Southsea Castle facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Southsea Castle |
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| Portsea Island, Hampshire, England | |
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 Southsea Castle
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| Coordinates | 50°46′41″N 1°05′20″W / 50.77805°N 1.08888°W |
| Type | Device Fort |
| Site information | |
| Owner | Portsmouth City Council |
| Open to the public |
Yes |
| Condition | Intact |
| Site history | |
| Built | 1544 |
| Materials | Stone |
| Events | |
| Reference no. | 1001869 |
Southsea Castle is an old fort built by King Henry VIII in 1544. It stands on Portsea Island in Hampshire, England. This castle was part of Henry VIII's plan to protect England from invasions. It guarded the Solent, a strait of water, and the eastern entrance to Portsmouth.
The castle had a square central tower, called a keep. It also had two rectangular platforms for guns on the east and west sides. Two angled bastions were at the front and back. This design was an early example in England of the trace italienne style. This was a popular way to build forts in Europe. A famous picture from 1545 shows Henry VIII visiting the castle. Even after several big fires, the castle stayed in use. It saw action in 1642 during the English Civil War. Forces loyal to Parliament, called Roundheads, took it over.
The castle was made bigger in the 1680s by Sir Bernard de Gomme. After being left alone for a while in the 1700s, it was changed again in 1814. This happened during the Napoleonic Wars. For a short time in the 1840s, it was even used as a military prison. In the 1850s and 1860s, more gun batteries were added. These were on the east and west sides. The castle's defenses were improved throughout the 1800s. This was because people worried about a French invasion. It was part of Portsmouth's defense plan during the First World War.
Between the two World Wars, some parts of the fort were closed down. But the castle was used again in the Second World War. It was involved in Operation Grasp. This was when British forces took control of French navy ships in Portsmouth Harbour. In 1960, Southsea Castle was no longer needed for defense. It was sold to Portsmouth City Council. The council restored it to look like it did before 1850. Today, it is a popular place for tourists to visit.
Contents
History of Southsea Castle
Building the Castle: 1500s
Southsea Castle was built because of problems between England, France, and the Holy Roman Empire. This was happening in the last years of King Henry VIII's rule. Usually, local lords and towns were in charge of coastal defenses. The King's government only played a small part. When France and the Empire were fighting, raids by sea were common. But a real invasion of England seemed unlikely. There were some small forts and towers in the south-west and along the Sussex coast. But generally, England's defenses were not very strong.
In 1533, Henry VIII broke away from Pope Paul III. This was because the Pope would not let him end his marriage to Catherine of Aragon. Catherine was the aunt of Charles V, the Holy Roman Emperor. He felt insulted by Henry's actions. Because of this, France and the Empire formed an alliance against Henry in 1538. The Pope encouraged them to attack England. It looked like England would be invaded.
In response, Henry gave an order in 1539. It was called a "device". This order gave instructions for "defending the country in time of invasion." It also called for building forts along the English coast. The immediate danger passed, but it came back in 1544. France threatened to invade across the English Channel. They were supported by their allies in Scotland. So, Henry issued another "device" to make England's defenses even better. He focused especially on the south coast.
The castle was built at the southern end of Portsea Island. Its job was to protect a deep channel in the Solent. This channel led to the royal navy base at Portsmouth. Building started in early 1544. Sir Anthony Knyvett, the Governor of Portsmouth, was in charge. Richard Cawarden and John Chatterton helped him. Thomas Bertie was the main mason. We don't know for sure who designed the castle. But Knyvett said it was "of his Majesty's own device." This usually meant the King himself had a big role in the design.
The design was new. It did not use the old round bastions. These could not be fully protected by guns from the side walls. Instead, the new design used angled shapes. This was an early, though not perfect, use of the trace italienne style. This style of fort building was already used in Europe.
The work was done very quickly. This was because of the risk of a French attack. By July, two brass guns were already in place. The castle cost at least £3,100 to build. About £1,300 of this money came from the Dissolution of the Monasteries. Stone and wood were brought from the nearby Isle of Wight. The castle was finished by October. It had a square keep, gun platforms to the east and west, and angled bastions. Chatterton became the captain. He had a team of eight soldiers, twelve gunners, and a porter. The castle had many guns. It had seven brass cannons and eight iron guns.
The French invasion happened in 1545. Admiral Claude d'Annebault arrived off the Solent with 200 ships on July 19. They landed troops on the Isle of Wight. Henry's fleet sailed out briefly. This led to the Battle of the Solent. During this battle, the English flagship, the Mary Rose, sank. The English fleet then went back behind the forts for safety. Henry was in Portsmouth at the time. The Cowdray engraving shows him visiting Southsea Castle. The French moved further along the coast on July 25. This ended the immediate threat of invasion. But Henry ordered more improvements to the fort that summer. This included building stone flankers and wooden caponiers. These were to protect against a possible attack by foot soldiers. Edward VI stayed a night at the castle in 1552. He was checking Portsmouth's defenses.
Changes in the 1600s
In the early 1600s, England was at peace with France and Spain. Because of this, coastal defenses were not looked after well. A survey found Southsea Castle to be "very ill prepared for defense." It had no guns on its walls and no gunpowder. In March 1626, a serious fire broke out. It destroyed the inside of the keep. This caused panic among ships nearby. The damage was not fixed until 1635. Wood was sent from the New Forest for the repairs. Another bad fire happened in 1640. It damaged the living areas and storage rooms.
The English Civil War began in 1642. Fighting started around Portsmouth. It was between the King's forces, called Royalists, and Parliamentarians. Southsea Castle was held by Captain Challoner for the Royalists. He had a small group of eleven men and 14 guns. The Parliamentarian leader, Colonel Richard Norton, decided to attack the fort. He had 400 foot soldiers and two groups of cavalry. The attack happened early on September 5. The castle's guns were pointing inland. So, the attackers stormed the moat from the sea side. They demanded that the soldiers inside surrender. But Challoner refused. He asked them to come back later. A new attack began, and the soldiers surrendered without anyone dying. After the castle was captured, Portsmouth could not hold out. The town surrendered. A large group of Parliamentarian soldiers was then placed in the castle. This was to stop it from being taken back.
The castle was mainly used as a prison after the war. This continued into the early days of King Charles II's rule. But worries about a possible Dutch attack grew. In 1665, King Charles II asked his engineer, Sir Bernard de Gomme, to improve Portsmouth's defenses. This included Southsea Castle. Because of money problems and poor planning, the work did not start until the 1680s. It included building an earth mound around the castle. A new castle gate was also built. There were four new towers that stuck out. The central keep was also redesigned. A large stone plaque above the gate has Charles's coat of arms and the date 1683.
In 1688, people began to oppose the Catholic King James II. The military around Portsmouth was controlled by the King's son, James FitzJames. A revolution broke out. For a time, Portsmouth and its defenses were important to the King. It was a possible way for the Royal Family to escape to France. But by late December, this escape route was not needed. George Legge pushed FitzJames to give control of Southsea Castle to Captain Carter. This happened on December 18. Portsmouth surrendered to the revolution two days later. A traveler named Celia Fiennes visited the castle in 1690. She wrote that it was "very fine, but I think it is but of little strength and service."
1700s and 1800s: New Uses and Upgrades
The east side of the castle was badly damaged in an explosion in August 1759. This happened when cooking sparks fell onto gunpowder stored by soldiers. Seventeen people were killed. Because of this, a new powder store was built outside the north side of the castle. It was called the Firebarn. By the late 1700s, the castle was in poor condition. One person at the time said it was only guarded by "an old sergeant and three or four men who sell cakes and ale." In 1785, the Master-General of the Ordnance, Charles Lennox, said the castle was "too badly designed to be worth the money needed to fix it." He suggested building a more modern fort instead. By the end of the century, coastal erosion had destroyed most of the big gun battery from the 1700s.
When the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars began in the late 1700s, Southsea Castle became important again. In 1797, a French invasion seemed very likely. The castle was quickly made ready for action. Only eight 32-pounder guns and five 6-pounder guns were available. These were in bad condition. In 1813, work began to make the castle bigger. Major-General Benjamin Fisher was in charge. Fisher used both soldiers and civilian workers. He said this helped keep costs down. The project cost about £18,105. The fort was extended north by up to 30 feet. The keep and inner courtyard were rebuilt with brick. The moat was also rebuilt. A counterscarp gallery was built around the edge. Most of the work was done by 1814. The last parts were finished in 1816.
A lighthouse was built on the western gun platform in 1828. It was ordered by the Admiralty. In 1854, its height was increased. It now stands 34 feet above its base on the walls. The lamp used sperm oil. It had a fixed dioptric and showed red and white lights. From 1854, it showed red and green lights. These lights helped guide ships through safe water. The lighthouse keeper lived in the castle. The lighthouse was used continuously until 2017. It was replaced by a new structure. This was part of changes to Portsmouth Harbour for the new Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carriers. The original lens is now on display inside the castle.
An investigation in 1837 looked at how military prisoners were managed. In 1844, it was decided to use Southsea Castle and Fort Clarence as military prisons. This would reduce pressure on civilian jails. It would also provide a better military setting for prisoners. Southsea was used as a prison until 1850. It held 150 prisoners. A Royal Artillery sergeant supervised them. He also looked after the remaining guns.
New shell guns and steam ships in the 1840s created a new risk. The French might successfully attack along the south coast. In 1850, after the prison closed, seven 8-inch guns were placed on the walls. They were in brick emplacements. But there were worries about the defenses. Two earthwork auxiliary batteries were built next to the castle for more guns. In 1856, after the Crimean War, there was a large review of the fleet in the Solent. Queen Victoria and many tourists attended. Naval gunboats launched a pretend attack on the castle. The castle fired back with forty 8-inch guns. This caused a lot of excitement among the crowds watching.
New worries about France, along with better rifled cannons and iron-clad warships, led to concerns. The Royal Commission on the Defence of the United Kingdom worried about Portsmouth's safety in 1860. Lieutenant-Colonel Jervois oversaw the work across the country. Lieutenant-Colonel Fisher helped at Southsea. New gun batteries with underground magazines were built. These were on the west and east sides of the castle. This happened between 1863 and 1869. They became part of a 17-acre complex surrounded by a defensive wall. The old castle was used for range and direction finding. It did not hold weapons. It was left to slowly fall into disrepair. By 1886, the site had many guns. It had 25 rifled, muzzle-loading guns. A visiting Russian military engineer praised the design.
By the 1890s, the castle's defenses were old again. This was because of new torpedo boats and better breech-loading guns. To fight torpedo boats, five 6-pounder quick-firing guns and searchlights were added. Between 1899 and 1901, the east battery was changed. It was made to hold breech-loading guns. This cost £16,670.
Meanwhile, in 1785, the government took control of Southsea Common. This was the marshland around the castle. They wanted to make sure it stayed open for the fort's guns. From 1831, convicts were used to fill in and flatten the marshes. The area around the castle began to grow into a town. Seaside facilities were built in the early 1800s. In the 1840s, new private houses were built around the common. Military and naval officers used these houses. A railway line from London helped the town of Southsea, named after the castle, become a popular resort. Southsea Common was rented by the local government in 1884. As more people moved in, it became harder to practice firing the castle's guns.
20th and 21st Centuries: From Defense to Tourist Spot
At the start of the 1900s, Southsea Castle was part of the "Fortress Portsmouth" plan. This plan was to defend the Solent. The east battery had two BL 6-inch Mark VII guns and two BL 9.2-inch Mark X guns. The west battery had three 12-pounders and one 4.7-inch QF gun. During the First World War, soldiers from the Royal Garrison Artillery and the Hampshire Royal Garrison Artillery Territorials manned the castle. Later, these units went to France. They were replaced by the Hampshire Royal Garrison Artillery Volunteers. To fight German zeppelin raids, an QF 3-inch anti-aircraft gun was added. Even though the castle was still used by the military, by 1929 it was also a tourist attraction. Visitors could watch the soldiers practice firing the guns out to sea. Portsmouth City Council bought Southsea Common in 1922. They turned it into a park. The west battery was disarmed in 1927.
During the Second World War, the Hampshire Heavy Regiment, Royal Artillery, used the castle. It was the main office for Portsmouth's fixed defenses. During the war, different groups of soldiers manned the castle. This included coastal artillery from the regular army and the home guard. The east battery had two 9.2-inch BL Mark X guns. Living conditions were not good. One soldier described the keep as "cold and wet and horrible." The castle was protected by barrage balloons. But it was hit by at least two incendiary bombs. These did little damage.
During the war, the castle was involved in a tense situation with French navy ships. After the Fall of France in 1940, some French ships came to British ports, including Portsmouth. But there were worries that these warships might leave and fall into German hands. On June 23, the castle was ordered to prepare its guns. They were to be ready to fire on the French navy to stop them from leaving. One gun, though not ready to fire, was pointed at the fleet. The French destroyer Léopard aimed its guns at the castle in return. But no shots were fired. On July 3, under Operation Grasp, British forces boarded and took control of the ships. This ended the confrontation.
Southsea Castle was no longer needed for military use after the war. In 1960, it was sold to Portsmouth City Council for £35,000. The council restored the castle. They also did archaeological surveys. Many of the features added after 1850 were removed. The area around the castle was also improved. In 1967, it opened as a museum. The lighthouse kept working. The west and east batteries were partly taken down by the council in the 1960s.
Today, Southsea Castle is still a tourist attraction run by the council. It had over 90,000 visitors from 2011–12. The castle has a collection of old cannons. Two large guns, a 68-pounder and an RML 9-inch 12 ton gun, are in the grounds. Inside the castle, there is a 24-pounder gun from HMS Royal George. There is also an RML 9-pounder and two hexagonally rifled Witworth 3-pounder guns from 1876. The castle is protected under UK law as a Scheduled Ancient Monument.
See also
Images for kids
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Southsea Castle from the east.
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A plan of the castle from 1577.
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The Cowdray engraving shows the castle during the Battle of the Solent.
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The castle in 1756.
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A plan of the castle in 1834.
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Looking west from the castle, past the lighthouse towards Portsmouth.
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An RML 9-inch 12 ton gun in the west battery, around 1890.
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An aerial view of the modern site.
