and swords. The problems persisted and, later in the century, the site was used as a rendezvous for smugglers led by a notorious criminal called John Streeter. The castle fell into neglect, and reports from the 1770s through into the early 1790s noted extensive problems, complaining that the fort's guns could no longer be mounted on the dilapidated bastions and that water was seeping through the decaying walls. By 1793, the castle was considered to be "in the worst condition" of all the forts along the coast, and all its guns were unusable. Repairs were authorised, but little was actually done. The spit around the castle began to be used by civilians, including fishermen and gardeners; a lighthouse, called the Hurst Tower, was built there in 1786, and the Shipwright's Arms inn was established alongside the castle. The Revolutionary War with France broke out in 1793, leading to the extensive modernisation of the castle. Repairs were carried out in 1794 at a cost of £647, followed by a review of the defences the next year by the Master-General of the Ordnance. The 16th-century castle was still strongly fortified by the standards of the time, but it could not support the heavier guns or batteries of artillery required to tackle enemy warships. Instead, two new gun batteries, each armed with five 36-pounder (16.3 kg) guns, were built alongside the castle in 1795, with a further eighteen 9-pounder (4 kg) guns mounted in the old fort; the guns concerned had all been captured from the French. 19th century 1800–58 In 1803, war with France appeared imminent once again. After some discussions, it was agreed to adapt the 16th-century keep to enable it to hold six 24-pounder (10.8 kg) guns; the roof was vaulted and a central stone pillar was installed to run up through the building, work estimated at the time to be likely to cost £4,122. The historian Andrew Saunders likens the resulting building to the various Martello towers being constructed along the south coast at this time. It was proposed to build two temporary gun batteries to replace the 1795 emplacements, which had suffered from the salt air and decayed, but the plan was turned down in order to focus attention on the redevelopment of the keep. The work was carried out by a mixture of soldiers and civilian contractors and was completed by the end of 1806. The remodelled