Fareham Borough Landscape Assessment

May 1996

Character Area 39

Portchester Village

Description

The area defined as Portchester Village includes the historic core of the village centred on the Castle and extending up Castle Street. The area is predominantly residential.

The essential characteristics of Portchester Village are: * a coherent grouping of mainly 18C houses with a tight frontage to Castle Street which together form a delightful, traditional village streetscape of high visual and urban quality (a Conservation Area); * the small-scale and intimate character of the streetscape and the varied but harmonious rooflines and building heights; * the dominance of Portchester Castle with its impressive keep and stone walls and its attractive coastal setting; * important areas of open space east of Castle Street and surrounding the Castle which are vital to its setting and provide a valuable recreational resource in their own right.

Enhancement Priorities

The main emphasis here is on the conservation of this area. Key issues are the possible environmental effect of increased visitor traffic to the Castle and other issues such as car parking.

Priorities for enhancement are: * maintaining and protecting the exceptional urban quality of the village and the setting of the Castle; * managing the coastal greenspace to maintain the castle's setting.