The ruins and earthworks of a royal castle dating mainly from the 12th and 13th centuries, frequently used as a hunting lodge. The remains of the medieval cross stand in the centre of the village. (EH) An English Heritage property – access “at any reasonable time” is free. Ludgershall is a small village about sixteen […]
Yarmouth Castle
Yarmouth Castle, an artillery castle, was built after the French raid on the Isle of Wight in 1545. It was one of the last of Henry VIII’s chain of coastal defences built to defend England from the threat of French and Spanish invasion. In 1597-8 an earth bulwark with bastions was added and in 1609 […]
Wolvesey Castle
Wolvesey has been an important residence of the wealthy and powerful Bishops of Winchester since Anglo-Saxon times. Standing next to Winchester Cathedral, the extensive surviving ruins of the palace date largely from the 12th-century work of Bishop Henry of Blois. The last great occasion her was on 25 July 1554, when Queen Mary and Philip […]
Porchester Castle
Portchester Castle’s commanding location has made it a major factor in the Solent’s defences for hundreds of years. The most impressive and best- preserved of the Roman ‘Saxon Shore’ forts, Portchester Castle was originally built in the late 3rd century. Covering an area of nearly ten acres, it is the only Roman stronghold in northern […]
Hurst Castle
One of the most advanced of the artillery fortresses built by Henry VIII: used as a prison for eminent 17th-century captives, and later strengthened during the 19th and 20th centuries. It commands the narrow entrance to the Solent. Hurst is one of the larger blockhouses, or forts, erected in 1539 round the S. coasts of […]