left until the Norman invasion in 1066. Portchester is the best preserved Roman fort north of the Alps. Portchester has been home to many kings and chieftains. See Wiki link below
The Roman Fort at Portchester was built between 285AD & 290AD and was home to the Roman fleet in Britain. The D shaped Roman towers remain today and were incorporated into the Norman castle when it was built sometime between 1066AD & 1100AD. The Anglo Saxons used the fort after the Romans left until the Norman invasion in 1066. Portchester is the best preserved Roman fort north of the Alps. Portchester has been home to many kings and chieftains. See Wiki link below
66849 approaches Portchester with the 6C05 Worting Junction to Eastleigh East yard service on Sunday 7 February 2021
The Roman Fort at Portchester was built between 285AD & 290AD and was home to the Roman fleet in Britain. The D shaped Roman towers remain today and were incorporated into the Norman castle when it was built sometime between 1066AD & 1100AD. The Anglo Saxons used the fort after the Romans left until the Norman invasion in 1066. Portchester is the best preserved Roman fort north of the Alps. Portchester has been home to many kings and chieftains. See Wiki link below
The Roman Fort at Portchester was built between 285AD & 290AD and was home to the Roman fleet in Britain. The D shaped Roman towers remain today and were incorporated into the Norman castle when it was built sometime between 1066AD & 1100AD. The Anglo Saxons used the fort after the Romans left until the Norman invasion in 1066. Portchester is the best preserved Roman fort north of the Alps. Portchester has been home to many kings and chieftains. See Wiki link below
The Roman Fort at Portchester was built between 285AD & 290AD and was home to the Roman fleet in Britain. The D shaped Roman towers remain today and were incorporated into the Norman castle when it was built sometime between 1066AD & 1100AD. The Anglo Saxons used the fort after the Romans left until the Norman invasion in 1066. Portchester is the best preserved Roman fort north of the Alps. Portchester has been home to many kings and chieftains. See Wiki link below
The Roman Fort at Portchester was built between 285AD & 290AD and was home to the Roman fleet in Britain. The D shaped Roman towers remain today and were incorporated into the Norman castle when it was built sometime between 1066AD & 1100AD. The Anglo Saxons used the fort after the Romans left until the Norman invasion in 1066. Portchester is the best preserved Roman fort north of the Alps. Portchester has been home to many kings and chieftains. See Wiki link below
Portchester Castle is a Norman Baronial Castle built within a Roman Fort. The Romans built the fort here between 285AD and 290AD
The Roman Fort at Portchester was built between 285AD & 290AD and was home to the Roman fleet in Britain. The D shaped Roman towers remain today and were incorporated into the Norman castle when it was built sometime between 1066AD & 1100AD. The Anglo Saxons used the fort after the Romans left until the Norman invasion in 1066. Portchester is the best preserved Roman fort north of the Alps. Portchester has been home to many kings and chieftains. See Wiki link below
The Roman Fort at Portchester was built between 285AD & 290AD and was home to the Roman fleet in Britain. The D shaped Roman towers remain today and were incorporated into the Norman castle when it was built sometime between 1066AD & 1100AD. The Anglo Saxons used the fort after the Romans left until the Norman invasion in 1066. Portchester is the best preserved Roman fort north of the Alps. Portchester has been home to many kings and chieftains. See Wiki link below
The Roman Fort at Portchester was built between 285AD & 290AD and was home to the Roman fleet in Britain. The D shaped Roman towers remain today and were incorporated into the Norman castle when it was built sometime between 1066AD & 1100AD. The Anglo Saxons used the fort after the Romans left until the Norman invasion in 1066. Portchester is the best preserved Roman fort north of the Alps. Portchester has been home to many kings and chieftains. See Wiki link below
The Roman Fort at Portchester was built between 285AD & 290AD and was home to the Roman fleet in Britain. The D shaped Roman towers remain today and were incorporated into the Norman castle when it was built sometime between 1066AD & 1100AD. The Anglo Saxons used the fort after the Romans left until the Norman invasion in 1066. Portchester is the best preserved Roman fort north of the Alps. Portchester has been home to many kings and chieftains. See Wiki link below
The Roman Fort at Portchester was built between 285AD & 290AD and was home to the Roman fleet in Britain. The D shaped Roman towers remain today and were incorporated into the Norman castle when it was built sometime between 1066AD & 1100AD. The Anglo Saxons used the fort after the Romans left until the Norman invasion in 1066. Portchester is the best preserved Roman fort north of the Alps. Portchester has been home to many kings and chieftains. See Wiki link below