Southsea Castle
Solent Landmarks Southsea Castle History
| Some
Facts and
Some Dits
Radical When built this castle was of a radical modern design. All the previous coastal forts had round towers that deflected cannon shot. The building that arose at Southsea was angular. This Italian influenced layout enabled gunfire to be brought against attackers attempting to cross the moat. An idea that was developed with mathematical perfection in later centuries, its final form being the Victorian polygonal Forts of Palmerston's Follies.
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| Churches
to Guns
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The Fort was built as a result of England's break with the Church of Rome. Rather conveniently a large part of the money used to construct it came from the dissolution of Monasteries such as the nearby Netley abbey | ||
| A
few good ales and a castle is lost
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During the civil war the Castle was held by the Royalists. On the night that the Parliamentarians attacked the commander of the castle was sleeping off a heavy drinking session in Portsmouth. When he was asked to surrender he asked if he could wait until the morning before deciding! Needless to say the attackers didn't wait and the Castle surrendered without a life being lost. The captain finished the night by drinking the health of of both the King and Parliament and finished the night with another party. | ||
| A
Bad choice of storage
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The explosion of 1759 was caused by storing gunpowder beneath a room used for cooking. Sparks probably fell between the floorboards from the fire onto the gunpowder. The resulting explosion killed 17 people | ||
| A Grisly reminder | The two slates above the keep entrance cover recesses in the brickwork. Recesses that held up gallows used for executions. Bars on the window are a reminder that the keep was used as a prison. |
