The castle was situated on the level ground quite near the sea-shore and was apparently selected with a view to commanding the approach of ships from the east in the direction of Portsmouth. _Fort Cumberland_ is a more modern defence, having been built in 1746 and enlarged in 1794. _Hurst Castle_, a fortress of considerably larger size than those on the east coast, is situated on the Solent, and was built specially to defend the approach to Southampton Harbour against the French. Its building was commenced in 1541 and finished in 1544. The fortress was of some importance during the Civil War, and served for some days as the prison of Charles I. Towards the end of the seventeenth century it mounted nearly thirty guns. Several alterations have been made to it from time to time. Both Hurst Castle and Cowes Castle were built with materials derived from the fabric of Beaulieu Abbey. _Calshot Castle_ was a small fort built in the time of Henry VIII with stones taken from the ruins of Beaulieu Abbey. Its special function was to defend Southampton Water. Certain additions were made during the reign of Queen Elizabeth, but the site chosen for the castle was most unsuitable, owing to proximity to the sea-shore. _Cowes_ (_West_).--The fortress here, built in 1539, possessed a semicircular battery and mounted eight pieces of heavy ordnance. Its situation was excellently chosen for defensive purposes. _Sandown._--The blockhouse here, erected between 1537 and 1540, was built on a site close by the sea, and received much damage in consequence. It appears to have possessed a landing-stage, as in the year 1618 timber was supplied for mending the pier and planking the platform. Sandown Fort was built on a site a little more remote from the sea in 1631-2. _Yarmouth_ (_Little_).--This castle, which was built somewhat later than other members of the group to which it belongs, was finished in 1547. The need for it seems to have been suggested by a raid by the French in the Isle of Wight in 1543. In 1586, and again in 1599, it was strengthened by the addition of earthwork defences. _Weymouth or Sandsfort Castle._--This castle is situated on an eminence to the south of Weymouth, and commands extensive views over Portland Bay or Road. It was erected by Henry VIII in 1539 or 1540. _Portland Castle._--As early as the reign of William Rufus a castle is supposed to have existed here. It has long been known by the name of Bow-and-Arrow Castle, although locally it is sometimes called Rufus's Castle. Its origin and date are not quite clearly known, but it is evidently a work of considerable antiquity, and was probably intended for the defence of the coast. Henry VIII built a new castle here in 1520, on his return from the interview with Francis I, usually called "the Field of the Cloth of Gold." Its purpose was to protect the coast here in connection with Sandsfort or Sandsfoot Castle.