poliphilo

Portchester sits alongside Portsmouth Harbour.

The Romans built a fort there and the Normans built a priory church and a castle inside the walls of the fort (just as they did at Pevensey- a mile or two down the road from us). Richard II converted the castle into something rather more palatial. Elizabeth I stopped by during one of her progresses and found it in an embarrassingly sordid state of disrepair. During the Napoleonic era it housed French prisoners of war- who constructed a nifty little theatre inside the keep.

Here's the keep. Grim old thing. Only respect for its antiquity prevents me from calling it ugly. And, yes, I climbed the spiral staircase all the way to the top- and walked the battlements.

Here's the gatehouse on the north side. The first picture is taken from the churchyard. The blue van serves refreshments. Note the headstones with anchors on them; this is a naval town.....