SANDSFOOT AND PORTLAND CASTLES. 39 



than was made for Sandsfoot, which is alleged to have been 

 defended by three old men in 1653, and therefore of no value 

 " if the Dutch had a mind to land." 



One other fact remains to be mentioned. An excellent 

 ground plan of Portland Castle, dated 1725, is preserved in 

 the British Museum, the scale being one inch to twenty feet. 

 The drawing shows a building with a semi-circular face of 

 masonry over-looking the sea, and protected on the landward 

 side by a walled enclosure, the general appearance strongly 

 resembling the fort as it is at the present day ; and I feel no 

 doubt that the drawing also gives a faithful picture of the 

 original structure without any material change. At the 

 foot of the plan the draughtsman added a note to the effect 

 that the use of this castle was to protect trading vessels 

 against privateers, and that it was well situated for that 

 purpose, the guns being near the surface of the water ; whereas 

 Weymouth Castle, two miles distant, stood on ground that 

 was too high, which was probably the reason why that castle 

 was demolished and Portland alone kept in repair. (Brit. 

 Mus., King's Library, Crown XII., 24.) 



Although we may not altogether agree with the suggested 

 cause of the abandonment of Sandsfoot, the memorandum is 

 interesting as the expression of an opinion held by a military 

 engineer in the first half of the eighteenth century. 



POSTSCRIPT. 



Since the foregoing paper was set up in type I have found 

 certain accounts among the State Papers of Edward VI. for 

 the year 1552 which appear to contain the amount of the 

 original expenditure when these two castles were built. 

 The information is set out in the form of a " brief declaration " 

 of the whole naval and military expenses incurred by 

 Henry VIII. and Edward VI. during the wars against France 

 and Scotland, the total sum being nearly three and a half 

 millions sterling. 



