Portchester Castle 2025

The No Man’s Land team completed another successful meet up recently and on the agenda this time was exploring the site of Portchester Castle.

Including Dean on our trip this was the first time we had met as a 3 and after some great conversations and a few beers the previous evening we were ready to embark on the castle.

Situated on the south coast of England and overlooking Portsmouth harbour, the castle was originally founded as a Roman costal fort in 289AD by naval commander Marcus Aurelius Carausius to protect from early Saxon raids in the 3rd Century.

Portchester is renowned as the best example of standing Roman fort north of the Alps with virtually all of its D-Shaped towers still viable and relatively in tact. These are a key feature of 3rd century Roman fort architecture. Having walked around the perimeter of the outer walls and the inner grounds, it painted a picture of how vast the fort was and we imagined how it might have looked with a full garrison of legionaries and other personnel in their daily lives. If only it was possible to travel back to get a glimpse of that!

On the topic of time travel it was time to head forward 800ish years to the period just after the Norman Conquest. This was time the inner bailey and main castle were constructed, repurposing the Roman fort into a formidable feudal castle. After William had won the Battle of Hastings and consolidated the lands of England, he gifted Portchester to William Maudit, a nobleman whos family the castle would remain in for the next 150 years in one way or another.

The focal point of the castle being the main keep, the second tallest of all Norman Keeps in England. It was extended and changed throughout the Plantagenet period. After scaling right to the top and our legs feeling the effort navigating the narrow spiral staircase, the view from the top was very impressive.

The complex of the inner bailey also featured more interesting buildings including the palace built by Richard II when the castle was held under royal possession. Although a ruin now, it was easy to imagine the history that happened within its walls. Many famous names from the medieval period had graced Portchester including Edward III before embarking to France and also Henry V who foiled the Southampton plot whilst staying at the castle. Later Henry VIII would also visit with Anne Boylen.

Across from the keep stands the Constable’s tower, another impressive feature which now has become resident to many pigeons. However back in the day this would have been occupied by the Constable and quite possibly held many prisoners through the ages.

After our visit to the castle was done we then headed to the nearby Cormorant pub for some much needed food and refreshments… beer! With our heads full of Roman and Norman history we discussed our thoughts on the day and how fascinating the visit was. Then it was time to depart and end what was a very enjoyable day out.