List of English Heritage properties
Hampshire
Table:
Name

Type

Date

Condition

Image

Notes

Bishop's Waltham Palace

Palace

1135

Ruins

Built by the Bishop of Winchester, Henry of Blois, Bishop's Waltham Palace was later used by the Bishops of Winchester as they travelled, along with Farnham Castle and Wolvesey Castle. The palace was destroyed in 1644 after the English Civil War.

Calshot Castle

Device Fort

1540

Mostly complete

One of Henry VIII's device forts, built on Calshot Spit to guard the entrance to Southampton Water. It was built as a circular blockhouse with a three-storey central keep using stone from Beaulieu Abbey. The outer walls were lowered in 1774 and the gatehouse was rebuilt in order to provide more living space. The castle was in use until 1956.

Flowerdown Barrows

Tumuli

Bronze Age

Mostly complete

Three Bronze Age burial mounds in a much larger cemetery, including a well-preserved disc barrow which has been described as "the finest in Hampshire".

Fort Brockhurst

Palmerston Fort

1858–1863

Complete

A fort designed by William Crossman in the 19th century to protect Portsmouth. Its main purpose was to guard the approach from potential landing areas on the south Hampshire coast. The site is only occasionally open to the public.

Fort Cumberland

Fort

1748

Complete

A fort built by the Duke of Cumberland, replacing an earlier earthwork battery. The fort was of earthwork construction with a number of brick buildings. It was completely rebuilt in masonry from 1785–1812, and then refortified in the late 19th century. It remained in military ownership for much of the twentieth century.

Hurst Castle

Device Fort

1541–1544

Mostly complete

One of Henry VIII's Device Forts, built at the end of a long shingle beach at the west end of the Solent to guard the approaches to Southampton. It was modified throughout the 19th century, and two large wing batteries were built to house heavy guns. It was fortified again in the Second World War and then decommissioned.

King James's and Landport Gates, Portsmouth

City gates

1687 and 1760

Partly complete

Two ornate gateways which were originally access points to Portsmouth. King James's Gate was built in 1687, but has been moved twice, and is now part of the boundary of the United Services Ground. Landport Gate was built in 1760 as a main entry point to Portsmouth from the Dockyard. The gate is still in its original position.

Medieval Merchant's House, Southampton

Town house

1290

Partly complete

A restored building built in about 1290 by John Fortin, a prosperous merchant. The house survived many centuries of domestic and commercial use largely intact. German bomb damage in 1940 revealed the medieval interior of the house, and in the 1980s it was restored to resemble its initial appearance.

Netley Abbey

Abbey

1239

Ruins

An abbey founded as a house for Cistercian monks. It was closed by Henry VIII in 1536 and the building was converted into a mansion by William Paulet. The abbey was used as a country house until the beginning of the 18th century, after which it was abandoned and partially demolished. Subsequently, the ruins became a tourist attraction, and provided inspiration to poets and artists of the Romantic movement.

Portchester Castle

Roman fort and Castle

3rd century and 11th century

Partly complete

A Roman fort built during the 3rd century to protect the southern coastline of Britain. A castle was built within its walls in the late 11th century. The monarchy controlled the castle for several centuries and it was a favoured hunting lodge of King John. Later in its history the castle was used as a prison.

Royal Garrison Church (Domus Dei), Portsmouth

Hospice or Church

1212

Parts survive

An almshouse and hospice, known as the Domus Dei, established by Pierre des Roches, Bishop of Winchester. It was seized by King Henry VIII in 1540. Towards the end of the 17th century it fell into disrepair until it was restored in 1767 to become the Garrison church. The buildings of Domus Dei were partially destroyed in an attack by German bombers in 1941.

Silchester Roman City Walls and Amphitheatre

Roman town and Amphitheatre

1st century

Remains

A Roman town known as Calleva Atrebatum. It was the civitas capital of the Atrebates tribe. It was abandoned shortly after the end of the Roman era. The earthworks and the ruined city walls are still visible. The area inside the walls is now largely farmland. The remains of the Roman amphitheatre and situated outside the city walls, can be clearly seen.

The Grange, Northington

Country House

1804

Complete

A 19th-century country house and landscape park. It was commissioned in 1804 by Henry Drummond who wanted his brick house transformed into a neoclassical ancient Greek temple.

Titchfield Abbey

Abbey

1222

Parts survive

An abbey founded for Premonstratensian canons. It was closed in 1537 by Henry VIII and the building was converted into a mansion by Thomas Wriothesley, a powerful courtier. In 1781, the abbey was abandoned and partially demolished to create a romantic ruin.

Wolvesey Castle (Old Bishop's Palace), Winchester

Castle

1130

Ruins

A castle erected by the Bishop of Winchester, Henry of Blois. It was the scene for the Rout of Winchester in which the Empress Matilda assaulted the Bishop Henry in 1141. The castle was destroyed by Roundheads during the English Civil War in 1646.

Leveraging the tabular data as well as the context paragraphs provided at the end.

Respond to the question below: What is the date of the fort built to guard the entrance to Langstone Harbour ? Provide just your answer in a JSON object {"answer": "YOUR ANSWER"}.

Bishop 's Waltham Palace is a moated Bishop 's Palace ruin in Bishop 's Waltham , Hampshire , England . It is a scheduled ancient monument and a Grade II* listed building
A palace is a grand residence , especially a royal residence , or the home of a head of state or some other high-ranking dignitary , such as a bishop or archbishop . The word is derived from the Latin name Palātium , for Palatine Hill in Rome which housed the Imperial residences . Most European languages have a version of the term ( palais , palazzo , palacio etc . ) , and many use it for a wider range of buildings than English . In many parts of Europe , the equivalent term is also applied to large private houses in cities , especially of the aristocracy ; often the term for a large country house is different . Many historic palaces are now put to other uses such as parliaments , museums , hotels , or office buildings . The word is also sometimes used to describe a lavishly ornate building used for public entertainment or exhibitions , such as a movie palace .
Calshot Castle is an artillery fort constructed by Henry VIII on the Calshot Spit , Hampshire , England , between 1539 and 1540 . It formed part of the King 's Device programme to protect against invasion from France and the Holy Roman Empire and defend Southampton Water as it met the Solent . The castle had a keep at its centre , surrounded by a curtain wall and a moat . Initially heavily armed , it had a garrison of 16 men and as many as 36 artillery guns . The castle continued in use for many years , surviving the English Civil War intact and being extensively modernised in the 1770s . During the 19th century , Calshot Castle was used by the coastguard as a base for combating smuggling . In 1894 , however , fresh fears of a French invasion led to it being brought back into use as an artillery fort : a large coastal battery was constructed alongside the older castle and a boom built across Southampton Water , controlled from the castle . During the First World War , Calshot Castle was primarily used as a base for seaplanes , deployed on anti-submarine patrols in the English Channel ; its guns were removed before the end of the war , probably for use in France . The air base , by then called RAF Calshot , grew in size during the inter-war years , hosting the Schneider Trophy air races . With the outbreak of the Second World War , Calshot was re-armed in the face of a possible German invasion . The station continued in use after the war , but as military seaplanes became obsolete , it was finally closed in 1961 . After a short period of use by the coastguard , the castle was opened to the public by English Heritage in the 1980s .
The Device Forts , also known as Henrician castles and blockhouses , were a series of artillery fortifications built to defend the coast of England and Wales by Henry VIII . [ a ] Traditionally , the Crown had left coastal defences in the hands of local lords and communities but the threat of French and Spanish invasion led the King to issue an order , called a device , for a major programme of work between 1539 and 1547 . The fortifications ranged from large stone castles positioned to protect the Downs anchorage in Kent , to small blockhouses overlooking the entrance to Milford Haven in Pembrokeshire , and earthwork bulwarks along the Essex coast . Some forts operated independently , others were designed to be mutually reinforcing . The Device programme was hugely expensive , costing a total of £376,000 ( estimated as between £2 and £82 million in today 's money ) ; [ b ] much of this was raised from the proceeds of the Dissolution of the Monasteries a few years before . These utilitarian fortifications were armed with artillery , intended to be used against enemy ships before they could land forces or attack ships lying in harbour . The first wave of work between 1539 and 1543 was characterised by the use of circular bastions and multi-tiered defences , combined with many traditional medieval features . These designs contained serious military flaws , however , and the second period of construction until 1547 saw the introduction of angular bastions and other innovations probably inspired by contemporary thinking in mainland Europe . The castles were commanded by captains appointed by the Crown , overseeing small garrisons of professional gunners and soldiers , who would be supplemented by the local militia in an emergency . Despite a French raid against the Isle of Wight in 1545 , the Device Forts saw almost no action before peace was declared in 1546 . Some of the defences were left to deteriorate and were decommissioned only a few years after their construction . After war broke out with Spain in 1569 , Elizabeth I improved many of the remaining fortifications , including during the attack of the Spanish Armada of 1588 .
Flowerdown Barrows is a Bronze Age Barrow site near Littleton , Winchester , Hampshire , England . It is a scheduled monument looked after by English Heritage .
A tumulus ( plural tumuli ) is a mound of earth and stones raised over a grave or graves . Tumuli are also known as barrows , burial mounds or kurgans , and may be found throughout much of the world . A cairn , which is a mound of stones built for various purposes , may also originally have been a tumulus . Tumuli are often categorised according to their external apparent shape . In this respect , a long barrow is a long tumulus , usually constructed on top of several burials , such as passage graves . A round barrow is a round tumulus , also commonly constructed on top of burials . The internal structure and architecture of both long and round barrows has a broad range ; the categorization only refers to the external apparent shape . The method of inhumation may involve a dolmen , a cist , a mortuary enclosure , a mortuary house , or a chamber tomb . Examples of barrows include Duggleby Howe and Maeshowe . The word tumulus is Latin for 'mound ' or 'small hill ' , which is derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *teuh2- with extended zero grade *tum- , 'to bulge , swell ' also found in tomb , tumor , tumescent , thumb , thigh , and thousand .
The Bronze Age is a historical period that was characterized by the use of bronze , and in some areas proto-writing , and other early features of urban civilization . The Bronze Age is the second principal period of the three-age Stone-Bronze-Iron system , as proposed in modern times by Christian Jürgensen Thomsen , for classifying and studying ancient societies . An ancient civilization is defined to be in the Bronze Age either by producing bronze by smelting its own copper and alloying with tin , arsenic , or other metals , or by trading for bronze from production areas elsewhere . Bronze itself is harder and more durable than other metals available at the time , allowing Bronze Age civilizations to gain a technological advantage . Whilst terrestrial iron is naturally abundant , its high melting point of 1,538 °C ( 2,800 °F ) placed it out of reach of common use until the end of the second millennium BC . Tin 's low melting point of 231.9 °C ( 449.4 °F ) and copper 's relatively moderate melting point of 1,085 °C ( 1,985 °F ) placed them within the capabilities of the Neolithic pottery kilns , which date back to 6000 BC and were able to produce temperatures greater than 900 °C ( 1,650 °F ) . Copper-tin ores are rare , as reflected in the fact that there were no tin bronzes in Western Asia before trading in bronze began in the third millennium BC . Worldwide , the Bronze Age generally followed the Neolithic period , with the Chalcolithic serving as a transition . Although the Iron Age generally followed the Bronze Age , in some areas ( such as Sub-Saharan Africa ) , the Iron Age began as early as 2500 BC . Bronze Age cultures differed in their development of the first writing . According to archaeological evidence , cultures in Mesopotamia ( cuneiform script ) and Egypt ( hieroglyphs ) developed the earliest viable writing systems .
Fort Brockhurst is one of the Palmerston Forts , in Gosport , England and a Scheduled Ancient Monument . It is now an English Heritage property .
The Palmerston Forts that encircle Portsmouth were built in response to the 1859 Royal Commission dealing with the perceived threat of a French invasion . The forts were intended to defend the Dockyard in Portsmouth . Construction was carried out by the Royal Engineers and civilian contractors ( under Royal Engineer supervision ) . In addition to the newly constructed forts , extensive work was carried out on existing fortifications . The Portsmouth defences can be split into four distinct groups of forts , comprising four sea forts built in the Solent , a group of forts on Portsea Island , a group of forts along Portsdown Hill overlooking Portsmouth , and a group of forts on the Gosport peninsula . As well as these forts surrounding Portsmouth , further protection for Portsmouth was provided by additional Palmerston forts on the Isle of Wight .
Fort Cumberland is a pentagonal artillery fortification erected to guard the entrance to Langstone Harbour , east of the Dockyard of Portsmouth on the south coast of England . It was sited to protect the Royal Navy Dockyard , by preventing enemy forces from landing in Langstone Harbour and attacking from the landward side . Fort Cumberland is widely recognised as the finest example of a bastion trace fort in England . It is a scheduled monument and a Grade II* listed building
Hurst Castle is an artillery fort established by Henry VIII on the Hurst Spit in Hampshire , England , between 1541 and 1544 . It formed part of the king 's Device Forts coastal protection programme against invasion from France and the Holy Roman Empire , and defended the western entrance to the Solent waterway . The early castle had a central keep and three bastions , and in 1547 was equipped with 26 guns . It was expensive to operate due to its size , but it formed one of the most powerful forts along the coast . During the English Civil War of the 1640s , Hurst was held by Parliament and was used briefly to detain King Charles I before his execution in 1649 . It continued in use during the 18th century but fell into disrepair , the spit being frequented by smugglers . Repairs were made during the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars with France , and the castle was modernised to enable it to hold 24-pounder ( 10.8 kg ) guns . Fresh fears of invasion followed in the 1850s , leading to heavier , 32-pounder ( 14.5 kg ) armament being installed and new gun batteries being laid out on both sides of the castle . Technological developments rapidly made these defences obsolete , however , and a fresh phase of work between 1861 and 1874 created sixty-one gun positions in two long , granite-faced batteries alongside the older castle . These held very heavy weapons , including massive 12.5 inch , 38 ton ( 317 mm , 39,000 kg ) rifled muzzle-loading guns . As the century progressed , these too became outdated and lighter , quick-firing guns were installed at the castle to replace them . The castle formed part of a network of defences around the entrance to the Solent during the First World War , and was re-armed again during the Second World War .
King James 's and Landport Gates are two English Heritage gateways in Portsmouth , Hampshire , England .
Portsmouth ( /ˈpɔːrtsməθ/ ( listen ) ) is a port city in Hampshire , England , with a total population of 205,400 residents . The city of Portsmouth is nicknamed Pompey and is mainly built on Portsea Island , a flat , low-lying island measuring 24 square kilometres ( 9 sq mi ) in area , just off the south-east coast of Hampshire . Portsmouth is the only island city in the United Kingdom , and is the only city whose population density exceeds that of London . Portsmouth is located 70 miles ( 110 km ) south-west of London and 19 miles ( 31 km ) south-east of Southampton . With the surrounding towns of Gosport , Fareham , Havant and Waterlooville , Portsmouth forms the eastern half of the South Hampshire metropolitan area , which includes Southampton and Eastleigh in the western half . Portsmouth 's history can be traced back to Roman times . A significant naval port for centuries , Portsmouth has the world 's oldest dry dock . In the sixteenth century , Portsmouth was England 's first line of defence during the French invasion of 1545 . By the early nineteenth century , the world 's first mass production line was set up in Portsmouth Dockyard 's Block Mills , making it the most industrialised site in the world and birthplace of the Industrial Revolution . Portsmouth was also the most heavily fortified town in the world , and was considered the world 's greatest naval port at the height of the British Empire throughout Pax Britannica . Defences known as the Palmerston Forts were built around Portsmouth in 1859 in anticipation of another invasion from continental Europe . In 1926 , Portsmouth was officially elevated in status from a town to a city .
A city gate is a gate which is , or was , set within a city wall .
The Medieval Merchant 's House is a restored late-13th-century building in Southampton , Hampshire , England . Built in about 1290 by John Fortin , a prosperous merchant , the house survived many centuries of domestic and commercial use largely intact . German bomb damage in 1940 revealed the medieval interior of the house , and in the 1980s it was restored to resemble its initial appearance and placed in the care of English Heritage , to be run as a tourist attraction . The house is built to a medieval right-angle , narrow plan design , with an undercroft to store wine at a constant temperature , and a first-storey bedchamber that projects out into the street to add additional space . The building is architecturally significant because , as historian Glyn Coppack highlights , it is the only building of its type to survive substantially as first built ; it is a Grade I listed building and scheduled monument .
Southampton ( /saʊθˈ ( h ) æmptən/ ( listen ) ) is a city in Hampshire , South East England , 70 miles ( 110 km ) south-west of London and 15 miles ( 24 km ) north-west of Portsmouth . A major port , and close to the New Forest , it lies at the northernmost point of Southampton Water , at the confluence of the River Test and Itchen , with the River Hamble joining to the south . The unitary authority had a population of 253,651 at the 2011 census . A resident of Southampton is called a Sotonian . Significant employers in the city include Southampton City Council , the University of Southampton , Solent University , Southampton Airport , Ordnance Survey , BBC South , the NHS , Associated British Ports ( ABP ) and Carnival UK . Southampton is noted for its association with the RMS Titanic , the Spitfire , as one of the departure points for D-Day , and more recently as the home port of some of the largest cruise ships in the world . Southampton also has a large shopping centre and retail park , Westquay .
In British usage , the term townhouse originally refers to the town or city residence , in practice normally in London , of a member of the nobility or gentry , as opposed to their country seat , generally known as a country house or , colloquially , for the larger ones , stately home . The grandest of the London townhouses were stand-alone buildings , but many were terraced buildings . British property developers and estate agents often market new buildings as townhouses , following the North American usage of the term , to aggrandise modest dwellings and to avoid the negative connotation of cheap terraced housing built in the Victorian era to accommodate workers , see Terraced houses in the United Kingdom . The aristocratic pedigree of terraced housing , for example as survives in St James 's Square in Westminster , is widely forgotten . The term is comparable to the hôtel particulier , which housed the French nobleman in Paris , and to the urban domus of the nobiles of Ancient Rome .
Netley Abbey is a ruined late medieval monastery in the village of Netley near Southampton in Hampshire , England . The abbey was founded in 1239 as a house for monks of the austere Cistercian order . Despite royal patronage , Netley was never rich , produced no influential scholars nor churchmen , and its nearly 300-year history was quiet . The monks were best known to their neighbours for the generous hospitality they offered to travellers on land and sea . In 1536 , Netley Abbey was seized by Henry VIII of England during the Dissolution of the Monasteries and the buildings granted to William Paulet , a wealthy Tudor politician , who converted them into a mansion . The abbey was used as a country house until the beginning of the eighteenth century , after which it was abandoned and partially demolished for building materials . Subsequently the ruins became a tourist attraction , and provided inspiration to poets and artists of the Romantic movement . In the early twentieth century the site was given to the nation , and it is now a Scheduled Ancient Monument , cared for by English Heritage . The extensive remains consist of the church , cloister buildings , abbot 's house , and fragments of the post-Dissolution mansion . Netley Abbey is one of the best preserved medieval Cistercian monasteries in southern England .
An abbey is a complex of buildings , a type of monastery used by members of a religious order under the governance of an abbot or abbess . It provides a place for religious activities , work , and housing of Christian monks and nuns . The concept of the abbey has developed over many centuries from the early monastic ways of religious men and women where they would live isolated from the lay community about them . Religious life in an abbey may be monastic . An abbey may be the home of an enclosed religious order or may be open to visitors . The layout of the church and associated buildings of an abbey often follows a set plan determined by the founding religious order . Abbeys are often self-sufficient while using any abundance of produce or skill to provide care to the poor and needy , refuge to the persecuted , or education to the young . Some abbeys offer accommodation to people who are seeking spiritual retreat . There are many famous abbeys across Europe .
Portchester Castle is a medieval castle built within a former Roman fort at Portchester to the east of Fareham in the English county of Hampshire . Probably founded in the late 11th century , Portchester was a baronial castle taken under royal control in 1154 . The monarchy controlled the castle for several centuries and it was a favoured hunting lodge of King John . It was besieged and captured by the French in 1216 before permanently returning to English control shortly thereafter . Occupying a commanding position at the head of Portsmouth Harbour , in the medieval period Portchester was an important port . The castle saw the disembarkation for several campaigns to France led by England 's kings . In anticipation of a French invasion during the first quarter of the 14th century , Edward II spent £1,100 repairing and reinforcing Portchester Castle . A plot to overthrow Henry V was discovered and the culprits apprehended at Portchester ; this event features in Shakespeare 's play , Henry V. Later in its history , the castle was used as a prison . Today Portchester Castle is a Scheduled Ancient Monument , and a Grade I listed building . The castle has been in the ownership of the Southwick Estate since the 17th century but is managed by English Heritage and open to visitors throughout the year . The Norman church , St. Mary 's , which stands in the south-east corner of the grounds , falls within the Anglican Diocese of Portsmouth .
In the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire , the Latin word castrum ( plural castra ) was a building , or plot of land , used as a fortified military camp . In English , the terms Roman fort , Roman camp and Roman fortress are commonly used for castrum . However , scholastic convention tends toward the use of the words fort , camp , marching camp and fortress as a translation of castrum . Castrum was the term used for different sizes of camps including a large legionary fortress , smaller forts for Cohorts or Auxiliaries , temporary encampments , and marching forts . The diminutive form castellum was used for fortlets , typically occupied by a detachment of a cohort or a century . For a list of known castra see List of castra .
A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders . Scholars debate the scope of the word castle , but usually consider it to be the private fortified residence of a lord or noble . This is distinct from a palace , which is not fortified ; from a fortress , which was not always a residence for royalty or nobility ; and from a fortified settlement , which was a public defence - though there are many similarities among these types of construction . Usage of the term has varied over time and has been applied to structures as diverse as hill forts and country houses . Over the approximately 900 years that castles were built , they took on a great many forms with many different features , although some , such as curtain walls , arrowslits , and portcullises , were commonplace . European-style castles originated in the 9th and 10th centuries , after the fall of the Carolingian Empire resulted in its territory being divided among individual lords and princes . These nobles built castles to control the area immediately surrounding them and the castles were both offensive and defensive structures ; they provided a base from which raids could be launched as well as offered protection from enemies . Although their military origins are often emphasised in castle studies , the structures also served as centres of administration and symbols of power . Urban castles were used to control the local populace and important travel routes , and rural castles were often situated near features that were integral to life in the community , such as mills , fertile land , or a water source . Many northern European castles were originally built from earth and timber , but had their defences replaced later by stone . Early castles often exploited natural defences , lacking features such as towers and arrowslits and relying on a central keep . In the late 12th and early 13th centuries , a scientific approach to castle defence emerged .
Domus Dei ( Hospital of Saint Nicholas and Saint John the Baptist ) was an almshouse and hospice at Old Portsmouth , Hampshire , United Kingdom . It is now also known as the Royal Garrison Church and is an English Heritage property and a Grade II listed building .
Hospice care is a type of health care that focuses on the palliation of a terminally ill patient 's pain and symptoms and attending to their emotional and spiritual needs . Hospice care has a palliative focus without curative intent . Usually , it is used for people with no further options for curing their disease or in people who have decided not to pursue further options that are arduous , likely to cause more symptoms , and not likely to succeed . In the United States , the term is largely defined by the practices of the Medicare system and other health insurance providers , which cover inpatient or at home hospice care to terminal patients who are medically certified to have less than six months to live . Hospice care under the Medicare Hospice Benefit requires that two physicians certify that a person has less than six months to live if the disease follows its usual course . According to the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization ( NHPCO ) 2012 report on facts and figures of hospice care , 66.4% received at-home care and 26.1% in an inpatient facility . In the late 1970s , the U.S. government began to view hospice care as a humane care option for the terminally ill . In 1982 , Congress initiated the creation of the Medicare Hospice Benefit , which became permanent in 1986 . In 1993 , President Clinton installed hospice as a guaranteed benefit and an accepted component of health care provisions . Outside the United States , the term tends to be primarily associated with the particular buildings or institutions that specialize in such care ( although hospice at home services may also be available ) . [ citation needed ] Outside the United States , such institutions may similarly provide care mostly in an end-of-life setting , but they may also be available for patients with other palliative care needs . Hospice care includes assistance for patients ' families to help them cope with what is happening and provide care and support to keep the patient at home .
Calleva Atrebatum ( Calleva of the Atrebates ) was originally an Iron Age settlement , capital of the Atrebates tribe , and subsequently a town in the Roman province of Britannia . Its ruins lie to the west of , and partly beneath , the Church of St Mary the Virgin , Silchester , in the county of Hampshire . The church occupies a site just within the ancient walls of Calleva , although the village of Silchester itself now lies about a mile ( 1.6 km ) to the west .
Roman Britain ( Latin : Britannia or , later , Britanniae , the Britains ) was the area of the island of Great Britain that was governed by the Roman Empire , from 43 to 410 AD . :129-131 It comprised almost the whole of England and Wales and , for a short period , southern Scotland . Julius Caesar invaded Britain in 55 and 54 BC as part of his Gallic Wars . According to Caesar , the Britons had been overrun or culturally assimilated by other Celtic tribes during the British Iron Age and had been aiding Caesar 's enemies . He received tribute , installed the friendly king Mandubracius over the Trinovantes , and returned to Gaul . Planned invasions under Augustus were called off in 34 , 27 , and 25 BC . In 40 AD , Caligula assembled 200,000 men at the Channel on the continent , only to have them gather seashells ( musculi ) according to Suetonius , perhaps as a symbolic gesture to proclaim Caligula 's victory over the sea . Three years later , Claudius directed four legions to invade Britain and restore the exiled king Verica over the Atrebates . The Romans defeated the Catuvellauni , and then organized their conquests as the Province of Britain ( Latin : Provincia Britannia ) . By the year 47 , the Romans held the lands southeast of the Fosse Way . Control over Wales was delayed by reverses and the effects of Boudica 's uprising , but the Romans expanded steadily northward . The conquest of Britain continued under command of Gnaeus Julius Agricola ( 77-84 ) , who expanded the Roman Empire as far as Caledonia .
Roman amphitheatres are amphitheatres - large , circular or oval open-air venues with raised seating - built by the ancient Romans . They were used for events such as gladiator combats , venationes ( animal slayings ) and executions . About 230 Roman amphitheatres have been found across the area of the Roman Empire . Early amphitheatres date from the republican period , though they became more monumental during the imperial era . Amphitheatres are distinguished from circuses , hippodromes , which were usually rectangular and built mainly for racing events and stadia , built for athletics . But several of these terms have at times been used for one and the same venue . The word amphitheatrum means theatre all around . Thus an amphitheatre is distinguished from the traditional semicircular Roman theatres by being circular or oval in shape .
1662 : Robert Henley bought the estate and a modest house known as The Grange . In 1665 he commissioned William Samwell to build an impressive four storey red brick residence to replace the house . 1764 : Robert Henley , 1st Earl of Northington ( 1708-1772 ) commissioned Robert Adam to design a kitchen block and an entrance bridge . The same year he laid out a naturalistic English landscape park , including a lake and folly . 1787 : The second Earl died childless and his sisters sold the house to the Drummond banking family . 1795 : The Grange was leased to George , Prince of Wales as a hunting lodge with over 400 deer in the park .
An English country house is a large house or mansion in the English countryside . Such houses were often owned by individuals who also owned a town house . This allowed them to spend time in the country and in the city - hence , for these people , the term distinguished between town and country . However , the term also encompasses houses that were , and often still are , the full-time residence for the landed gentry that ruled rural Britain until the Reform Act 1832 . Frequently , the formal business of the counties was transacted in these country houses . With large numbers of indoor and outdoor staff , country houses were important as places of employment for many rural communities . In turn , until the agricultural depressions of the 1870s , the estates , of which country houses were the hub , provided their owners with incomes . However , the late 19th and early 20th centuries were the swansong of the traditional English country house lifestyle . Increased taxation and the effects of World War I led to the demolition of hundreds of houses ; those that remained had to adapt to survive . While a château or a Schloss can be a fortified or unfortified building , a country house , similar to an Ansitz , is usually unfortified . If fortified , it is called a castle , but not all buildings with the name castle are fortified ( for example Highclere Castle ) .
Titchfield Abbey is a medieval abbey and later country house , located in the village of Titchfield near Fareham in Hampshire , England . The abbey was founded in 1222 for Premonstratensian canons , an austere order of priests . The abbey was a minor house of its order , and became neither wealthy nor influential during its three centuries of monastic life ; the inhabitants were devoted to scholarship , as shown by their very impressive library . The abbey was closed in 1537 by Henry VIII of England during the Dissolution of the Monasteries and the building was converted into a mansion by Thomas Wriothesley , a powerful courtier . Later in the sixteenth century the mansion was home to Henry Wriothesley , who was a patron of William Shakespeare . In 1781 the mansion was abandoned and partially demolished . The remains were purchased by the government in the early twentieth century and are now a Scheduled Ancient Monument under the care of English Heritage .
Wolvesey Castle , also known as the Old Bishop 's Palace , is a ruined castle in Winchester , Hampshire , England . It is located next to Winchester Cathedral .
Winchester is a city and the county town of Hampshire , England . The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester , a local government district , at the western end of the South Downs National Park , on the River Itchen . It is 60 miles ( 97 km ) south-west of London and 14 miles ( 23 km ) from Southampton , the closest other city . At the 2011 Census , Winchester had a population of 45,184 . The wider City of Winchester district , which includes towns such as Alresford and Bishop 's Waltham , has a population of 116,595 . Winchester developed from the Roman town of Venta Belgarum , which in turn developed from an Iron Age oppidum . Winchester 's major landmark is Winchester Cathedral , one of the largest cathedrals in Europe , with the distinction of having the longest nave and overall length of all Gothic cathedrals in Europe . The city is home to the University of Winchester and Winchester College , the oldest public school in the United Kingdom still using its original buildings . [ citation needed ]