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Perhaps the most famous date in English history - 1066 is the year the Normans defeated the English at the Battle of Hastings.William the Conqueror founded 'Battle' Abbey to commemorate his victory: here, on the site of its high altar, you can stand at...

The shell of Appuldurcombe, once the grandest house on the Isle of Wight and still an important example of English baroque Architecture: the 1701 east front has now been restored. It stands in 'Capability' Brown-designed grounds. An exhibition...

The impressive ruins of an abbey of Premonstratensian 'white canons', on the Kent-Sussex border. They include much of the 13th to 15th-century church, the chapter house, and a picturesque 14th-century gatehouse.Now set in a landscape designed by...

The ruins of a medieval palace (together with later additions) used by the Bishops and senior clergy of Winchester as they travelled through their diocese. Winchester was the richest diocese in England, and its properties were grandiose and...

This artillery fort, built by Henry VIII to defend the sea passage to Southampton,was recently used as a Navy and RAF base.

The ruins of an unusually unaltered artillery fort, built by Henry VIII to guard the port of Rye. There are monthly guided walks round Rye Harbour Nature Reserve, including the castle. Contact the Reserve Manager for further details.

Deal Castle is one of the finest Tudor artillery castles in England. It is among the earliest and most elaborate of a chain of coastal forts,which also includes Calshot, Camber,Walmer and Pendennis Castles.Most were built 'with all speed, and...

Enjoy great family days out in the South East with a visit to Dover Castle! Spectacularly situated above the White Cliffs on the Kent coastline this magnificent castle boasts a fascinating history.

Fully restored and re-equipped with its cannon, this is one of 103 ingeniously-designed artillery towers, built from 1805 at vulnerable points around the south and east coasts to resist threatened Napoleonic invasion.

The impressive motte and shell keep of a castle founded in 1138 by Bishop Henry of Blois. Long a residence of the wealthy bishops of Winchester, the accommodation in the keep was updated in the 1520s. The keep was abandoned after Civil War service: but...

One of the most advanced of the artillery fortresses built by Henry VIII: used as a prison for eminent 17th-century captives, and later strengthened during the 19th and 20th centuries. It commands the narrow entrance to the Solent.

Among the most outstanding Roman villa survivals in Britain, Lullingstone has been vividly re-displayed, providing a unique - and all-weather - opportunity to trace Roman domestic life over three centuries. Set in the attractive surroundings of the...

Originating as a 13th-century wayside hospital, this flint and timber-framed building now displays Roman artefacts from nearby sites.

John Fortin, a merchant who traded with Bordeaux, started building this house c. 1290. A residence and place of business, it stood on one of the busiest streets in medieval Southampton. Now restored to its mid-14th-century appearance by the removal of...

Mainly encased in brick but still retaining its 14th-century timber roof, this was in turn part of a hospital, a chantry chapel, a public house, and a Georgian barracks, before its basement became a World War II gas decontamination chamber. The building...

After her marriage to Prince Albert in 1840, Queen Victoria felt the need for a family residence in the country. To use her words, 'a place of one's own - quiet and retired'. Queen Victoria knew and liked the Isle of Wight after visiting as a child, and...

With a history stretching back over 16 centuries, Pevensey Castle chronicles more graphically than any other fortress the story of Britain's south coast defences. Beginning in the 4th century as one of the last and strongest of the Roman 'Saxon Shore'...

Evocatively sited amid the East Kent marshes, Richborough is perhaps the most symbolically important of all Roman sites in Britain, witnessing both the beginning and almost the end of Roman rule here.

Strategically placed astride the London Road, guarding an important crossing of the River Medway, this imposing fortress has a complex history of destruction and rebuilding. Its mighty Norman tower-keep of Kentish ragstone was built c. 1127 by William of...

This great abbey, marking the rebirth of Christianity in southern England, was founded shortly after AD 597 by St Augustine. Originally created as a burial place for the Anglo-Saxon kings of Kent, it is part of the Canterbury World Heritage Site, along...