Portsmouth Round Tower

In the civil parish of Portsmouth. In the historic county of Hampshire (Modern Authority of Portsmouth; City of, 1974 county of Hampshire).

The Round Tower is probably the earliest of the stone built defences, circa 1415. It is cylindrical with string courses dividing the three storeys. The ground floor circa 1538-40 gun ports of this period mostly blocked. Upper storeys probably part of Sir Bernard de Gomme's reconstruction, but largely rebuilt in early C.19, when the interior was recast with massive brickwork vaulting, casements behind the gun ports. Top reconstruction circa 1847-50 and adapted as gun platform. Held west end of chain across harbour mouth, east end held by Fort Blockhouse (qv)

The Ordnance Survey Map Grid Reference is SZ62919937

Air Photo from Air Photo and general mapping	1st edition OS Map from Mid to late 19th century maps
Modern Map from Landscape form and features	Modern Map from General location and route planning
Geograph British Isles occasionally has photos of the site and will usually give an idea of the surrounding landscape.

Sources of information, references and further reading

This site's English Heritage (PastScape) Defra or Monument number is 859258
This site's County Historic Environment Record (formerly Sites and Monuments Record) number is 6508 'grey' literature, such as watching brief reports, held by H.E.R.s is often poorly referenced and is unlikely to be recorded in this website.

• Web site links
  • http://www.hants.gov.uk/hampshiretreasures/entries/v11p200e02.html
    http://www.ecastles.co.uk/portslines.html
• Books
  • Salter, Mike, 2002, The Castles of Wessex (Malvern) p50
    Saunders, Andrew, 1997, Channel Defences (London; Batsford/English Heritage) p42, 43, 57, 119
    Pettifer, A., 1995, English Castles, A guide by counties (Woodbridge) p88-9
    Barron, W.G., 1985, The Castles of Hampshire and Isle of Wight (Paul Cave) p41
    King, D.J.C., 1983, Castellarium Anglicanum (London: Kraus) Vol1 p192
    Lloyd, D.W., 1974, Buildings of Portsmouth and its Environs (Portsmouth)
    Pevsner, N. and Lloyd D., 1967, The Buildings of England: Hampshire and the Isle of Wight (Harmondsworth) p422
    Corney, A., 1965, Fortifications in Old Portsmouth (Portsmouth) p30-32
    Colvin, H.M., Brown, R.Allen and Taylor, A.J., 1963, The history of the King's Works Vol1: the Middle Ages p495-7
    Colvin, H.M., Brown, R.Allen and Taylor, A.J., 1963, The history of the King's Works Vol2: the Middle Ages (London: HMSO) p792-3
    Lilley, 1923, Early Portsmouth Defences (Portsmouth) p2, 8-9, 28-9
    Page, Wm (ed), 1908, VCH, Hampshire and the Isle of Wight Vol3 p187 [history only]
• Journal Articles
  • Kenyon, J.R., 1981 'Early Artillery Fortifications in England and Wales: a Preliminary Survey and Re-appraisal' Archaeological Journal Vol138 p214
• Antiquarian (Histories and accounts from late medieval and early modern writers)
  • William Camden, 1607, Britannia [http://www.philological.bham.ac.uk/cambrit/wilshireeng.html#hants12]
    Chandler, John, 1993, John Leland's Itinerary: travels in Tudor England (Sutton Publishing) p208, 209