Portchester

---

title: "Portchester" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["villages-in-hampshire", "former-civil-parishes-in-hampshire", "borough-of-fareham"] description: "Village and parish in Hampshire, England" topic_path: "general/villages-in-hampshire" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portchester" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Village and parish in Hampshire, England ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox UK place"]

Field	Value
country	England
type	Village
coordinates
official_name	Portchester
shire_district	Fareham
shire_county	Hampshire
region	South East England
constituency_westminster	Fareham and Waterlooville
population	17,789
population_ref	(2011 Census. Wards)
post_town	FAREHAM
postcode_district	PO16 - PO17
postcode_area	PO
dial_code	023/01329
os_grid_reference	SU6105
static_image_name	Church within Portchester Castle.jpg
static_image_caption	Aerial view of St Mary's Church, Portchester, with Portsmouth city skyline in background.
::

|country = England |type = Village |coordinates = |official_name= Portchester |shire_district = Fareham |shire_county = Hampshire |region= South East England |constituency_westminster= Fareham and Waterlooville |population= 17,789 |population_ref = (2011 Census. Wards) |post_town= FAREHAM |postcode_district = PO16 - PO17 |postcode_area= PO |dial_code= 023/01329 |os_grid_reference= SU6105 |static_image_name = Church within Portchester Castle.jpg |static_image_caption = Aerial view of St Mary's Church, Portchester, with Portsmouth city skyline in background. Portchester is a village in the borough of Fareham in Hampshire, England. It is 4 mi northwest of Portsmouth and around 18 miles east of Southampton on the A27 road. Its population according to the 2011 United Kingdom census was 17,789.

Name

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

Main article: Portus Adurni

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

In 1931 the civil parish had a population of 2267. On 1 April 1932 the parish was abolished and merged with Fareham and Portsmouth. It is now in the unparished area of Fareham.

Amenities

As well as the castle, its parish church St Mary's is listed as a Grade I protected building. 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

• Portchester Castle
• Portsdown Hill – Including Portchester Common a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI)
• Wicor Recreation Ground – Home to A.F.C. Portchester and Wicor Skate Park.
• Wicor Shore

Schools

• Portchester Community School, a mixed comprehensive community school for 11- to 16-year-olds.
• Wicor Primary School
• Northern Infant School
• Northern Junior School
• Red Barn Primary School
• Castle Primary School

Crematorium

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). Those cremated there include two World War I Victoria Cross recipients, Norman Augustus Finch and James Ockendon who both died in 1966.

Sport and leisure

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

Notable residents

• Neil Astley, publisher and founding editor of Bloodaxe Books, born in Portchester
• Emily Farmer, watercolour painterB. S. Long, "Farmer, Emily (1826–1905)", rev. Charlotte Yeldham, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004 accessed 8 Aug 2007
• Neil Gaiman, author, born in Portchester
• Steve Ridgway, Chief Executive, Virgin Atlantic Airways
• Mike Hancock, former MP for Portsmouth South and former Councilor for Fratton ward, has lived in Portchester for over 30 years

Transport

Rail

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

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

Road

The A27 road bisects Portchester 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.

References

References

1. "Ward population 2011". Office for National Statistics.
2. Goodall, John. (2008). "Portchester Castle". [[English Heritage]].
3. [[Nennius]] ({{abbr. attrib.. Traditional attribution). [[Theodor Mommsen]] ({{abbr. ed.. Editor). [[s:la:Historia Brittonum#VI. CIVITATES BRITANNIAE. ''Historia Brittonum'', VI.]] Composed after AD 830. {{in lang. la Hosted at [[s:la:Main Page. Latin Wikisource]].
4. Ford, David Nash. "[http://www.britannia.com/history/ebk/articles/nenniuscities.html The 28 Cities of Britain] {{Webarchive. link. (15 April 2016 " at Britannia. 2000.)
5. Newman, John Henry & al. [http://www.mocavo.co.uk/Lives-of-the-English-Saints-St-Gilbert-Prior-of-Sempringham-Volume-3/527392/459 ''Lives of the English Saints: St. German, Bishop of Auxerre'', Ch. X: "Britain in 429, A. D.", p. 92.] {{Webarchive. link. (21 March 2016 James Toovey (London), 1844.)
6. "Population statistics Portchester CP/AP through time". [[A Vision of Britain through Time]].
7. "Relationships and changes Portchester CP/AP through time". A Vision of Britain through Time.
8. [http://www.stmary-portchester.org.uk/ St Mary's Portchester].
9. {{NHLE
10. (12 August 2007). "News: Breaking stories & updates". telegraph.co.uk.
11. "Portchester Common". fareham.gov.uk.
12. "Recreation Grounds".
13. "Wicor Skate Park". fareham.gov.uk.
14. "Wicor Primary School: Home". wicor.hants.sch.uk.
15. "Northern Infant School". northern-inf.hants.sch.uk.
16. "Northern Junior School". northern-jun.hants.sch.uk.
17. "Home - Red Barn Community Primary School". redbarnprimaryschool.co.uk.
18. "Home | Castle Primary School". castleprimaryschool.co.uk.
19. "Crematorium website.". portchestercrematorium.org.
20. "Burial locations of VC holders in Hampshire.". victoriacross.org.
21. [http://www.theage.com.au/news/books/whats-fame-got-to-do-with-it/2005/07/23/1121539192285.html%3Foneclick=true What's fame got to do with it?], Frances Atkinson, ''The Age'', 24 July 2005
22. (21 June 2013). "Neil Gaiman novel inspires Portsmouth street name".

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