Portchester Castle in Hampshire has enjoyed a colourful history from its Roman origins to the present day. This guidebook combines a tour of the remains of the castle with a history of its architectural development and of the lives of its many and varied occupants. From a late 3rd century Roman fort, then home to a 5th century Saxon community, a castle was built on the site following the Norman conquest of 1066. This Norman stronghold became a royal residence for Richard II, home to the king's treasury and later was the setting for the departure of Henry V's armies to Agincourt. Occupied until the 17th century, the castle housed prisoners from the Napoleonic Wars until 1814, when it became a hospital, then a prison for deserters and finally sank into a ruinous state until the early 20th century. What a story