culverins, two sakers and one drake. A Royalist raiding party of 300 soldiers was sent to recapture the fort, but without success. Mersea Fort was placed under the command of Captain William Burrell. Guns and ammunition were kept there in case of a fresh rebellion, with a garrison of 36 men, which was temporarily reinforced by an additional squadron of horsemen and 50 foot soldiers in July 1650. Repairs were made from 1651 onwards, and new accommodation was constructed for the fort's gunners. After an invasion scare in 1655, Mersea was temporarily used to imprison Royalists suspected of planning an insurgency against Oliver Cromwell's Commonwealth government. The fort was then demobilised by Cromwell as part of his efforts to reduce defence costs; Burrell was ordered to dismantle the fort but the order was never carried out, partially because of the practical difficulties and because of opposition from the owner of the land. The admiralty court continued to be held in the fort, although it proved much harder to enforce the fishery rules because of the political turmoil. 18th – 21st centuries By the 18th century, Mersea Fort was in ruins. The fishery rules were reinforced by fresh legislation in 1758, which created a court of conservancy to oversea the oyster stocks. Officially, this court was supposed to sit at the fort, but rather than using the now dilapidated earthworks, it began to meet in Colchester's Moot Hall. Instead, a ceremony began to take place each year at the Mersea Stone, near to the fort, involving local dignitaries and extensive eating and drinking. The fort was recommissioned during the Napoleonic Wars at the start of the 19th century, and a new gun battery was constructed overlooking the sea, equipped with six 24-pounder (10.9 kg) guns. After this the fort was abandoned once again. A sea wall was built along the coast early in the century, cutting through the south-east side of the fort. The legislation on oysters was reformed by Parliament in 1870, which disbanded the previous court structure and severed the historic link with Mersea Fort. A defensive pill-box was constructed at the castle during the Second World War. In the 21st century, the remains of the site are protected under UK law as a scheduled monument. The site was surveyed in 1982 and excavations were carried out between 2002 and 2003, analysing surviving timber structures that had been exposed