Fort Monckton

Fort Monckton is a historic military fort on the south-east shoreline of the Gosport peninsula, Hampshire. Built on the ruins of Haselworth Castle to protect Portsmouth Harbour at the start of the American War of Independence, it was rebuilt in the 1880s as a Palmerston fort.

A Henrican fort, variously titled Hasleworth or Haselford, was erected on the site in 1545. The fortification was only lightly armed, and is depicted on the Cowdray Print as a circular keep with an outer wall. The castle was abandoned in 1556, only 11 years after construction, as a result of a review by the Marquis of Winchester. A 1587 map indicates that "Hasleworth Castle beaten downe by King Philip", potentially in reference to a story about the castle being demolished after it failed to grant Phillip a salute in 1554. The ruins continued to be marked on maps until 1788. There is some dispute as to the exact location of the fortification, but the modern site of Fort Monckton is considered the most probable. No maps produced after the completion of Fort Monckton mark the ruins.

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