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Hurst Castle is a coastal artillery fortress built by Henry VIII in the 1540s on a shingle spit extending into the Solent off the Hampshire coast near Lymington. The castle was constructed as part of the extensive programme of coastal defences established during the reign of Henry VIII to protect against potential invasion, particularly from France and the Holy Roman Empire. The structure comprises a distinctive central circular tower surrounded by lower angular bastions, designed to mount artillery and provide defensive capability against naval attack. The site also includes a lighthouse, which was added later to serve navigational purposes for shipping in the Solent, and the castle remains substantially intact, representing a significant example of Tudor military architecture adapted to coastal defence requirements.
Hurst Castle and lighthouse is a scheduled monument protected by Historic England under reference 1015699. View the official record →
Hurst Castle is a coastal artillery fortress built by Henry VIII in the 1540s on a shingle spit extending into the Solent off the Hampshire coast near Lymington. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Historic England (NHLE) under reference 1015699.
Hurst Castle and lighthouse is a Scheduled Ancient Monument, legally protected by Historic England (NHLE) — the body responsible for designating and safeguarding heritage sites in England. The official designation reference is 1015699.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Group of three barrows 110m north-east of Heatherdown (4.1 km), Round barrow 100m west of Old Coastguards (4.2 km), Two bowl barrows on High Down, 370m west of Tennyson's Beacon (4.4 km).
Aubrey generates in-depth historical research for any address in Britain — drawing on scheduled monument data, Domesday records, Roman heritage, PAS finds and medieval history to reveal the complete story of a landscape.
Research the area around Hurst Castle and lighthouse