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Southsea Castle

In the 1540s Henry VIII built a series of fortifications around the English coastline to protect the country from foreign invaders.听 Henry had plenty of potential enemies - France, Spain and the Holy Roman Empire were all angered by his divorce from and his split from the Church of Rome.

Southsea Castle was built in just 6 months in 1544 to defend Portsmouth harbour from a feared French invasion.听It was one of the first castles to have cannons as its main weapons.

Mary Rose

Henry VIII was one of the key figures in establishing early English naval power - investing in building the 'Navy Royal' as it was known.

The Mary Rose lifted out of the Solent

New ships were built to match the growing naval power of the French and also the Scottish fleet.听 Having cannons on board was an innovation at the time - the best known of Henry's modern vessels was the Mary Rose.

Henry VIII stood on Southsea Common on the evening of 19 July 1545 and watched his flagship, the Mary Rose sail out to attack the French - but as she put about to fire her broadside guns, a sudden gust of wind pressed her over.听

Almost all of her 415 crew drowned - it was said that Henry could hear the screams of seamen trapped on board as she went under.听 She laid on the seabed for 437 years until she was famously raised in 1982 to give a unique glimpse of naval history and life at sea in the 16th Century.

Beaulieu Abbey

After Henry VIII defied the Pope in Rome and established himself as the head of the Church of England, he turned on the monasteries which were centres of local power and wealth.

Beaulieu Abbey (Beaulieu Estate)

The Dissolution of the Monasteries saw buildings and treasures being seized by the crown.听 According to Henry VIII's survey of 1535, Beaulieu Abbey鈥檚 gross income was 拢428.

Much of Beaulieu Abbey was destroyed - it was bought by the Lisle family in 1538 and later acquired through marriage by the Montagu family in 1667, who still own the Beaulieu estate.

Hurst Castle

Hurst and Calshot Castles

Hurst Castle is the most impressive of Henry's coastal fortifications.听 Built on the tip of Hurst spit, out in the Solent, it was a strategically important defence.

Calshot Castle (built between 1539 and 1540) at the entrance to Southampton Water was also vital in guarding against any potential invasion from French or Spanish troops.

It was built using stones and roof lead taken from Beaulieu Abbey when it was forcibly demolished.

Calshot Castle

Both castles were developed and remained in military use long after Tudor times.

Hurst Castle was modernised during the Napoleonic wars and again in the 1870鈥檚 when the enormous armoured wings were constructed for听38-ton guns to be installed.

During World War II, Hurst was manned with coastal gun batteries and searchlights.

Meanwhile Calshot has been used as a both a Navy and RAF base.

Yarmouth Castle defending the Solent

Yarmouth Castle

The square fort at Yarmouth was built after the French landed on the Isle of Wight in 1545, out of range of the defences on the mainland.

It was actually completed after Henry's death in 1547.

The New Forest

Henry VIII continued the royal tradition of hunting in the New Forest.听 New Forest ponies are part of the landscape of the now National Park, but Henry ordered all horses less than 14陆 hands high to be killed.听

However, local people favoured the smaller ponies as they were better suited to the New Forest landscape and the New Forest ponies survived.

Discover more about Henry VIII during 主播大秀 Radio Solent's 'Henry Day' on Wednesday 24 June 2009.