Sandsfoot Castle is one of King Henry VIII's chain of coastal artillery forts built along the south coast of England. It was constructed in 1539-41 using some building stone sourced from local ecclesiastical buildings destroyed after the Dissolution of the Monasteries. Together with Portland Castle, it defended the natural anchorage known as Portland Roads. 

The castle suffered from sea erosion, requiring a number of remedial works. After the English Civil War it became redundant as military stronghold and fell into ruins. It is Weymouth’s only Scheduled Monument.