Storm blamed for wall collapse at Hurst Castle

English Heritage says a recent storm caused the collapse of part of Hurst Castle.

A section of the wall on the 19th-century east wing fell on Friday afternoon.

The charity says "the sea exposed and undercut its foundations".

The castle was closed to the public. Staff were evacuated and no one was injured.

English Heritage Estates Director Rob Woodside said: "This is a devastating blow to a Hampshire icon and for all of us whose life’s work is to protect England’s historic buildings.

Hurst Castle is the most challenging of our sites to protect – a coastal fort built on a shingle spit directly facing the hammering sea.

Faced with more frequent storms and rising sea levels, Hurst Castle is emblematic of the issues posed by climate change to our heritage."

Located at the western end of the Solent, Hurst Castle in Hampshire was originally built by Henry VIII between 1541 and 1544 to guard the Needles Passage, the narrow western entrance between the Isle of Wight and the mainland.

In the 1860s two huge wings were added – on the east and west side of the central structure – as part of a programme of defence that made this part of the south coast one of the most heavily fortified in the world.

In the First and Second World Wars the castle was fully garrisoned and its searchlights and guns guarded the entrance to the Solent.

In 2019, English Heritage undertook an extensive programme of works totalling £750,000 to stabilise the foundations of the west wing of the castle and to reinforce its sea defences.

The charity underpinned the west wing’s foundations, replaced broken groynes and barriers, and replenished the beach with 7,500 tonnes of shingle.

Two years earlier, in 2017, English Heritage invested £1m in a major project to repair and conserve the castle’s roof.

English Heritage was days away from commencing works to underpin the east wing of the castle, whose foundations – similar to the castle’s west wing – were being eroded by the sea.

However, there were no signs of any major structural problems until a storm on 23 February prompted a rapid descent from stability to the collapse of an approximately 38 metre section of the east wing wall.