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Saint Mary’s Church is located in the grounds of Portchester Castle in Portchester, Hampshire. It is not necessary to buy a ticket for the castle in order to visit the church. Situated by the shore of Portsmouth Harbour, the site was originally an Augustinian priory dating back to the twelfth century. Gardrobe chutes from the priory can be seen in the exterior wall. There is a graveyard beside the church. St Mary’s is considered to be one of the best examples of a Romanesque church in Wessex. Much of the original structure was demolished in the twelfth century, but Queen Elizabeth I ordered restoration work and is known to have resided at the castle for a time. The church was used as a prison under Charles II and again during the Napoleonic Wars. Further restoration work was needed during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Two of the gravestones inside the church date from the mid twelfth century. One has a cross in the shape of the double-handed sword carried by Crusaders carved on it. There is also a very small stone coffin dating from the Roman era. The communion rails and pulpit sounding board (now the vestry table) are Elizabethan.