Centre of Excellence for Heritage Innovation

17/09/2026

Fort Cumberland Guided Exploration & Cyanotype Printing

Placed in a Fortress City Memory & Making of Belonging

Join us on Saturday 26th September for a creative exploration of Fort Cumberland. We will meet at the entrance of Fort Cumberland and move to the space where you can leave all belongings. Then, we will begin with a guided walk through the historic landscape. Along the way, participants will collect textures, shapes, and traces of the past, which will be used to create cyanotype prints and rubbings. The workshop will conclude in a casemate, where we will develop and reflect on the work created during the walk.

This is a hands-on, family-friendly session — no prior experience needed.

🧭 Saturday 26th September – Fort Cumberland Guided Exploration & cyanotype printing
📍 Meet at Fort Cumberland (PO4 9LD). Travel via the 25 bus, taxi or by car. Parking is available onsite.
🕚 11:00am | Duration: approx. 3 hours

Only registered participants can access the Fort on the day. Please register via this link: https://forms.cloud.microsoft/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=fDBSAE1W3E-YeVpEbPbHRvGOdXWIRBdMgGIr1eVH1ilUNDNLSk9ZQVRBR084QUYxSVI2MjFBNkU0MS4u

Email: [email protected] if you have any questions.

Developed by the Centre of Excellence for Heritage Innovation in collaboration with lead artists
Evagelia Hagikalfa and Thaïs Verhasselt as part of the 'Placed in a Fortress City Memory & Making of Belonging' project, which is co-funded by Portsmouth 100, Portsmouth City Council and is part of the programme. With thanks to the Historic England team at Fort Cumberland for hosting this workshop.

Tarek Teba
University of Portsmouth
Palmerston Forts Society and Portsdown Artillery Volunteers

11/09/2026

An exciting update from one of our funded projects!

Portsmouth Area Railway Pasts, with their exhibition about the life stories of the railway workers who kept the Portsmouth area railway running from the 1870’s to 1939, have been very busy over the summer with displays at The Watercress Line and The Brickworks Museum - Bursledon.

The exhibition is currently at Emsworth Museum until the 18th October 2026. There are some extraordinary stories there, and a few from Emsworth; making it a fitting location for the exhibition, and definitely worth a visit!

They are also taking part in Heritage Open Days 2026 at events put on by the Buriton Heritage Bank (Saturday 26 September) and Rowlands Castle History and Heritage (12-13 September). Check out the website for more details - https://www.railwayaccidents.port.ac.uk/heritage-open-days-2026-everyday-histories/

The project is a collaboration between Havant Local History Group and the History team at University of Portsmouth, and also links to the ongoing Railway200 anniversary, across the course of 2025, marking 200 years of the modern railway. This builds on work by the Railway Work, Life & Death project, a joint initiative between the University of Portsmouth, National Railway Museum and the Modern Records Centre at the University of Warwick, and works with other institutions including The National Archives, UK and the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT).

Part of the Railway Work, Life & Death project.
Content warning: contains descriptions of railway accidents and injuries.




Tarek Teba

Find out more about 2026's Heritage Open Days - including its 'everyday histories' theme, & where you can find railway content!

07/09/2026

We start tomorrow!!!

We are delighted to be co-hosting the 10th International Conference on Conservation of Architectural Heritage (CAH2026) at the Polytechnic University of Turin, chaired by our Co-Director Dr Tarek Teba, alongside colleagues Prof. Elisa Pilia from UniCa - Università degli Studi di Cagliari and Prof. Francesco Novelli from Politecnico di Torino.

They've just finished setting up and are very excited for the start of the conference tomorrow where scholars, professionals, and heritage experts from across the globe will come together to share research, innovation and celebrate architectural heritage!

03/08/2026

'Place in a Fortress City' workshop with

Scavenger Walk & Cyanotype Printing in Old Portsmouth

📆 Sunday 26 July
🕗 11am-2pm
📍The Round Tower, Hotwalls Studios Parade Ground, PO1 2FS

We will meet at the Round Tower and begin with a guided scavenger walk through the historic landscape. Along the way, participants will gather textures, shapes, and traces of the past to create cyanotype prints and rubbings. The workshop will conclude inside the Round Tower, where we will develop and reflect on the work made during the walk.

This hands-on, family-friendly session is open to all, and no prior experience is required.

Duration: approximately 3 hours.

Street parking is available.
By public transport, bus routes N25 (Broad Street), 23, and 3 stop nearby at Cambridge Junction.

Register your interest here : https://forms.cloud.microsoft/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=fDBSAE1W3E-YeVpEbPbHRvGOdXWIRBdMgGIr1eVH1ilUNjY2U0c4QzE1MUdGMVNITTNXTjZQT09DTC4u

03/08/2026

A sneak peek at the Placed in a Fortress City Exhibition!

Last Friday we welcomed our friends from partner organisations across Portsmouth to the exhibition preview of 'Placed in a Fortress City', including Portsmouth City Council, The D-Day Story, Portsmouth Historic Quarter, Royal Navy Museums and the University of Portsmouth.

This exhibition is the culmination of hard work from our co-director Dr Tarek Teba, colleagues Nicola Crowson and Dana AlSultan, and local lead artists Evagelia Hagikalfa and Thaïs Verhasselt. The project explores people's relationship with Portsmouth and its historic fortifications, namely Hilsea Lines and Old Portsmouth, highlighting the personal and collective voices that continue to define the city today, and presents work from a series of community workshops, including cyanotypes, photographs, maps, collages, and stories.
The exhibition will be open during August, so pop down to the Reflectory Room, Eldon Building, Middle Street, Portsmouth (PO1 2DJ) and take a look!

But we're not done yet! This exhibition is only the start of this innovative project, part two seeks to expand on the historic defence locations used for the project and engage more people to tell the Portsmouth stories that are meaningful to them, with an exhibition coming in December 2026.

Thank you to Portsmouth 100, Portsmouth City Council, Portsmouth Creates and Portsmouth Museum & Art Gallery for their ongoing support with this project.

21/07/2026

What an inspiring afternoon at Milton Locks!

Situated to the east of Portsmouth, Milton Locks is far more than a forgotten structure. It is a rare piece of Portsmouth's industrial and maritime heritage with enormous potential to become a place for education, community engagement, heritage skills training and environmental stewardship.

The Sustainable Conservation Trust (SCT) was delighted to bring together students, local residents, heritage professionals, community organisations and volunteers for a practical heritage skills workshop exploring the history, significance and future of one of Portsmouth's most remarkable yet overlooked historic sites.

The hands-on session gave participants the opportunity to understand how conservation professionals investigate historic structures before developing sensitive restoration proposals. From recording historic fabric and analysing original mortars to learning traditional pointing techniques, the workshop offered a genuine insight into the craft of building conservation.

Organised by SCT in collaboration with the University of Portsmouth's Centre of Excellence for Heritage Innovation and The Portsmouth Society, and supported by Milton Neighbourhood Forum, Langstone Harbour Fishermen's Association and Portsmouth City Council, the workshop demonstrated the value of bringing people together around a shared heritage asset.

Particular thanks go to Deane Clark and Dr Celia Clark, and to master stonemason Adam Stone. We were also pleased to welcome representatives from the Langstone Harbour Fishermen's Association, the leaseholders of Milton Locks.

Thank you to everyone who attended and contributed to such a positive and inspiring day. We look forward to working together to help secure a sustainable future for Milton Locks.

02/07/2026

Interested in learning about traditional conservation methods and heritage skills?

We have partnered with the Sustainable Conservation Trust to bring you a half-day practical heritage workshop, introducing participants to traditional conservation methods, natural building materials, and the heritage significance of the Portsmouth & Arundel Canal.

The workshop will combine site interpretation, practical demonstrations, community discussion, and introductory conservation activities, bringing together students, volunteers, community members, local residents, and heritage enthusiasts for a hands-on introduction to heritage conservation and sustainable repair techniques within the unique setting of Milton Locks.

Organised by Sustainable Conservation Trust (SCT) in collaboration with us at the Centre of Excellence for Heritage Innovation and The Portsmouth Society, supported by Milton Neighbourhood Forum, Langstone Harbour Fishermen's Association and Portsmouth City Council.

🕚 10 July 2026, 12.30-3.30pm
📍 Milton Locks Nature Reserve, end of Locksway Road in Portsmouth, PO4 8LB.

Booking is essential and spaces are limited!

Dive into hands-on fun at Milton Locks Heritage Skills Workshop and learn cool traditional crafts!