page_title: Portchester Castle
section_title: Use as a prison
hierarchical_section_title: Portchester Castle / Use as a prison
caption_attribution_description: English: Photo of the keep of Portchester castle in winter. Castle in this section is mostly medieval.
context_page_description: 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.
context_section_description: The castle passed out of royal control in 1632 when Charles I sold it to Sir William Uvedale. Since then, Portchester Castle has passed through his successors, the Thistlethwaite family. The castle did not witness fighting during the English Civil War, though for a short time in 1644 it was garrisoned by Parliamentarian dragoons. 
  One of the roles castles commonly filled was that of a prison. From the late 17th century onwards this became Portchester's most important function. In 1665, 500 prisoners from the Second Anglo-Dutch War (1665–1667) were held at the castle. Some were housed in the church in the outer bailey. They damaged the building by setting it on fire. The church was not repaired until some 40 years later. Between 1702 and 1712 the Crown leased Portchester Castle from the Uvedales to incarcerate prisoners from the War of the Spanish Succession. The first detailed accounts of the prisoners' conditions come from the middle of the century.
  It was last used in the 19th century as a gaol for over 7,000 French prisoners of the Napoleonic Wars. Hospital Lane (formerly Seagates Lane), which flanks the western side of the castle, was the location of the prison hospital which survives today as Portchester House, a private residence. Those that died in captivity were often buried in what are now tidal mudflats to the south of the castle, their remains occasionally disturbed by storms.
caption: Portchester Castle's keep
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