Southsea Castle: 5 things you didn't know

An exploding cooking fire, a drunk captain, a lighthouse and a volley that caused chaos in front of Queen Victoria.

In August 1759 an explosion badly damaged Southsea Castle's east side and killed 17 men, women and children, when sparks from cooking fell on gunpowder stored by the 72nd Regiment of Foot. The cause is believed rather than confirmed.

Waterlooville.co Editorial3 November 2026

In August 1759 an explosion badly damaged the east side of Southsea Castle, and 17 men, women and children were killed. Wikipedia says sparks from cooking fell on gunpowder stored by the 72nd Regiment of Foot. The cause is stated as cooking sparks, though a University of Portsmouth blog says it is only believed and never confirmed. Here are five more stories from Henry VIII's castle.

Built by Henry VIII

The castle was built as part of Henry VIII's 1544 "device" programme and was complete by October 1544. Wikipedia says Henry was in Portsmouth at the time and the Cowdray engraving of the battle depicts him visiting Southsea Castle. A Mary Rose Museum blog goes further and says he witnessed the ship sink from the castle, but cites no source, so we say only that an engraving shows him visiting as the Mary Rose sank.

Too badly designed to repair

In 1785 the Master-General of the Ordnance, the Duke of Richmond, judged the castle "of too bad a form to deserve the expense necessary to repair it" and proposed a new fort. Wikipedia and Castellogy both record it.

A volley in front of the Queen

At the 1856 fleet review attended by Queen Victoria, the castle responded to a mock naval attack by firing a volley of forty 8-inch guns, "causing chaos among the crowds" at its base, say Wikipedia and Castellogy. The mock attack on the castle on 23 April 1856 is documented in a Royal Museums Greenwich print, but we found no contemporary account of the forty-gun volley itself, so this is two modern sources agreeing.

The lighthouse

The lighthouse was built in 1828 on the west gun platform, raised in 1854 and in continuous use until 2017, per Wikipedia and the Historic England listing for the tower. The original lens is now displayed in the castle. One gazetteer still says the light is in use, but that is out of date.

The inebriated captain

On the night of 4 to 5 September 1642, Parliamentarians came for the Royalist-held castle, with around 400 infantry carrying ladders, plus cavalry. The garrison was about a dozen men; Castellogy says 11 men and 14 guns. Wikipedia's Siege of Portsmouth article says Captain Challoner was "somewhat inebriated" and asked them to come back in the morning. Castellogy says he had been drinking heavily the night before. A memorials site says the drunkenness is alleged, so treat it as a story rather than a proven fact.

What we left out

A story that in June 1940 the castle was ordered to prepare to fire on the French fleet appears only on Wikipedia, and searches on Operation Catapult did not mention the castle, so we left it out.

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Frequently asked questions

What happened at Southsea Castle in 1759?

An explosion badly damaged the east side and killed 17 people, apparently from cooking sparks falling on stored gunpowder. A University of Portsmouth blog says the cause was never confirmed.

Who built Southsea Castle?

Henry VIII, as part of his 1544 device programme. It was complete by October 1544, says Wikipedia.

What happened at the 1856 fleet review?

Wikipedia and Castellogy say the castle fired a volley of forty 8-inch guns in response to a mock attack, causing chaos among the crowds. No contemporary account was found.

Was Southsea Castle's lighthouse still in use?

It was in continuous use until 2017, according to Wikipedia and the Historic England listing.