Portchester
Template:Short description Template:For Template:Use dmy dates Template:Use British English Template:Infobox UK place Portchester is a village in the borough of Fareham in Hampshire, England. It is Template:Convert 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
Template:Main article The fort of Portus Adurni is considered the best-preserved Roman fort north of the Alps.<ref>Template:Citation</ref> It is sometimes identified as the Caer Peris<ref name=mommy>Nennius (Template:Abbr). Theodor Mommsen (Template:Abbr). Historia Brittonum, VI. Composed after AD 830. Template:In lang Hosted at Latin Wikisource.</ref> listed by the 9th-century History of the Britons as among the 28 cities of Britain.<ref name=nashford>Ford, David Nash. "The 28 Cities of Britain Template:Webarchive" at Britannia. 2000.</ref><ref name=shusher>Newman, John Henry & al. Lives of the English Saints: St. German, Bishop of Auxerre, Ch. X: "Britain in 429, A. D.", p. 92. Template:Webarchive James Toovey (London), 1844.</ref> The medieval Portchester Castle was built within the Roman fort.
In 1931 the civil parish had a population of 2267.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> On 1 April 1932 the parish was abolished and merged with Fareham and Portsmouth.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> It is now in the unparished area of Fareham.
Amenities
As well as the castle, its parish church Template:Nowrap<ref>St Mary's Portchester.</ref> is listed as a Grade I protected building.<ref name="english-heritage">Template:NHLE</ref><ref name="telegraph">Template:Cite journal</ref> 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<ref name="fareham">Template:Cite web</ref> a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI)
- Wicor Recreation Ground<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> – Home to A.F.C. Portchester and Wicor Skate Park.<ref name="fareham2">Template:Cite web</ref>
- Wicor Shore
Schools
- Portchester Community School, a mixed comprehensive community school for 11- to 16-year-olds.
- Wicor Primary School<ref name="wicor">Template:Cite web</ref>
- Northern Infant School<ref name="northern-inf">Template:Cite web</ref>
- Northern Junior School<ref name="northern-jun">Template:Cite web</ref>
- Red Barn Primary School<ref name="redbarnprimaryschool">Template:Cite web</ref>
- Castle Primary School<ref name="castleprimaryschool">Template:Cite web</ref>
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).<ref name="portchestercrematorium">Template:Cite web</ref> Those cremated there include two World War I Victoria Cross recipients, Norman Augustus Finch and James Ockendon who both died in 1966.<ref name="victoriacross">Template:Cite web</ref>
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 painter<ref>B. S. Long, "Farmer, Emily (1826–1905)", rev. Charlotte Yeldham, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004 accessed 8 Aug 2007
</ref>
- Neil Gaiman, author, born in Portchester<ref>What's fame got to do with it?, Frances Atkinson, The Age, 24 July 2005</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- 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.