Graffiti

This document was originally created in September 2021 by Abigail Coppins to provide background information for the BBC Antiques Roadshow's visit to Portchester Castle. It was intended for a proposed segment focusing on the castle’s prisoner-of-war graffiti.

A striking reminder of the prisoners of war imprisoned at Portchester Castle can be found in the graffiti that decorates parts of its walls. These inscriptions are situated in areas accessible to the prisoners where the stone was soft enough to be inscribed.

The graffiti, often accompanied by dates, can be traced to three distinct periods of warfare: the War of the Austrian Succession (1740–1749), the Seven Years' War (1756–1763), and the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars (1793–1815).

There are three main graffiti clusters:

Cluster one: the land-gate, outer-bailey.
The room above the land-gate contains the most intricate of the surviving graffiti. Many of these carvings are located on the walls nearest to the two south-west facing windows or on the door jambs, with most of the inscriptions dating back to the Seven Years' War (1756–1763).

One inscription, dated 1757, was carved by ‘Nicolas de la …’. Although partially illegible, the engraving suggests Nicolas may have been confined in the land-gate for attempting to escape or possibly for desertion, as indicated by the phrase: ‘…pour avoir dezart’.

Additionally, names and dates from 1796–1798, during the French Revolutionary War (1793–1802), are etched into the staircase wall leading up to the land-gate room. Examples include ‘John Yarold’, ‘Thomas Collins’, and ‘John Rigby’. It is possible that these were the names of prison guards who, perhaps bored during their watch, inscribed their names here. A plan of the castle and prison buildings from around 1815 shows the land-gate and a now-demolished adjoining structure serving as lodgings for the prison guards.

Example of graffiti, land-gate, outer-bailey. Photo credit: Abigail Coppins.

Cluster Two: south-east corner bastion, inner-bailey.

The prisoner-of-war graffiti here dates to the Seven Years War (1756-1763) and is difficult to read having been exposed to weather for over two hundred and fifty years. This image, of an inscription carved by F. B. Reichard, also includes the dates of his (probable) imprisonment, 1756 and 1761.Reichard’s inscription is framed by calligraphic flourishes and embellishments reminiscent of the refined penmanship styles of the eighteenth-century.

Graffiti: south-east bastion, F. B. Reichard with calligraphic flourishes. Photo credit: Abigail Coppins.

Cluster three: the keep.

A large cluster of prisoner-of-war graffiti can be seen on the walls of the stairs up to the keep roof.The cluster consists of mainly French names dating to the War of the Austrian Succession.The clearest name is that of P. Gourdon de La Rochelle 1745 – see image below. Other names to be found in the same location include: ‘I Cergand.1745. de Cognac’ and ‘P. Caborit.1745. de Marsili’.

Prisoner-of-war graffiti: The keep stairwell.Photo credit: Abigail Coppins.

A few examples may date to the French Revolutionary period (1793-1802) including the name of a Dutchman ‘Piet Vanghent’.Although this name is undated, a large group of Dutch soldiers were held in the keep between 1796-1797, likely Dutch East India company soldiers captured when Britain took Cape Colony, South Africa, from the Dutch in 1795.Prison commissioner, Dr Johnston, commented in December 1796 ‘In the tower of the castle are confined the Dutch prisoners who have conducted themselves with the utmost propriety, remarkable for cleanliness, consequently healthy, and never been guilty of selling their clothes, or other irregularities in common amongst the French.’

The location of the graffiti at the entrance to the keep roof probably reflects its position as an agreeable spot for prisoners to loiter and obtain light and fresh air.All prisoners had access to the outdoor prison exercise yards in the outer-bailey during the day so were not deprived of outdoor spaces. More likely it was the views that could be obtained from the roof that was the biggest draw for these prisoners.The view of the landscape beyond the prison walls, the harbour and the ships departing must have been tantalising for those who were locked up.

Other areas with graffiti

The locations discussed above are those that have the strongest link with the prisoners of war. Elsewhere, a few indistinct inscriptions can be seen around the gate into the inner-bailey. Later inscriptions made by visitors to the castle can be found scattered around the entire site, including the wall of the stairs to the keep roof, the south-east bastion, and defacing the wall paintings on the third floor of the keep.

Weathered graffiti, inner-bailey gate door jamb. Photo: Abigail Coppins.

 

Later graffiti, south-east bastion, inner-bailey. Credit: Abigail Coppins.

Prison graffiti and the Black prisoners of war.

The prisoner-of-war graffiti at Portchester predominantly comprises names, initials, and dates, making it difficult to attribute these inscriptions to specific individuals or groups of prisoners. For example, to date, no evidence has been found linking this graffiti to any of the over 2,500 Black prisoners of war who were brought to the castle in 1796. [For more information, see this link.] These individuals were confined in wooden and brick barrack blocks situated in the north-eastern quadrant of the outer-bailey. Over time, they were transferred between different prisons and were gradually released and sent to France through a series of prisoner exchanges between 1797 and 1800. It is unlikely, although not impossible, that they had access to the areas where the primary clusters of graffiti are located.

Recent graffiti finds

As yet, an extensive survey of all the castle graffiti has not been undertaken and much of the graffiti is now deteriorating. The loss of prisoner-of-war graffiti since the prison's closure in 1815 is highlighted by a recent discovery of a carved stone fragment. See Below. This piece, which was found on the castle foreshore after storms in 2012, bears a partially legible date, ‘179[?]’, alongside the inscription ‘23.Juin’. It may have been discarded during clearance work by the Ministry of Works (now English Heritage) in the 1920s, raising the possibility that additional inscriptions, made by prisoners of war, once existed but have not survived to the present day.

Photo credit: English Heritage.

 

For more information about the castle graffiti see Barry Cunliffe, and Beverley Garratt, Excavations at Portchester Castle: Vol. V: Post Medieval 1609–1819 (London: Society of Antiquaries, 1994).