Portchester

For the village in New York, see Port Chester.

Human settlement in England

Portchester

Aerial view of St Mary's Church, Portchester, with Portsmouth city skyline in background.

Portchester

Location within Hampshire

Population| 17,789 (2011 Census. Wards)[1]
OS grid reference| SU6105
District|

* Fareham

Shire county|

* Hampshire

Region|

* South East

Country| England
Sovereign state| United Kingdom
Post town| FAREHAM
Postcode district| PO16 - PO17
Dialling code| 023/01329
Police| Hampshire and Isle of Wight
Fire| Hampshire and Isle of Wight
Ambulance| South Central
UK Parliament|

* Fareham

List of places

England
Hampshire

50°50′31″N 1°07′12″W﻿ / ﻿50.842°N 1.12°W﻿ / 50.842; -1.12Coordinates: 50°50′31″N 1°07′12″W﻿ / ﻿50.842°N 1.12°W﻿ / 50.842; -1.12

Portchester is a village the Borough of Fareham in Hampshire, England. It is 4 miles (6.4 km) northwest of Portsmouth and a similar distance from Southampton on the A27 road. Its population according to the 2011 United Kingdom census was 17,789.

## Name[edit]

Portchester is derived from its former Latin name Portus Adurni and the Old English suffix ceaster ("fort; fortified town"), itself derived from the Latin word “castrum.”

## History[edit]

Main article: Portus Adurni

The fort of Portus Adurni is considered the best-preserved Roman fort north of the Alps.[2] It is sometimes identified as the Caer Peris[3] listed by the 9th-century History of the Britons as among the 28 cities of Britain.[4][5] The medieval Portchester Castle was built within the Roman fort.

## Amenities[edit]

As well as the castle, its parish church St Mary's[6] is listed as a Grade I protected building.[7][8] There are also many historic houses in Castle Street. This suburb is well placed for waterfront leisure activities, only a short distance from the UK's 3rd-largest marina at Port Solent, from the historic city of Portsmouth, and from the market town of Fareham.

### Public open spaces[edit]

* Portchester Castle
* Portsdown Hill \- Including Portchester Common[9] a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI)
* Wicor Recreation Ground[10] \- Home to A.F.C. Portchester and Wicor Skate Park.[11]

### Schools[edit]

* Portchester Community School, a mixed comprehensive community school for 11- to 16-year-olds.
* Wicor Primary School[12]
* Northern Infant School[13]
* Northern Junior School[14]
* Red Barn Primary School[15]
* Castle Primary School[16]

### Crematorium[edit]

Opened in 1958, it is on the lower slopes of Portsdown Hill. It is owned by a Joint Committee representing the City of Portsmouth and the Boroughs of Fareham, Havant and Gosport. It has two chapels, the North (added 1969) and South (original).[17] Those cremated there include two World War I Victoria Cross recipients, Norman Augustus Finch and James Ockendon who both died in 1966.[18]

## Sport and leisure[edit]

Portchester has a Non-League football club A.F.C. Portchester, which plays at Wicor Recreation Ground.

## Notable residents[edit]

* Neil Astley, publisher and founding editor of Bloodaxe Books, born in Portchester
* Emily Farmer, watercolour painter[19]
* Neil Gaiman, author, born in Portchester[20][21]
* Steve Ridgway, Chief Executive, Virgin Atlantic Airways
* Mike Hancock, former MP for Portsmouth South and former Councilor for Fratton ward, has lived here for over 30 years

## Transport[edit]

### Rail[edit]

Portchester railway station is managed and operated by South Western Railway with frequent Southern Railway services. Services run along the coast to Southampton, Fareham, Portsmouth, Havant, Chichester and Brighton. London services to London Waterloo (via Fareham) and London Victoria (via Barnham) also stop at the station.

### Bus services[edit]

First Hampshire & Dorset services to Portsmouth, Havant, Fareham, Titchfield, Locks Heath and Warsash.

### Road[edit]

The A27 road cuts through the centre of Portchester running east/west between Fareham and Cosham on the northern outskirts of Portsmouth. Access to the M27 motorway is via Junction 11 at Fareham or Junction 12 at Port Solent.

## See also[edit]

* A.F.C. Portchester
* List of places of worship in the Borough of Fareham
* Portchester Community School

## References[edit]

1. ^ "Ward population 2011". Neighbourhood Statistics. Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 4 January 2016.
2. ^ Goodall, John (2008) [2003], Portchester Castle, London: English Heritage, p. 3, ISBN 978-1-84802-007-8
3. ^ Nennius (attrib.). Theodor Mommsen (ed.). Historia Brittonum, VI. Composed after AD 830\. (in Latin) Hosted at Latin Wikisource.
4. ^ Ford, David Nash. "The 28 Cities of Britain Archived 15 April 2016 at the Wayback Machine" at Britannia. 2000.
5. ^ Newman, John Henry & al. Lives of the English Saints: St. German, Bishop of Auxerre, Ch. X: "Britain in 429, A. D.", p. 92. Archived 21 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine James Toovey (London), 1844.
6. ^ St Mary's Portchester.
7. ^ Historic England. "CHURCH OF ST MARY (1339235)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 28 July 2016.
8. ^ "News: Breaking stories & updates". Sunday Telegraph. telegraph.co.uk (2, 409). 12 August 2007. Archived from the original on 17 November 2007. Retrieved 28 July 2016.
9. ^ "Portchester Common". fareham.gov.uk. Retrieved 28 July 2016.
10. ^ "Recreation Grounds". Archived from the original on 13 October 2013.
11. ^ "Wicor Skate Park". fareham.gov.uk. Retrieved 28 July 2016.
12. ^ "Wicor Primary School: Home". wicor.hants.sch.uk. Retrieved 28 July 2016.
13. ^ "Northern Infant School". northern-inf.hants.sch.uk. Retrieved 28 July 2016.
14. ^ "Northern Junior School". northern-jun.hants.sch.uk. Retrieved 28 July 2016.
15. ^ "Home - Red Barn Community Primary School". redbarnprimaryschool.co.uk. Retrieved 28 July 2016.
16. ^ "Home | Castle Primary School". castleprimaryschool.co.uk. Retrieved 28 July 2016.
17. ^ "Crematorium website". portchestercrematorium.org. Archived from the original on 2 August 2016. Retrieved 28 July 2016.
18. ^ "Burial locations of VC holders in Hampshire". victoriacross.org. Retrieved 28 July 2016.
19. ^ B. S. Long, "Farmer, Emily (1826–1905)", rev. Charlotte Yeldham, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004 accessed 8 Aug 2007
20. ^ What's fame got to do with it?, Frances Atkinson, The Age, 24 July 2005
21. ^ Flood, Alison (21 June 2013). "Neil Gaiman novel inspires Portsmouth street name". theguardian.com. The Guardian. Retrieved 30 April 2015.

## External links[edit]

* St Mary's
* Portchester Castle Information

Authority control

General|

* VIAF
* WorldCat (via VIAF)

National libraries|

* Israel
* United States

Other|

* MusicBrainz area

*[attrib.]: Traditional attribution
*[ed.]: Editor