When Henry VIII separated from the Catholic Church, he was left feeling vulnerable to invasion from France and Spain. His answer was to build England’s first national coastal defence network. Rising like medieval spaceships along the English coast, these ‘device forts’ were a series of rounded stone fortresses. But how did they operate? What made them so formidable? How did they change the nature of warfare with their cutting-edge cannon technology?

Join Amy, alongside English Heritage’s Andrew Roberts and Kathryn Bedford, as they explore the story of Henry VIII's spectacular coastal fortifications and the threats they were built to face.

You can watch our coastal series as well as listen to it - either on Spotify or go to our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/EnglishHeritage

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