Pictures of Hurst Castle

a Castle in the town of Keyhaven, in the county of Hampshire

The salt marsh by Hurst Castle, near Lymington, Hampshire, UK

About Hurst Castle

The spit of shingle jutting out into the sea just a short distance from Milford-on-Sea was considered by Henry VIII to be the perfect location for a defensive fortress to protect the entrance to the Solent.

Hurst Castle was built in the 1540's, it was designed in a series of low cylindrical towers arranged in trefoil pattern around a central tower. It was one of the many coastal castle's built on the orders of the King, and was later to become a place of imprisonment for another monarch. Charles I was imprisoned here in 1648, before facing trial in London and subsequent execution.

The castle was modernised and used during the Napoleonic Wars, and its vast armoured wings were added during the Victorian period. Visitors to the castle can see two of the huge 38 ton guns installed at this time.

During the Second World War the castle was manned with modern defensive weapons and searchlights.

Hurst Castle is perhaps the most impressive of all the great Tudor monarch's defensive fortresses, it is well worth exploring and can be approached either by ferry from Keyhaven, or by a lengthy walk.

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Nearby travel help

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