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SOUTHSEA CASTLE

Until the end of 2009, admission to Southsea Castle is free if you have a valid Portsmouth City Council library card with you!

Southsea Castle will be closed until 12pm midday on Friday 10 July 2009, for staff training. Southsea Castle will also be closed all day on Tuesday 14 July 2009 for essential maintenance work. We apologise for any inconvenience caused.

Built in 1544, the Castle was part of a series of fortifications constructed by Henry VIII around England's coasts to protect the country from invaders. Barely was the work completed when Henry VIII's flagship, the Mary Rose, tragically sank in front of the Castle. During the English Civil War, nearly a century later, the Castle was captured for the only time in its history, by Parliamentarian forces.

Over the centuries, Southsea Castle's defences were strengthened so that it could continue to protect Portsmouth. In the 19th Century a tunnel was built to defend the Castle moat. Visitors can still enter the tunnel and see how the Castle would have been defended against invaders.

The Castle has had many other uses besides defence. For a while it was a military prison. A lighthouse was built in the 1820s, and is still in use by shipping today. In 1960 the Castle left military service. It was acquired by Portsmouth City Council, which restored the Castle to its 19th century appearance.

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As seen on Most Haunted Live.

Click here for 3D Panorama of the Castle Ramparts

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and Record Service