The Round Tower is a fortification at the entrance to Portsmouth harbour. It is a Grade I listed building.
History
The site was originally occupied by a wooden tower before being replaced by a stone one.
The wooden tower
The wooden tower was built between 1418 and 1426 on the orders of King Henry V, or c1415.
In 1422, a defensive chain that could be raised in an emergency was built from the round tower across the harbour entrance.
The stone tower
A depiction of how the round tower appeared in 1545Portsmouth Harbour by Clarkson Stanfield, 1831. The Round Tower is visible in the centre along with other Portsmouth landmarks.
In the 1490s the tower was rebuilt in stone. In the 1680s a line of ramparts was added that connected the tower to the square tower. The upper section was later rebuilt during the Napoleonic wars. Between 1847 and 1850 the roof of the tower was modified to serve as a gun platform. Portsmouth city council purchased the tower in 1958.
^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.
^ Brown, 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.
_-_Portsmouth_Harbour_-_RCIN_404789_-_Royal_Collection.jpg)
