Portchester Castle stands inside a 3rd-century Roman fort, part of the Saxon Shore defenses. The article says a Roman builder, possibly Carausius, is only thought to have raised the fort. William Maudit probably built the early castle and its keep in the late 11th century. The stone rebuild is attributed to William Pont de l'Arche in the 1120s, and St Mary's church followed in the 1130s.
Henry II took control in 1154. Edward II remodeled the inner ward from 1320 to 1326, and master mason Walter Walton built the royal apartments for Richard II from 1396 to 1399. Edward III assembled about 15,000 troops here in 1346 before Crécy.
The castle later held prisoners, including over 7,000 French prisoners of the Napoleonic Wars. English Heritage manages it, and it is a Grade I listed building and a scheduled monument.
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