Porchester (St. Mary)

PORCHESTER (St. Mary), a parish, in the union of Fareham, hundred of Portsdown, Fareham and S. divisions of the county of Southampton, 2 miles (E. S. E.) from Fareham; containing 767 inhabitants. This place, the Caer Peris of the Britons, and the Portus Magnus of the Romans, was by the Saxons called Port ceastre, either from the castle which defended its capacious harbour, or from Porth, a Saxon chief, who landed here with his two sons, Bieda and Maegla, and, having obtained a settlement in this part of the island, assisted Cerdic in establishing the kingdom of the West Saxons. A castle of great strength was erected on the old Roman works, which was much enlarged, or more probably rebuilt, soon after the Conquest; and previously to the destruction of the harbour by the retiring of the sea, this place was the principal station of the British navy, subsequently removed to Portsmouth. Porchester Castle is situated on a neck of land projecting a considerable way into the harbour. The walls, which are from eight to twelve feet in thickness, and eighteen feet high, inclose a quadrangular area of nearly five acres, are defended by numerous towers, and surrounded by a broad and deep moat. The keep is a strong square building, with four towers, the largest of them forming the northwest angle; it contains many spacious rooms, of which some are vaulted with stone, and one appears to have been the chapel. The entrance to the outer area is through massive Norman towers on the east and west sides: the parochial church is within the outer area. Several of the towers, and a considerable portion of the walls of the castle, are now in ruins. The parish comprises 1113a. 1r. 3p., of which 183 acres are down-land: the village, called by way of distinction Porchesterstreet, extends for about a mile on the road to Fareham, and contains some neat houses. The living is a discharged vicarage, valued in the king's books at £6, and in the patronage of the Crown; impropriator, Lord Powerscourt. The great tithes have been commuted for £320, and those of the vicar for £180: there are 11 acres of glebe. The church is a venerable cruciform structure principally in the Norman style, with a low central tower; the west front is a fine specimen of that style: the south transept has been destroyed; the chancel, which is small, is of later date, and has a window of three lights in the later English style. Numerous Roman coins have been dug up.