Southsea Castle was built in 1544 and took less than six months to build and in 1545 the Mary Rose sank in full view of the castle. In 1627 the castle was gutted by fire and in 1642 the castle was captured by Parliamentary forces in the civil war. In 1683 Charles II inspected improvements to the castle, in 1759 the castle was damaged by an accidental explosion and between 1813 and 1814 reconstruction was carried out. Between 1844 and 1850 the castle was used as a military prison, in 1863 work began on building the east and west batteries, in 1899 there was the installation of 6 inch and 9.2 inch guns, in 1960 Portsmouth City Council purchased the castle and in 1967 it was opened to the public.

Southsea castle has many features of interest; it includes a 'Story of Portsmouth Exibition', A Fort Cumberland Guard Museum, and in the keep is a history of the castle. If you climb to the top of the keep you can get some good views across the solent and Portsmouth. You have the opportunity to enter the Counterscarp gallery which was built between 1813 and 1814 and goes round the moat of the castle.

The above photo shows Southsea Castle which is located just behind the D-Day museum and as can be seen is on the edge of the coast. There is also a chance to climb all the battlements around the castle.

As well as the regular attractions there is often displays by the Fort Cumberland Guard. They are an re-enactment group of people who put on drills as would have been carried out by marines in a bygone era. They fire muskets and cannons, do marching drill, have their own band, perform the ceremony of the keys and sunset.

The ceremony of the keys is when each door and gate in the castle is locked by a detachment of the men and then the keys are handed over to the garrison commander. Sunset is then played and the castles day ends.

The Fort Cumberland Guards displays are well carried out with high accuracy and will keep you entertained for a long time. The Fort Cumberland Guard is well worth a visit and perform most weekends, details of when they are firing can be gained by contacting Southsea Castle. They usually fire at weekends and it is worth seeing even if you have seen it before because no two times are quite the same. The above picture is of the Fort Cumberland Guard firing a Cannon in Southsea Castle.

The Castle also hosts other re-enactment groups performing their drill from various times, the above photo is an example of this. Other groups have included Henry VIII, Kings Hussars and Round Heads and Cavillers.

For more information about Southsea Castle please click here to visit the Castle’s official website.