Portland Castle
Portland Castle is an artillery fort built for King Henry VIII in 1539-41, together with Sandsfoot Castle, to guard the natural anchorage known as Portland Roads. The castle is located in the northern region of the island, on the edge of Castletown, which was named after the castle.
The castle experienced its only real action during the First English Civil War (1642-1646). With Portland being a Royal Manor, the island supported King Charles and the castle was used as a Royalist stronghold. After the Napoleonic Wars, the castle became a private residence and was requisitioned by the War Office in 1869 for use as offices, accommodation and an ordnance store. Since 1952, it has been open to the public during the peak season and is now in the care of English Heritage. In 2007, it was reported that the castle attracts approximately 25,000 visitors a year.
Portland Castle remains one of the best-preserved of King Henry VIII's Device Forts. It became a scheduled monument in October 1981 under the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979 and also a Grade I listed building in May 1993. The Captain's House, which is located in the castle grounds, has been Grade II* listed since the same time, as has the gateway and curtain wall to the south east of the house.
History
Original construction and use
Portland Castle was one of a chain of coastal artillery forts built for King Henry VIII between 1539-41 as a result of tensions between England, the Holy Roman Empire and France. In 1534, after Pope Clement VII refused to annul his marriage to Catherine of Aragon, the King broke from Rome and formed the Church of England. When the Empire and France declared an alliance in 1538, an invasion of England to attempt to re-establish Catholicism and counter the English Reformation was believed to be imminent. The King responded by having a number of artillery forts and blockhouses built along the coastline of England and Wales. In Dorset, Portland Roads was feared to be a vulnerable spot, which resulted in the construction of Portland Castle and its sister Sandsfoot Castle to defend the natural anchorage.
Construction of Portland Castle commenced in the summer of 1539, with Oliver Lawrence acting as the royal paymaster for the project. It was completed in 1541 for a cost of £4,964, although the castle was in a defensible state by the end of 1540. The first captain was Thomas Marvin and in 1540 there were four gunners attached to the castle, Robert Skogan, John Waclin, John Holman and John Hill, along with two other personnel. Marvin was replaced in 1545 by John Leweston, who commanded a garrison of thirteen men, made up of six gunners, five soldiers and two porters.
When fears of an invasion of England passed with the declaration of peace in 1558, it was not long before the castle fell into a state of disrepair. In October 1574, a report on the castle, signed by Leweston, recorded that the platform above the keep was in "great decay" and required "much timber for its repairs". Leweston also requested fifty calevers (and their associated furniture) and four saker cannons with forty-four shots for each one, to replace the existing two demi-culverings, three iron slings and four bases, all of which were described as "not serviceable".
Threat of Spanish invasion, and neglect of castle
The castle suffered from a ongoing lack of repair and maintenance, with a survey of c. 1583 recording further deterioration. With growing fears of a Spanish invasion, £228 was spent on repairs to the castle in 1584-86. The work included the construction of two new platforms for the lower and upper keeps, repairing the roof of the captain's lodging, laying new lead over the hall, repairing the porter's lodge and constructing a storeroom for gun ladles and sponges.
In 1592, Sir Walter Raleigh became captain of the castle, though he never took up residence there, resulting in the deputy, Nicholas Jones, running the castle on his behalf. Reporting to the Privy Council in August 1593, Raleigh stressed the lack of effective weapons and requested new armament, as the best cannons and other pieces had been removed for use on ships of the Royal Navy.
In 1623, a survey of the castle was carried out by Sir Richard Morryson and two other officers for King James I. At the time, Sir Carew Raleigh was the castle's captain and John Bone the lieutenant. The castle's primary armament was made up of three culverings, nine demi-culverings and one saker. There were four field carriages, one for a culvering and three for demi-culverings, and 899 round shots of iron. Unserviceable armament and equipment included two iron sakers and nine field carriages.
The upper platform, which no longer held any armament, was recorded as having "several defects and leaks in the lead", with the supporting joists decayed and at risk of collapse. It was suggested that the joists "be supported with stone 'cartowses' and timber along the wall of freestone", but "this cannot prevent the further rottenness of the woodwork". An alternative proposal was the redundant platform be replaced with a sloping tile roof. The platform of the second battery was considered to be in good condition but required removal in order to repair the leaks of the lead underneath. In the lower battery, platforms for each of the five guns were required and the lodgings for the gunners, one half being decayed, needed to be "newly lathed and plastered", with new partitions added. Other suggested work within the castle including removing a staircase which "hinders the traversering of a piece", repairing glass windows and providing a new door at the entrance.
Outside of the castle, the bridge was in need of repair and it was recommended that a palisado be added before it. On its south-west side, the moat was found to be overgrown and it was suggested it be made wider and deeper, with a stone wall to be added on the inner side. On the bridge's north-west side, it was recorded that the moat is "daily overflowed by the sea, so that at high water there is no passage to the castle on that side". It was proposed that a counterscarp would "withstand the sea and prevent its overflowing", while the moat should be repaired and a stone traverse added on the seaward side to "keep the water in the moat and resist the force of the sea on that side".
The castle's seaward side had been "undermined by the waves of the sea", which the survey warned "may cause the ruin of this fort". Part of the five foot high freestone wall had collapsed and required rebuilding. As a preventative measure against future coastal erosion, the survey recommended forming a bank of eighty rocks (each weighing between three to five tons) to be sourced from the island's quarries and brought by sea. The entire recommended works made in the survey was given an estimated cost of £554 and it is believed the work was carried out owing to the castle's defensive state during the Civil War. In 1636, two long-range guns were added to the armament.
The castle's role in the Civil War and Anglo-Dutch Wars
With the outbreak of the First English Civil War in August 1642, Parliamentary forces took control of Portland and its castle. In August 1643, a party of Royalists successfully claimed the castle after gaining access inside by disguising themselves as Parliamentary soldiers. A four month siege in 1644 saw Parliamentary forces fail to retake the castle and another unsuccessful attempt was made in August 1645.
As the war turned in favour of Parliament, Colonel Thomas Gollop and his garrison at Portland Castle surrendered to Parliament's Vice-Admiral William Batten on 6 April 1646. As part of the generous surrender terms, the Royalist soldiers were allowed the "honours of war", giving them the opportunity to march out with their personal weapons, colours displayed and drums beating. However, no such exit took place and the surrender ended up being a quiet affair. Most of the garrison, largely made up of local men, headed home and only five chose to head to Oxford, the headquarters of the King's forces. The castle remained in the control of the Commonwealth after the war and it was reported that 104 soldiers of various ranks were attached to the castle in 1651.
The castle remained in a defensive state for the First Anglo-Dutch War (1652-54) and was also used as a prison for prominent Royalists during this period, including the future Duke Lauderdale, who arrived at the castle in 1655 and remained there for two years. When Charles II was restored to the throne in 1660, Portland's loyalty to the Royalists during the Civil War was rewarded with a special Royal Grant Fund. In addition, the King had the royal coat of arms erected over the castle's gateway and authorised repair work on the onset of the Second Anglo-Dutch War in 1665. In 1679, it was reported that the castle had sixteen guns which required new carriages and platforms.
Meanwhile, following the recommendations of the Privy Council in 1665, Sandsfoot Castle's role as a defence came to an end, leaving Portland Castle to guard Portland Roads. On a 1725 plan of Portland Castle, the draughtsman recorded his theory that the castle was well-suited for its primary role protecting trading vessels against privateers as the guns were at an appropriate level with the surface of the water, whereas Sandsfoot stood on ground that was too high.
The 18th century and final armament
In the early 18th century, the castle had once again fallen into a state of disrepair. A 1715 survey concluded that both the lower and upper keeps were in need of replacement, while repairs were required on the seaward side as coastal erosion had washed away approximately 112 feet of the foundations. In 1717, the castle's armament was reduced to seven guns. The Napoleonic Wars (1803-15) saw the armament increased, with a survey of 1805 listing six 24-pounder, six 12-pounder and two 9-pounder guns.
The castle as a marine residence
After the Napoleonic Wars, the castle was disarmed in the early 1820s and then leased to Rev. John Manning, who renovated and converted the dilapidated castle into a private residence, which included adding enlarged windows and battlemented walls around the garden. After Manning's death in 1826, his son Captain Charles Manning was granted the castle and he continued to develop it as a residence. He also had the master gunner's former house, known today as the Captain's House, converted into a grander property.
Return to military use and use during both World Wars
When Captain Manning died in 1869, the castle returned to the War Office. By this time, Portland Roads was approaching completion in its transformation into a harbour of refuge through the construction of two breakwater arms. A number of defences were built to protect the new harbour, including the Verne Citadel, making Portland Castle redundant in its original role. Instead the castle primarily provided accommodation to officers, most notably the adjutant of the citadel.
During World War I, the castle was used as an ordnance store, but returned to use as military accommodation afterwards. During World War II, the castle accommodated both British and US military personnel from 1943, while also holding some ordnance. Both Portland and Weymouth Harbours were major preparation and embarkation points for D-Day. In the earlier years of the war, in 1940, a pillbox had been constructed to the seaward side of the castle (in what is now the castle's car park) as part of anti-invasion measures. The structure was later demolished.
The castle's opening to the public (1952-)
In 1949, Portland Castle was transferred to the Ministry of Works, who then restored the castle before opening it to the public for the first time in April 1952. In effort to present the castle in its original form as much as possible, much of the 19th and 20th century additions were removed. The Captain's House, however, remained closed to the public and was later in use as the residence of the captain of RNAS Portland. In 1984, the castle became an English Heritage Property in Care and to date, the organisation continues to operate the castle as a tourist attraction. With the closure of RNAS Portland in 1999, the Captain's House, including its gardens and courtyard, became part of the attraction.
Design
Built of Portland Stone, the castle is among the smallest of the artillery forts built for King Henry VIII. The keep is the castle's nucleus and includes the gun battery which was designed to be fan-shaped to deflect enemy ordnance. A walled courtyard surrounds the castle, with the Captain's House located on the western side and the Governor's Garden found beyond the eastern wall. An outer gateway to the south provided access to the grounds.
Originally, the castle had three tiers of artillery; two in the front battery and a third in the central tower. The keep was protected by a moat, since filled in, with a drawbridge, of which only the slots now survive. Gunloops were also provided for the short-range protection of the castle.
Interior
The Great Hall on the ground floor of the keep was originally the main living quarters for the garrison. A partition separates it from two small rooms, which were used from the 18th century to store goods and equipment. Also on ground level are the gunners' quarters and the kitchen. The original use of the room described as the gunners' quarters is uncertain; it possibly served as quarters for the castle's porter or as a store. The kitchen was originally smaller than what is seen today, but is still equipped with a large, 16th century fireplace, while English Heritage have provided furnishings to represent how the room may have looked in its time of use. In 1716, the kitchen was divided into three rooms: a panty, cellar and kitchen.
Running around the front of the keep is the gun room, which was the location of the main armament. Although now roofless, it was originally roofed over to provide an additional tier of guns. There were five embrasures on the ground floor and four on the first floor. The gun-ports had wooden shutters and large vents to allow the smoke from the guns to escape. Today, English Heritage displays a number of 18th and 19th century cannons in the room, which are placed on reproduction carriages. The rear side of the ground level was once subdivided into four barrack rooms, of which no trace remains except for some details of a fireplace. The upper deck was accessed by a flight of wooden stairs, no longer in existence. Today, the upper level now features a non-original wall-walk.
On the upper level of the keep, the upper hall was originally the captain's hall, with the two adjoining small rooms used accommodating servants. The hall was converted into a dining room by the Manning's in the 19th century. The Captain's Chamber is also located on this level and although it is believed to have been used as the captain's private chamber, it is possible that it served as quarters for the master gunner in Tudor times. The drawbridge chamber, which would have housed the winch for operating the bridge, retains a pair of long loops with circular openings. Two further rooms on the upper level, located above the kitchen, served as bedrooms, and they may have originally been the lieutenant's quarters.
Exterior and courtyard
The walled courtyard is now a garden, with a three-gun platform on the eastern side of the castle. The south side features the entrance with the royal coat of arms above it, which is made of lead and retains some original colouring. On the western side of the courtyard is the Captain's House, which is believed to have been built in the early 18th century as a residence for the sutler, who sold provisions to the garrison. Today, English Heritage use the building as a ticket office for the castle, shop and tea room.
The Governor's Garden
The original garden at Portland Castle was used to grow fruit and vegetables intermittently up to the end of World War II. As part of English Heritage's Contemporary Heritage Gardens scheme, launched in 1999, a competition was held in 2002 for designs of a new garden at the castle. The maritime themed-design of horticulturist Christopher Bradley-Hole was selected and the original garden was then transformed.
During the operations of clearing and tidying the site, a working party from Portland's prison ship, HM Prison Weare, provided assistance. The garden was completed and opened to the public in the summer of 2002. One of the maritime-related installations in the garden includes a bridge, designed to resemble a pontoon.
References
The following is an A-Z list of references for this page.
1) English Heritage - Daysout: Properties - Portland Castle - website page
2) English Heritage - Daysout: Properties - The Garden at Portland Castle - website page
3) English Heritage - Teacher's Kit: Portland Castle (History) - PDF document
4) English Heritage - Wedding Venue Hire: Portland Castle, Dorset - website page
5) Historic England - The National Heritage List for England - Boundary Stone circa 23 Metres South of Entrance to Captain's House, Castle Road - website page
6) Historic England - The National Heritage List for England - Captain's House, Castle Road - website page
7) Historic England - The National Heritage List for England - Gateway and Curtain Wall to South East of Captain's House, Castle Road - website page
8) Historic England - The National Heritage List for England - Portland Castle - website page
9) Historic England - The National Heritage List for England - Portland Castle (scheduled listing) - website page
10) Pastscape - Monument No. 1413734 - website page
11) Pastscape - Monument No. 1420378 - website page
12) Pastscape - Portland Castle - website page
13) Pastscape - The Governors Garden - website page
14) Portland Castle - English Heritage - 2000 - ISBN: 978-1850747253 - pages 4-6, 8-21, 23-26, 28 - book
15) Proceedings of the Dorset Natural History and Antiquarian Field Club - Volume 35 - Sandsfoot and Portland Castles - Henry Symonds - 1914 - report
16) TripAdvisor - Dorset Attractions - Portland Castle - website page
17) Watershed PR - Brochure Outlining Project for the Old Engine Shed - PDF document
The castle experienced its only real action during the First English Civil War (1642-1646). With Portland being a Royal Manor, the island supported King Charles and the castle was used as a Royalist stronghold. After the Napoleonic Wars, the castle became a private residence and was requisitioned by the War Office in 1869 for use as offices, accommodation and an ordnance store. Since 1952, it has been open to the public during the peak season and is now in the care of English Heritage. In 2007, it was reported that the castle attracts approximately 25,000 visitors a year.
Portland Castle remains one of the best-preserved of King Henry VIII's Device Forts. It became a scheduled monument in October 1981 under the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979 and also a Grade I listed building in May 1993. The Captain's House, which is located in the castle grounds, has been Grade II* listed since the same time, as has the gateway and curtain wall to the south east of the house.
History
Original construction and use
Portland Castle was one of a chain of coastal artillery forts built for King Henry VIII between 1539-41 as a result of tensions between England, the Holy Roman Empire and France. In 1534, after Pope Clement VII refused to annul his marriage to Catherine of Aragon, the King broke from Rome and formed the Church of England. When the Empire and France declared an alliance in 1538, an invasion of England to attempt to re-establish Catholicism and counter the English Reformation was believed to be imminent. The King responded by having a number of artillery forts and blockhouses built along the coastline of England and Wales. In Dorset, Portland Roads was feared to be a vulnerable spot, which resulted in the construction of Portland Castle and its sister Sandsfoot Castle to defend the natural anchorage.
Construction of Portland Castle commenced in the summer of 1539, with Oliver Lawrence acting as the royal paymaster for the project. It was completed in 1541 for a cost of £4,964, although the castle was in a defensible state by the end of 1540. The first captain was Thomas Marvin and in 1540 there were four gunners attached to the castle, Robert Skogan, John Waclin, John Holman and John Hill, along with two other personnel. Marvin was replaced in 1545 by John Leweston, who commanded a garrison of thirteen men, made up of six gunners, five soldiers and two porters.
When fears of an invasion of England passed with the declaration of peace in 1558, it was not long before the castle fell into a state of disrepair. In October 1574, a report on the castle, signed by Leweston, recorded that the platform above the keep was in "great decay" and required "much timber for its repairs". Leweston also requested fifty calevers (and their associated furniture) and four saker cannons with forty-four shots for each one, to replace the existing two demi-culverings, three iron slings and four bases, all of which were described as "not serviceable".
Threat of Spanish invasion, and neglect of castle
The castle suffered from a ongoing lack of repair and maintenance, with a survey of c. 1583 recording further deterioration. With growing fears of a Spanish invasion, £228 was spent on repairs to the castle in 1584-86. The work included the construction of two new platforms for the lower and upper keeps, repairing the roof of the captain's lodging, laying new lead over the hall, repairing the porter's lodge and constructing a storeroom for gun ladles and sponges.
In 1592, Sir Walter Raleigh became captain of the castle, though he never took up residence there, resulting in the deputy, Nicholas Jones, running the castle on his behalf. Reporting to the Privy Council in August 1593, Raleigh stressed the lack of effective weapons and requested new armament, as the best cannons and other pieces had been removed for use on ships of the Royal Navy.
In 1623, a survey of the castle was carried out by Sir Richard Morryson and two other officers for King James I. At the time, Sir Carew Raleigh was the castle's captain and John Bone the lieutenant. The castle's primary armament was made up of three culverings, nine demi-culverings and one saker. There were four field carriages, one for a culvering and three for demi-culverings, and 899 round shots of iron. Unserviceable armament and equipment included two iron sakers and nine field carriages.
The upper platform, which no longer held any armament, was recorded as having "several defects and leaks in the lead", with the supporting joists decayed and at risk of collapse. It was suggested that the joists "be supported with stone 'cartowses' and timber along the wall of freestone", but "this cannot prevent the further rottenness of the woodwork". An alternative proposal was the redundant platform be replaced with a sloping tile roof. The platform of the second battery was considered to be in good condition but required removal in order to repair the leaks of the lead underneath. In the lower battery, platforms for each of the five guns were required and the lodgings for the gunners, one half being decayed, needed to be "newly lathed and plastered", with new partitions added. Other suggested work within the castle including removing a staircase which "hinders the traversering of a piece", repairing glass windows and providing a new door at the entrance.
Outside of the castle, the bridge was in need of repair and it was recommended that a palisado be added before it. On its south-west side, the moat was found to be overgrown and it was suggested it be made wider and deeper, with a stone wall to be added on the inner side. On the bridge's north-west side, it was recorded that the moat is "daily overflowed by the sea, so that at high water there is no passage to the castle on that side". It was proposed that a counterscarp would "withstand the sea and prevent its overflowing", while the moat should be repaired and a stone traverse added on the seaward side to "keep the water in the moat and resist the force of the sea on that side".
The castle's seaward side had been "undermined by the waves of the sea", which the survey warned "may cause the ruin of this fort". Part of the five foot high freestone wall had collapsed and required rebuilding. As a preventative measure against future coastal erosion, the survey recommended forming a bank of eighty rocks (each weighing between three to five tons) to be sourced from the island's quarries and brought by sea. The entire recommended works made in the survey was given an estimated cost of £554 and it is believed the work was carried out owing to the castle's defensive state during the Civil War. In 1636, two long-range guns were added to the armament.
The castle's role in the Civil War and Anglo-Dutch Wars
With the outbreak of the First English Civil War in August 1642, Parliamentary forces took control of Portland and its castle. In August 1643, a party of Royalists successfully claimed the castle after gaining access inside by disguising themselves as Parliamentary soldiers. A four month siege in 1644 saw Parliamentary forces fail to retake the castle and another unsuccessful attempt was made in August 1645.
As the war turned in favour of Parliament, Colonel Thomas Gollop and his garrison at Portland Castle surrendered to Parliament's Vice-Admiral William Batten on 6 April 1646. As part of the generous surrender terms, the Royalist soldiers were allowed the "honours of war", giving them the opportunity to march out with their personal weapons, colours displayed and drums beating. However, no such exit took place and the surrender ended up being a quiet affair. Most of the garrison, largely made up of local men, headed home and only five chose to head to Oxford, the headquarters of the King's forces. The castle remained in the control of the Commonwealth after the war and it was reported that 104 soldiers of various ranks were attached to the castle in 1651.
The castle remained in a defensive state for the First Anglo-Dutch War (1652-54) and was also used as a prison for prominent Royalists during this period, including the future Duke Lauderdale, who arrived at the castle in 1655 and remained there for two years. When Charles II was restored to the throne in 1660, Portland's loyalty to the Royalists during the Civil War was rewarded with a special Royal Grant Fund. In addition, the King had the royal coat of arms erected over the castle's gateway and authorised repair work on the onset of the Second Anglo-Dutch War in 1665. In 1679, it was reported that the castle had sixteen guns which required new carriages and platforms.
Meanwhile, following the recommendations of the Privy Council in 1665, Sandsfoot Castle's role as a defence came to an end, leaving Portland Castle to guard Portland Roads. On a 1725 plan of Portland Castle, the draughtsman recorded his theory that the castle was well-suited for its primary role protecting trading vessels against privateers as the guns were at an appropriate level with the surface of the water, whereas Sandsfoot stood on ground that was too high.
The 18th century and final armament
In the early 18th century, the castle had once again fallen into a state of disrepair. A 1715 survey concluded that both the lower and upper keeps were in need of replacement, while repairs were required on the seaward side as coastal erosion had washed away approximately 112 feet of the foundations. In 1717, the castle's armament was reduced to seven guns. The Napoleonic Wars (1803-15) saw the armament increased, with a survey of 1805 listing six 24-pounder, six 12-pounder and two 9-pounder guns.
The castle as a marine residence
After the Napoleonic Wars, the castle was disarmed in the early 1820s and then leased to Rev. John Manning, who renovated and converted the dilapidated castle into a private residence, which included adding enlarged windows and battlemented walls around the garden. After Manning's death in 1826, his son Captain Charles Manning was granted the castle and he continued to develop it as a residence. He also had the master gunner's former house, known today as the Captain's House, converted into a grander property.
Return to military use and use during both World Wars
When Captain Manning died in 1869, the castle returned to the War Office. By this time, Portland Roads was approaching completion in its transformation into a harbour of refuge through the construction of two breakwater arms. A number of defences were built to protect the new harbour, including the Verne Citadel, making Portland Castle redundant in its original role. Instead the castle primarily provided accommodation to officers, most notably the adjutant of the citadel.
During World War I, the castle was used as an ordnance store, but returned to use as military accommodation afterwards. During World War II, the castle accommodated both British and US military personnel from 1943, while also holding some ordnance. Both Portland and Weymouth Harbours were major preparation and embarkation points for D-Day. In the earlier years of the war, in 1940, a pillbox had been constructed to the seaward side of the castle (in what is now the castle's car park) as part of anti-invasion measures. The structure was later demolished.
The castle's opening to the public (1952-)
In 1949, Portland Castle was transferred to the Ministry of Works, who then restored the castle before opening it to the public for the first time in April 1952. In effort to present the castle in its original form as much as possible, much of the 19th and 20th century additions were removed. The Captain's House, however, remained closed to the public and was later in use as the residence of the captain of RNAS Portland. In 1984, the castle became an English Heritage Property in Care and to date, the organisation continues to operate the castle as a tourist attraction. With the closure of RNAS Portland in 1999, the Captain's House, including its gardens and courtyard, became part of the attraction.
Design
Built of Portland Stone, the castle is among the smallest of the artillery forts built for King Henry VIII. The keep is the castle's nucleus and includes the gun battery which was designed to be fan-shaped to deflect enemy ordnance. A walled courtyard surrounds the castle, with the Captain's House located on the western side and the Governor's Garden found beyond the eastern wall. An outer gateway to the south provided access to the grounds.
Originally, the castle had three tiers of artillery; two in the front battery and a third in the central tower. The keep was protected by a moat, since filled in, with a drawbridge, of which only the slots now survive. Gunloops were also provided for the short-range protection of the castle.
Interior
The Great Hall on the ground floor of the keep was originally the main living quarters for the garrison. A partition separates it from two small rooms, which were used from the 18th century to store goods and equipment. Also on ground level are the gunners' quarters and the kitchen. The original use of the room described as the gunners' quarters is uncertain; it possibly served as quarters for the castle's porter or as a store. The kitchen was originally smaller than what is seen today, but is still equipped with a large, 16th century fireplace, while English Heritage have provided furnishings to represent how the room may have looked in its time of use. In 1716, the kitchen was divided into three rooms: a panty, cellar and kitchen.
Running around the front of the keep is the gun room, which was the location of the main armament. Although now roofless, it was originally roofed over to provide an additional tier of guns. There were five embrasures on the ground floor and four on the first floor. The gun-ports had wooden shutters and large vents to allow the smoke from the guns to escape. Today, English Heritage displays a number of 18th and 19th century cannons in the room, which are placed on reproduction carriages. The rear side of the ground level was once subdivided into four barrack rooms, of which no trace remains except for some details of a fireplace. The upper deck was accessed by a flight of wooden stairs, no longer in existence. Today, the upper level now features a non-original wall-walk.
On the upper level of the keep, the upper hall was originally the captain's hall, with the two adjoining small rooms used accommodating servants. The hall was converted into a dining room by the Manning's in the 19th century. The Captain's Chamber is also located on this level and although it is believed to have been used as the captain's private chamber, it is possible that it served as quarters for the master gunner in Tudor times. The drawbridge chamber, which would have housed the winch for operating the bridge, retains a pair of long loops with circular openings. Two further rooms on the upper level, located above the kitchen, served as bedrooms, and they may have originally been the lieutenant's quarters.
Exterior and courtyard
The walled courtyard is now a garden, with a three-gun platform on the eastern side of the castle. The south side features the entrance with the royal coat of arms above it, which is made of lead and retains some original colouring. On the western side of the courtyard is the Captain's House, which is believed to have been built in the early 18th century as a residence for the sutler, who sold provisions to the garrison. Today, English Heritage use the building as a ticket office for the castle, shop and tea room.
The Governor's Garden
The original garden at Portland Castle was used to grow fruit and vegetables intermittently up to the end of World War II. As part of English Heritage's Contemporary Heritage Gardens scheme, launched in 1999, a competition was held in 2002 for designs of a new garden at the castle. The maritime themed-design of horticulturist Christopher Bradley-Hole was selected and the original garden was then transformed.
During the operations of clearing and tidying the site, a working party from Portland's prison ship, HM Prison Weare, provided assistance. The garden was completed and opened to the public in the summer of 2002. One of the maritime-related installations in the garden includes a bridge, designed to resemble a pontoon.
References
The following is an A-Z list of references for this page.
1) English Heritage - Daysout: Properties - Portland Castle - website page
2) English Heritage - Daysout: Properties - The Garden at Portland Castle - website page
3) English Heritage - Teacher's Kit: Portland Castle (History) - PDF document
4) English Heritage - Wedding Venue Hire: Portland Castle, Dorset - website page
5) Historic England - The National Heritage List for England - Boundary Stone circa 23 Metres South of Entrance to Captain's House, Castle Road - website page
6) Historic England - The National Heritage List for England - Captain's House, Castle Road - website page
7) Historic England - The National Heritage List for England - Gateway and Curtain Wall to South East of Captain's House, Castle Road - website page
8) Historic England - The National Heritage List for England - Portland Castle - website page
9) Historic England - The National Heritage List for England - Portland Castle (scheduled listing) - website page
10) Pastscape - Monument No. 1413734 - website page
11) Pastscape - Monument No. 1420378 - website page
12) Pastscape - Portland Castle - website page
13) Pastscape - The Governors Garden - website page
14) Portland Castle - English Heritage - 2000 - ISBN: 978-1850747253 - pages 4-6, 8-21, 23-26, 28 - book
15) Proceedings of the Dorset Natural History and Antiquarian Field Club - Volume 35 - Sandsfoot and Portland Castles - Henry Symonds - 1914 - report
16) TripAdvisor - Dorset Attractions - Portland Castle - website page
17) Watershed PR - Brochure Outlining Project for the Old Engine Shed - PDF document
Gallery
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