Hastings Castle did not suffer a single catastrophic event, but rather a long, slow process of natural erosion and religious conflict. Built by William the Conqueror in 1067 as a wooden fortress (later rebuilt in stone), the castle’s decline began in the late 13th century when violent storms and the relentless pounding of the English Channel caused the soft sandstone cliffs to collapse. This took the south wall and the keep into the sea. Its architectural destruction was furthered in the 16th century during the Dissolution of the Monasteries; King Henry VIII ordered the destruction of the castle’s church and chapel as he broke away from the Roman Catholic Church, leaving the site in ruins. By the Victorian era, the once-mighty fortress was so neglected it was almost entirely buried under rubble and weeds. It even faced modern damage during World War II when the town of Hastings was heavily bombed by the Luftwaffe, prompting the placement of anti-aircraft guns on the site. Today, only about half of the original structure remains, standing as a weathered cliffside ruin that overlooks the very harbor the Normans once protected.