Having originally been built in the 16th century as one of King Henry VIII’s Device Castles to guard the coast against French Invasion, Hurst Castle by Milford-on-Sea, Hampshire, is used to being prepared for confrontational times. It even helped to combat the threat from the Germans during the Second World War. Now Hurst is facing an enemy of an entirely different kind, one that cannot be beaten by conventional means.
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| Hurst Castle |
David Jupp, chairman of Friends of Hurst Castle, said millions of pounds could be needed to be spent on protecting the structure. “The pattern of coastal erosion has changed dramatically in the past six months,” he said. “Shingle separating the waves from the castle is being eroded away, threatening part of the ancient monument. Some of the stone cladding has fallen away and part of the foundations has been exposed. It’s very difficult to judge what will happen next but we could lose portions of the southern wall if nothing is done. That would call into question the safety of the structure and public access might be denied.”
The castle occupies an eye catching and prominent position at the end of Hurst Spit, and it is this position that is the root of the problem. Remedial work was undertaken in the 1990s with more than 600,000 tonnes of gravel being brought in to add strength to the Spit as part of a £5m sea defence scheme. The project was deemed so successful that plans to top-up the shingle after ten years were deferred.
Mr Jupp said that huge lumps of granite were now required to be placed in front of the castle to break up the wave action.
An English Heritage spokesman said: “Coastal protection works were undertaken around 20 years ago and these had |been effective until relatively recently. However, this winter has seen an area of erosion develop along the east wing, where the level of shingle along the beach has dropped in some areas. This has resulted in part of the concrete foundations being exposed to high tides.”
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