Hurst Castle is an artillery fort established by Henry VIII on the Hurst Spit in Hampshire, England, between 1541 and 1544
Hurst Castle is an artillery fort established by Henry VIII on the Hurst Spit in Hampshire, England, between 1541 and 1544. It formed part of the King's Device programme to protect against invasion from France and the Holy Roman Empire, and defended the western entrance to the Solent waterway. The early castle had a central keep and three bastions, and in 1547 was equipped with 26 guns. It was expensive to operate due to its size, but it formed one of the most powerful forts along the coast. During the English Civil War of the 1640s, Hurst was held by Parliament and was used briefly to detain King Charles I before his execution in 1649. It continued in use during the 18th century but fell into disrepair, the spit being frequented by smugglers.
Repairs were made during the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars with France, and the castle was modernised to enable it to hold 24-pounder (10.8 kg) guns. Fresh fears of invasion followed in the 1850s, leading to heavier, 32-pounder (14.5 kg) armament being installed and new gun batteries being laid out on both sides of the castle. Technological developments rapidly made these defences obsolete, however, and a fresh phase of work between 1861 and 1874 created sixty-one gun positions in two long, granite-faced batteries alongside the older castle. These held very heavy weapons, including massive 12.5 inch, 38 ton (317 mm, 39,000 kg) rifled muzzle-loading guns. As the century progressed, these too became outdated and lighter, quick-firing guns were installed at the castle to replace them.
The castle formed part of a network of defences around the entrance to the Solent during the First World War, and was re-armed again during the Second World War. The military decommissioned the fort in 1956 and it passed into the control of the Ministry of Works. In the 21st century, it is run jointly by English Heritage and the Friends of Hurst Castle as a tourist attraction, receiving around 40,000 visitors during 2015. Coastal erosion has become a growing problem despite government intervention to protecting the spit. Four lighthouses have been built at Hurst from the 18th century onwards, one of which, a high lighthouse first opened in 1867, remains in active service.
Architecture
Central castle
The central castle was originally constructed in the 16th century, but heavily redeveloped in the early and middle years of the 19th century. It comprises a central tower with three bastions to its north-west, north-east and south, approximately 52 metres (171 ft) across. A curtain wall with gun positions originally linked the three bastions, but this was substantially altered with the addition of walls and chambers to produce a deeper structure. The central castle forms the entrance to the rest of the fortification and is accessed through a gateway dating from 1873. The 16th-century moat that protected the castle was filled in during the 1860s.
The twelve-sided central tower, or keep, is approximately 20 metres (66 ft) across; it has two storeys and a basement. The inside of the tower is circular, with a spiral staircase running up through a central pillar. The ground floor and first floor rooms would have originally been sub-divided to form living quarters for the garrison, but are now open spaces.Both have eight embrasure windows, suitable for holding lighter weaponry; the first floor room was sufficiently elevated to have potentially fired out over the external walls. The roof has the remains of gun positions dating from the 1850s, and was originally topped by a look-out tower, removed in 1805. When first built, the keep was linked by three bridges to the outer bastions.
The two-storied north-west bastion protected the castle against attack along the spit from the mainland, and housed the castle's original portcullis as well as providing accommodation for the garrison. It had three levels of gun positions on its ground floor, first floor and roof, which were adapted in the 19th century to house heavier weapons and shelter riflemen. The bastion links to an external caponier, a covered walkway with rifle loops for close defence, built in 1852. The north-east and south-east bastions are only one storey tall, originally holding two levels of gun positions on the ground floor and roofs, again both adapted to support heavier guns in the 19th century.
West and East Wings
The West and East Wing date from the 1860s and are built from brick and stone. They had a lines of gun positions, each designed to hold a heavy gun and a crew of up to 12 men. The positions were protected by granite-fronted casemates and wrought-iron shields, and, with removable window screens, doubled as living accommodation for the crews. Small magazines were positioned behind the lines of casemates.
The West Wing is approximately 215 metres (705 ft) long, and has 37 heavy gun positions and two main magazines, along with various auxiliary buildings, including canteens, stores and detention facilities. It also has two of the castle's lighthouses, an 1865 tower, now disused, and an iron, gas-lit tower, still in use. The garden is a recreation of the garden in the Second World War. The late-19th century and early-20th guns at the castle were predominantly added to the West Wing, and it roof supports emplacements for 12- and 6-pounder (5.4 and 2.7 kg) quick-firing guns, a Bofors gun and associated directing positions. A small theatrical theatre, built by gunners in the Second World War, survives in one of the gun positions, along with various wall paintings, possibly used in performances.
The East Wing is relatively unaltered since its construction. It is approximately 150 metres (490 ft) long, with 24 heavy gun positions and two main magazines; on the roof is the original gun directing position and a Bofors gun position added during the Second World War. It is reached through a gateway in the north-east bastion. Just beyond the East Wing are three 6-pounder quick-firing gun emplacements from 1893, which were fed ammunition from the wing through a hole in the outer wall.
Paid parking at Milford
- Member Free
- Adult £5.00
- Concession tool-tip £4.50
Child (5-17 years) £3.00
Family £15.00