Note the many regularly spaced holes in the wall. They are putlog holes - a hole in a wall in which cross timbers, known as putlogs, were placed to allow scaffolding to be put up. Putlog holes are often left unfilled and are often the only evidence for the use of scaffolding.
As you follow the path look to your right and you will see the Postern Gate or Sally Port as it is sometimes known. It is a small gateway cut through the curtain wall, used primarily as an outlet for counter-attacking forces.
The Water Gate standing today replaced earlier Roman and Saxon ones. Part of the Saxon gate still survives. The furthest arch in this photograph is Late Saxon and made from Greensand and Sandstone (stained by iron ore) blocks. The rest was built in 1321-25. It was then repaired in 1369 and its front section that sticks out beyond the walls was added. This addition could be closed by a portcullis, the groove for which still survives.
This tower was destroyed not by attackers but by damage from the sea over the years. You can imagine the waves during a storm crashing against the outside of the castle walls.
These holes in the wall as you turn the corner were originally part of the medieval monastery that was here. They are the drains from the reredorter (lavatories), so that the waste was disposed of outside into the sea.
Look at the bastions (towers) as you walk past. Can you spot the divide between the Roman parts at the base of the tower and the medieval parts at the top?
The Roman walls were built in sections by teams of builders. Some times the sections built by different teams didn't match up exactly as they should have. Following the rows of red tiles is a good way to look for different sections.
The Land Gate was originally part of the Roman defences of Portchester Castle. However, most of what remains of it today dates from the 1300s. This was when Richard II (1367 – 1400) started a large programme of building work at the castle. Enter the outer bailey of the castle by going through the Land Gate.
Look at the remains of the gatehouse and try to work out how many times it has been extended over the centuries. Look for distinct changes in the stonework.
The groove on the right is where the portcullis (from the French "porte coulissante" or gliding door) would have been. It was a large wooden door that was lowered down to prevent people getting in. The square hole on the left was to hold a large wooden bar that could be slid in front of the portcullis for even more protection. Look at the opposite wall to see the other side of the portcullis groove and the other slot for the door bar.
As you walk through the Gatehouse turn around and look back at it. From here you can see how it would have formed a series of obstacles to prevent unwanted people from entering the castle.
The 'floating' doorways and rows of holes in the walls next to them show that you are actually in what was a three storey building. Go into the tower and look for other clues to the building's use.
The V shape on this wall is the original roof line of the Keep. It dates from the 1130s. Within 20 years of it being built this roof was replaced as two more storeys were added to the Keep.
It is known that plays were held in the castle from the Napoleonic period, when the castle housed prisoners of war. However, this painted decoration must date from after 1830, as it uses French Ultramarine, a pigment that only came into use after this date.
This is a reconstruction drawing of the theatre showing its design in relation to the present viewing platform. Very little is known about the history of the theatre. It is known that plays were held at the castle by the Napoleonic Prisoners of War that were kept there. However, the painted decoration that remains must date from after 1830, as it includes French Ultramarine which was not made until this date.
These beams show where extra floors were added to the keep in the 18th century. This was to allow more prisoners of war to be kept here. Some of the beams still have the iron hooks that were inserted into them, so that hammocks could be hung from the ceiling of each floor.
This is a reconstruction drawing of what it would have been like for the Napoleonic prisoners of war who were crowded into Keep. The conditions must have been appalling. The castle had been used as prison since 1665. In 1760 it is recorded that there were 3,200 prisoners kept at the castle. In 1794 13 new timber houses were built within the castles walls, each to hold 500 prisoners, with 1,000 more to be kept in the keep.
This is the view from the south-west corner of the keep. The Land Gate is on the right, the remains of the Gatehouse are in the centre and St Mary's church is on the left.
This is the view from the south-east corner of the keep. The remains of the East Range are in the foreground and St Mary's church and the Water Gate are in the background.
This is the view from the north-east corner of the keep. The roman walls can be seen with bastions on the outside part and the remains of Ashton's Tower on the inside.
The entrance to the royal apartments on the first floor was through this projecting porch in the middle of the Great Hall. Rising up from this entrance door were stairs, now lost, to the first-floor door of the hall.
This is a cutaway reconstruction drawing of what Richard II's palace would have looked like in the 14th century. The rooms shown here (clockwise from bottom left) are the kitchen, buttery and pantry, Great Hall, south-west chamber, exchequer chamber and chapel.
You are standing in the room below what was probably Richard IIs Exchequer Chamber. This would have been the room for financial and legal work, that was described in the 1390s building accounts. If you look up you can work out where the floor of the room above would have been. Also look for doors, windows and fireplaces to help understand what the room would have looked like.
You are standing in one of the 'lower chambers'. These were the three rooms on the ground floor, with the Great Chamber and Inner Chamber above them. The lower chambers were a series of lodgings for the King's retinue (people "retained" in the service of a noble or royal person) . If you look up you can work out where the floor of the room above would have been. Also look for doors, windows and fireplaces to help understand what the room would have looked like.
The Great Chamber was the main state room of the palace buildings, with four windows and a large fireplace. The windows at the south end of the chamber were carefully designed to let in the maximum amount of light from a small opening in the curtain wall. You are standing below the inner chamber. This was the King's bedroom, the door above and to your right was the entrance to a latrine - the King's toilet!
Walk back to go out of the door you came in by. As you walk back look at the wall of the keep ahead of you to spot all the doors, windows, rooflines and put-log holes.
The room on the first floor of this building was the Great Hall. The King and Queen would have sat directly above where you are standing now. The hall must have been splendid. It was lit down one side by high windows. According to the building accounts, the glass in the windows was decorated with coats of arms and heraldic borders. Explore this building and make your way through to the kitchen at the far end of the range.
This is a reconstruction drawing of what Richard II's palace would have looked like in the 14th century. It shows the Hall with the Kings banquet in progress.
The thick stone wall between the kitchen and the Great Hall was probably to safeguard against the spread of fire. The kitchen is small by medieval standards and probably had a central fire. It was open to the ceiling (no 1st floor above) and building accounts from 1398 mention a vent in the roof to let the smoke out. An open staircase was built against the eastern wall to allow the food to be carried up to the first floor to be served in the Great Hall.
Before finishing your trail you may like to explore the East Ranges. They were originally built in the 12th century and were the residence of the constable of the castle. It was remodelled many times over the centuries, the last time in the 17th century by the last constable, Sir Thomas Cornwallis.
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