Portchester Castle

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.

27/05/2026

Castle Street is closed due to road works but Portchester Castle is accessible and open as usual.

We look forward to welcoming members during the last days of members week.

The last guided tour of the Castle this week is Thursday 28th May, led by our Volunteer Phil.

27/05/2026

Castle Street is currently closed with road works, but the Castle is open and accessible as usual. We can't wait to welcome back our members during the last days of members week.

Don't forget the last guided tour of Portchester Castle starts tomorrow Thursday 28th at 11:00 hrs. Led by our Volunteer Phil.

22/05/2026

Welcome to Members' week, May 23rd to May 31st.

The Weather looks good for the forthcoming bank holiday weekend.

Why not start your members' week with a visit to Portchester Castle?

Remember that all of our members are entitled to bring an additional guest with them during members' week. Our members also get a 20% discount on items in our shop.

At Portchester Castle, we will be running two free tours with our brilliant guide and volunteer, Phil, who will bring 1700 years of history to life over the course of an hour.

No need to book, just bring your Members’ Card or pay entry on the door and join the castle tour at 11am on Wednesday 27th and Thursday 28th May.

Our Norman Keep is over 100ft high, providing fantastic views of Portsmouth Harbour and the surrounding area.

For any budding actors amongst you, I can recommend visiting our Napoleonic Prisoners Theatre. We have period costumes and a script from a melodrama that the Prisoners performed at the Castle. The Stage is yours.

For your lunch, you can enjoy a family picnic in our Outer Bailey, which is safely enclosed within our Roman Walls. If you need a bottle of English Heritage Wine or English Heritage Mead, they are available in the Castle shop. Soft drinks, ice creams, and confectionery are also available.

Don't forget your picnic hampers.

20/05/2026

English Heritage Members’ Week is just around the corner.

Between Saturday 23rd and Sunday 31st May 2026 you can enjoy free events across the country as Members.

At Portchester Castle we will be running two free tours with our brilliant guide and volunteer, Phil, who will bring 1700 years of history to life over the course of an hour.

No need to book, just bring your Members’ Card or pay entry on the door and join the castle tour at 11am on Wednesday 27th and Thursday 28th May.

To find out more about English Heritage Members’ Week 2026 and to find a list of events happening across English Heritage sites follow the link below:

As a special thank you to our members for your ongoing support, we are delighted to invite you to Members’ Week 2026. Between Saturday 23 and Sunday 31 May 2026, we will have free events taking place across the country, a spectacular prize draw, exclusive discounts in our cafes and shops, and you ...

19/05/2026

We are proud to be supporting Portchester Gala this year which will take place in the grounds of Portchester Castle, 11am - 4pm on Saturday 13th June.

The Friday before the Gala and over the weekend, the castle will be open as normal, 10am until 5pm, to welcome visitors.