The Round Tower is a fortification at the entrance to Portsmouth harbour

Portsmouth Harbour

Portsmouth Harbour is a large natural harbour in Hampshire, England. Geographically it is a ria: formerly it was the valley of a stream flowing from Portsdown into the Solent River. The city of Portsmouth lies to the east on Portsea Island, and Gosport to the west on the mainland...

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The wooden tower

The wooden tower was built between 1418 and 1426 on the orders of King Henry V.In 1422 a chain that could be raised in an emergency was built from the round tower across the harbour entrance.

The stone tower

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

Square Tower

The Square Tower is situated in Portsmouth, EnglandThe tower was built in 1494 as part fortifications and as a home to the governor of Portsmouth. In 1584 it was converted to a gunpowder store, the governor moving residence next to the Garrison Church. At the time of the royalist surrender of...

. The upper section was later rebuilt during the Napoleonic wars

Napoleonic Wars

The Napoleonic Wars were a series of wars declared against Napoleon's French Empire by opposing coalitions that ran from 1803 to 1815. As a continuation of the wars sparked by the French Revolution of 1789, they revolutionised European armies and played out on an unprecedented scale, mainly due to...

. Portsmouth city council purchased the tower in 1958.

External links

• Round Tower - Portsmouth City Council