East Cowes Castle (16th century)
East Cowes Castle (also Henrician Castle called) was a fort in East Cowes on the British island of Isle of Wight . It was built between 1539 and 1542 at the behest of King Henry VIII to protect England against feared invasions from France and Spain . Together with its sister fort West Cowes Castle , the fort protected the estuary of the River Medina , an important anchorage.
East Cowes Castle was probably abandoned as early as 1546 and by the 17th century it was already derelict. Today no remnants of the fort have survived and all details of the structure are unknown. The site of the former fort was probably washed away by coastal erosion .
The size of the garrison and construction costs were roughly the same as those of West Cowes Castle. So one can assume that the two forts are roughly the same. Both forts were considerably smaller than many of the other Henrician Castles .
The presumed location of the former fort is now called Old Castle Point .
Individual evidence
- ^ Peter Harrington: The Castles of Henry VIII . Osprey, 2013. ISBN 1-472803-80-9 . P. 53.
- ↑ a b c d e East Cowes Castle . Pastscape. Historic England. Retrieved November 23, 2015.
- ^ Peter Harrington: The Castles of Henry VIII . Osprey, 2013. ISBN 1-472803-80-9 . P. 29.
Coordinates: 50 ° 46 ′ 1.9 ″ N , 1 ° 16 ′ 33.8 ″ W.