What is recorded here

Henry VIII raised Southsea Castle in 1544 to block the Solent and protect Portsmouth when France and the Holy Roman Empire threatened invasion. The stone fort has survived fires, civil-war fighting, Napoleonic changes and two world wars, yet it still stands as a scheduled monument on Portsea Island. It is no longer a battlefield edge but a public place where that long defensive purpose can be walked around and seen.

The National Heritage List for England records Southsea Castle as a scheduled monument. The saved point comes from the centre supplied by the official record. Listing does not by itself mean that the public may enter the place.

Southsea Castle was built by Henry VIII in the 1540s as part of a chain of coastal defenses to protect England from French invasion. It is important as a well-preserved example of 16th-century military architecture and as a key element in the Tudor coastal defense system.

The historic-place record does not grant public access. Check current conditions and ownership before entering land or a building.