Portchester Castle

23/06/2026

Fort Brockhurst is one of five Forts built in the Victorian era to defend Portsmouth Harbour from attack from the French.

During the weekend of the 11th & 12th of July 2026. Fort Brockhurst will be holding its Victorian Manoeuvres Weekend.

Our Staff at Fort Brockhurst are looking forward to inviting our visitors to sample Military life within the Fort. There will be Live Weapon demonstrations and a historic Military Camp.

Further family entertainment has been organised to keep everybody engaged, while learning more about the British Empire and the Victorian era.

If you are feeling up to active service, why not join the Fort Cumberland Guard for Soldier School?

10:00 to 16:00hrs Saturday & Sunday 11th & 12th July.

Parking is £2.00 (But Free Parking for English Heritage members who display their parking passes).

Step into Victorian Military life inside the fort, with live weapon demonstrations, historic camp and more there is plenty of entertainment to be had while learning about the era the British Empire grew! Join the Fort Cumberland Guard for soldier school, step into the newsroom for updates or experie...

22/06/2026

During June and July 2026, The Grange at Northington plays host to the Grange Festival. This is a third-party event, but the performances are held on a stage within the Mansion House.

The final few weeks include.

La Boheme
Eugene Onegin
Giulio Cesare
Ballet Black
The Soul of Opera

https://thegrangefestival.co.uk/

https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/northington-grange/

Join us for exceptional opera, dance and concerts, on an unparallelled English country estate "No opera house can boast a more serenely beautiful setting.” The Telegraph

13/06/2026

For all those coming by car today. This year there is a small parking fee of £1.00 pound.

12/06/2026

Come and support the Portchester Gala this weekend.

We are pleased to confirm the start times for the two Portchester Castle Guided Tours. The tours will be led by our experienced volunteer Phil.

The tours are free and start at 11:30 and at 14:00.

The Spinnaker Brass will be performing in the inner bailey between 11:00 and 13:00.

For the past few years, as far as parking is concerned. The Large car park will be used by the Fun Fair. The smaller car park will be for Blue Badge holders.

Parking will be in the parkland adjacent to Castle Street. Please be patient and follow the parking marshals' instructions.

We look forward to welcoming you all tomorrow.

11/06/2026

The Portchester Gala has been described as the best family community event of the summer.

So why not come along on Saturday, 13th June 2026 and help keep this well-supported community-organised event going into the future? 11:00 to 16:00hrs.

The classic car show will be back again this year. Bring your canine companions and enter them in the Dog Show. Animal lovers can also visit the Petting Zoo.

If you get hungry, there will be food stalls. Don’t forget the fantastic food which will be served in St. Mary's church tea rooms.

Come along and support the local traders who are attending; they need your support.

Portchester Castle will also be open from 10:00 until 17:00. Free, of course, for English Heritage members.

English Heritage Memberships will be on sale. So if you are interested in becoming a member, why not come and talk to one of our Visitor Assistants? Who will be able to explain some of the benefits of becoming a member?

Phil, one of our experienced guides, will once again be doing two of his Portchester Castle guided tours. Phil will be assisted by Bob, another one of our enthusiastic Volunteers.

For those of you familiar with Bob, you may know he also plays the drums for the Spinnaker Band. Thanks to Bob, the Spinnaker Band has agreed to play for us on Saturday at 11:00.

Listen out for announcements for other times.

English Heritage will have its pop-up once again this year. We will be positioned at the end of the drawbridge. We will be selling our extensive range of English Heritage Wine, Mead, Rum, Gin, Cider, Non-Alcoholic Rochester Ginger, and Black Sheep Milk Stout. Other selected items will also be available. All of these are also available in the Castle shop. If you can’t see what you're looking for, ask one of our Visitor Assistants or Volunteers.

Free tastings will once again be available.

The Seahorse COFFEE BAR is a long-term provider of the best bean-to-cup coffee, which is situated in the Outer Bailey, just inside the Land Gate.

Please come and support us and make this a memorable occasion.

05/06/2026

A massive thank you to all our volunteers here at Portchester Castle.

Whether you have volunteered with us for 20 years or 2 weeks we appreciate all the hard work you put in here at Portchester Castle and bringing history to life, especially as you give up your free time to do so.

From facilitating Discovery Visits for schools to greeting visitors, from helping out at events to helping with stock deliveries, these are just a few of the activities our volunteers do here at Portchester.

As a way of saying thank you for all we do, we held an afternoon tea celebration as part of Volunteers Week.

It was lovely to see so many of our volunteers, some of whom haven’t had the chance to meet before today, and have the time to catch up, eat some lovely homemade food made by the Site Manager, and celebrate all the hard work they do.

For those who were unable to make it today, we missed you and will see you when you’re next at the Castle.

To find out more about volunteering with English Heritage, find your nearest site, and see what opportunities are available, please click the link: https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/support-us/volunteer/

04/06/2026

This week is Volunteers Week.

Today we are highlighting one of our long standing volunteers.

Lady Jane has been a volunteer at Portchester Castle for almost 20 years.

She has been a crucial member of the Education Volunteer team, creating, adjusting and delivering scripts for the Discovery Visits for schools during this time.

The volunteering she has done has ensured that the history of Portchester Castle is being brought to life for each and every school child that has visited.

As more history keeps being discovered, the more is added and changed to our Discovery Visits. Since 2010, our Lady Jane has seen the inclusion of the Napoleonic Theatre and the research of the Caribbean Prisoners from the University of Warwick in the scripts for these visits.

Schools are able to book free self led education visits to English Heritage sites.

They can book Discovery Visits for a charge to which brings the history of sites like Portchester Castle to life. There are Discovery Visits for KS1, KS2 and KS3.

For more information and to find your nearest English Heritage site to volunteer at, click on the link: https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/support-us/volunteer/

For more information about school visits at Portchester Castle, click on the following link: https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/portchester-castle/school-visits/

29/05/2026

Final few days of Members Week.

All English Heritage Members are entitled to a 20% discount in our Shops and cafes, and they can also bring in one additional guest.

We would also like to remind Family Members that their children can pick up their new season Passports and one of the three new Pop Badges.

For those interested in photography, the Portchester Civic Society has a summer photographic competition. The competition closes on 31st August.

The competition theme is Places, People, and Events within Portchester.

Details of the competition can be found on their page.

https://www.facebook.com/Portchester.Civic.Society/

Don't forget the Portchester Gala on the 13th June.

27/05/2026

Members week continues at Portchester Castle this week.

On Thursday 28th May everybody is welcome to come for a guided tour of Portchester Castle. The tour will be led by our experienced tour guide phil.

The tour is free and starts at 11:00 hrs in the inner bailey.

Normal entry fees apply.

Come and enjoy the sunshine with us, our outer bailey gives great opportunities for family picnics. Our Roman Fortress Walls are over 1,700 years old.

27/05/2026

Portchester Castle is currently accessible from the Roundabout on the A27.

The road closed signs have been removed at the roundabout, and Castle Street is currently accessible up to the Junction with White Hart Lane.

It is therefore currently possible to access both car parks.