The Round Tower is a fortification at the entrance to Portsmouth harbour.[1] It is a Grade I listed building.[2]
History
The site was originally occupied by a wooden tower before being replaced by a stone one.[3]
The wooden tower
The wooden tower was built between 1418 and 1426 on the orders of King Henry V,[3] or c1415.[4]
In 1422, a defensive chain that could be raised in an emergency was built from the round tower across the harbour entrance.[5]
The stone tower
In the 1490s the tower was rebuilt in stone.[6] In the 1680s a line of ramparts was added that connected the tower to the square tower.[6] The upper section was later rebuilt during the Napoleonic wars.[1] Between 1847 and 1850 the roof of the tower was modified to serve as a gun platform.[7] Portsmouth city council purchased the tower in 1958.[8]
^Head of cultural services (3 June 2005). "Round Tower, Bronze Plaque"(PDF). Portsmouth City Council. Archived from the original(PDF) on 30 September 2011. Retrieved 9 October 2009.
^ abBrown, Paul (2005). Maritime Portsmouth A History and Guide. Tempus Publishing Ltd. pp. 81–82. ISBN0-7524-3537-X.
^Pevsner, Nikolaus; LLoyd, David (1967). The Buildings of England Hampshire and the Isle of Wight. Penguin Books. p. 422. ISBN0140710329.
^Gates, William G (1987). Peak, Nigel (ed.). The Portsmouth that has Passed: With a Glimpse of Gosport. Milestone Publications. p. 16. ISBN1-85265-111-3.