Guidebook: Portland Castle
Portland Castle was built by Henry VIII between 1539 and 1540 to protect an important anchorage known as the 'Portland Roads'. It was one of a series of coastal fortresses designed to protect England from invasion by France and Spain, and it remained armed and garrisoned for nearly 250 years. It later served as a prison, a private house and a military barracks. During the Second World War, it was used as an embarkation point for the D-Day landings.