By Ben Whiteman Beginning groundwork in 1813, the castle expansion would be overseen by Major-General Benjamin Fisherman and last until the finishing touches were made in 1817. Southsea castle spent much of the late 18th and early 19th century in a poor state of disrepair. Coastal erosion had taken parts of the western wall while an accidental gunpowder explosion in 1759 destroyed a large portion of the castle. The explosion is believed to have started from a large cooking fire in the east wing living quarters. It’s thought that sparks fell through the cracks in the old floorboards igniting the gunpowder storeroom below. However, this was never confirmed.[1] Tragically the […]
Archive | Public History
Public History
Southsea Castle courtyard
By Fiona McCall on May 14, 2026 in Learning in Focus, Public History, Research in Focus, Uncategorized
By Charlie Wilkinson Southsea’s well was built in 1544, abandoned in 1814, covered over during later modifications and then rediscovered in the 1960s. That means it sat unused for over 150 years, during which: the garrison changed, the fort was remodelled, obsolete artillery (including stone shot) was discarded, domestic waste accumulated. This blog discusses three objects that were discovered inside the well at Southsea Castle: a wooden bucket and pulley, stone cannon balls and pottery flask fragments. Object 1: Wooden bucket and pulley system The original well was built against the inside of the Tudor curtain wall and equipped with a simple pulley block, an oak bucket, and a […]
Southsea Castle ramparts (ocean side)
By Fiona McCall on May 14, 2026 in Learning in Focus, Public History, Research in Focus, Uncategorized
By Magdalena Djaković From the ocean side of the ramparts of Southsea Castle, one quickly comes to realize just how dependent the site was upon visibility. Although the current views towards the Isle of Wight appear to be tranquil, in the past, the area would have been filled with anticipation and control. This can be seen in Figure 1, the wide, uninterrupted view toward Isle of Wight demonstrates the strategic advantage of this position. From here, defenders would have been able to monitor approaching ships long before they reached Portsmouth Harbour, giving valuable time to prepare artillery and coordinate a response. The castle itself was built in 1544 as […]
Southsea Castle Keep
By Fiona McCall on May 14, 2026 in Learning in Focus, Public History, Research in Focus, Uncategorized
By Madi East In the 16th century, England faced growing threats, particularly from France and Spain. In recognition of this, King Henry the 8th ordered the construction of new coastal defences, including Southsea Castle. The location of Southsea Castle was strategically chosen to overlook the main navigable channel into Portsmouth harbour, through the Solent. It was accompanied by a range of defences such as artillery, chain booms, and the use of natural features (like the sandbanks of the Solent) to their advantage. Any ship that attempted to reach the harbour would be forced into the range of the castle’s guns, making it an ideal artillery platform. [1] It is suggested […]
The Royal Navy and the US/Iran War
This week our own Dr Matthew Heaslip was interviewed by multiple national and regional media outlets including ITV Meridian, BBC South Today and The Guardian to help contextualise Britain’s response via the Royal Navy to America’s war on Iran, specifically the practicalities of the deployment of the destroyer HMS Duncan. Along with being Senior Lecturer in Naval History teaching on Portsmouth’s MA in Naval, Maritime and Coastal History he is also a Visiting Fellow at the Royal Navy’s Strategic Studies Centre. Matt’s research centres on the 20th century Navy, the importance of naval power in Britain’s efforts to exert influence worldwide and its applicability to present-day global geopolitics. ‘When faced with […]
Was mid-17th century Britain a dystopian society?
Dr Fiona Mccall was interviewed in December for the 1984 Today! podcast on all things dystopian, being intrigued by the concept of thinking about the 1640s and 1650s, in this way. How did the strictures of the real puritan regime of mid-17th century Britain compare with fictional dystopias like those of Orwell, Huxley, John Wyndham, Margaret Atwood and John Christopher? There were certainly incidents that strike us today as dystopian: the execution of women (but not men) for adultery; the rise in witch hunting for example. But the theme encouraged reflection on whether we would understand these times as dystopian in the same way as those who lived through them […]