'It couldn't be more exposed to the elements': The battle to save Hurst Castle
Video report by ITV News Meridian's Sally Simmonds
It's the most difficult site that English Heritage has to maintain. Hurst Castle was built on sand beneath shingle.
Wind and waves have battered the iconic landmark for centuries, and in February this year a large chunk fell into the sea. But four months on, the first stage of repairs has finished, at a cost of one million pounds.
Another two million at least will be needed to continue.
Hurst Castle's position jutting out at the Western end of the Solent made it the ideal place to build a fortress to defend our coastline but the worst possible place if you're now the curator.
Rob Woodside, Estates Director, English Heritage
Rob Woodside the Estates Director for English Heritage, says: "This site really couldn't be more exposed to the elements, and it's a really dynamic coastline and it's been changing over the last 30 years or so"
"What we've seen is the shingle that used to be brought up along the coast and deposited here and defended the castle just isn't happening any more"
"Over the last few years it's just gone".
English Heritage planned to shore up sea defences last winter, but relentless storms delayed the start and at the end of February, a huge section of wall caved in, with a bang.
Before any restoration could begin, a sea wall had to be built.
Lines of boulders called 'Rock Armour' have been laid in the last six weeks, in an attempt to stop any more of the castle collapsing into the sea.
Reuben Briggs, Senior National Project Manager
Reuben Briggs, Senior National Project Manager, says: "It's constructed of 6-10 ton rocks, so we've got five thousand tons of those, which were brought in by barge and placed in position with large diggers"
"This creates a barrier to stop the wave action from hitting the building and undermining the structure even further".
Fearing invasion from Europe Henry VIII built the central fortress in the 1540s. Three hundred years later the East and West wings were added to house dozens of heavy guns in case of a French attack. And it's all built on sand.
It's such a significant and beautiful site, its iconic standing out here in the Solent, its been a symbol of Britains coastal defences for a long time, so it's absolutely essential we find a solution for this place.
Hurst Castle never came under military attack, it's the wind and waves that have inflicted the wounds.
English Heritage have a mammoth task costing millions, but are determined future generations will be able to experience this slice of history