Portland Castle is one of Henry VIII’s coastal defence forts built to dissuade an attack from France or the Holy Roman Empire. After his secession from Catholicism and founding of the Church of England Henry was fair game for the Catholic powers so he used the money from dissolving the monasteries to fund a chain of coastal defences. The fort is situated on Portland Bill and covers the approach to Weymouth.
Visiting
For those visiting, it is well sign posted and has plenty of parking nearby. The site also has a cafe which is always a good thing and there are plenty of other attractions within a 10 minute drive.
My Experience
Built in the 1540’s Portland Castle is very different from its medieval predecessors and has low walls built to both defend against and mount the new battlefield kings, heavy cannon. The original moat and drawbridge in front of the entrance have been filled in and it is difficult to get a real sense of the castle without viewing from above. Modern buildings have grown up around it although you can still walk around most of the exterior.
The fort is now an excellent example of English Heritage management. There are plenty of exhibitions and recreations inside and the audio tour brings the castle to life. There are also lots of exhibits to appeal to family visitors, with Tudor style clothing and armour available to try on and plenty of details about kitchen life.
The gardens have been redesigned and are now pleasant to look around or sit and relax in. Portland Castle itself is in excellent condition although the keep has been lowered by a floor and the gun battery was originally roofed and had a second set of guns above.
Photo Gallery
History
The castle was never tested against the French or Spanish but was fought over during the English Civil War. Portland Castle was held by Parliament at the start of the war, but in 1643 it was captured by a group of Royalist supporters posing as Parliamentary soldiers.
The Royalists then held the castle for three years and survived two sieges by Parliamentary soldiers before finally surrendering in 1646. The castle was used as a prison during the Commonwealth period and was also attacked by the Dutch in 1653, it’s only action against a foreign enemy!
Portland Castle then slowly fell out of use and was a private residence in the Victorian period until 1870 when it was returned to crown control as an officers residence. The castle continued in military service beyond the Second World War. In WW1 it served as a seaplane station and in WW2 it was a training base for combined operations.
References
The Wikipedia page is here and the plan below shows the layout of the castle and was copied from that page.
