The completion of Portsmouth defences in 1544 created the most heavily fortified naval base in England. Henry VIII invested enormous sums in transforming Portsmouth from a vulnerable open harbour into a defended naval base ringed with artillery. The completion of Southsea Castle and the strengthening of the town walls in 1544 meant that within a year the defences would face their first real test against the French fleet of 1545.
None in 1544
Aubrey generates in-depth historical research for any location in Britain — drawing on Domesday records, scheduled monuments, Victorian OS maps, geological data and archaeological archives to tell the full story of a place.
Research a location near Hampshire