the Solent. The work was undertaken rapidly, and 24 sites were completed and garrisoned by the end of 1540, with almost all of the rest finished by the end of 1543. By the time they were completed, however, the alliance between Charles and Francis had collapsed and the threat of imminent invasion was over. Second phase, 1544–47 Henry moved back onto the offensive in Europe in 1543, allying himself with Spain against France once again. Despite Henry's initial successes around Boulogne in northern France, King Charles and Francis made peace in 1544, leaving England exposed to an invasion by France, backed by her allies in Scotland. In response Henry issued another device in 1544 to improve the country's defences, particularly along the south coast. Work began on Southsea Castle in 1544 on Portsea Island to further protect the Solent, and on Sandown Castle the following year on the neighbouring Isle of Wight. Brownsea Castle in Dorset was begun in 1545, and Sharpenrode Bulwark was built opposite Hurst Castle from 1545 onwards. The French invasion emerged in 1545, when Admiral Claude d'Annebault crossed the Channel and arrived off the Solent with 200 ships on 19 July. Henry's fleet made a brief sortie, before retreating safely behind the protective fortifications. Annebault landed a force near Newhaven, during which Camber Castle may have fired on the French fleet, and on 23 July they landed four detachments on the Isle of Wight, including a party that took the site of Sandown Castle, which was still under construction. The French expedition moved further on along the coast on 25 July, bringing an end to the immediate invasion threat. Meanwhile, on 22 July the French had carried out a raid at Seaford, and Camber Castle may have seen action against the French fleet. A peace treaty was agreed in June 1546, bringing an end to the war. By the time that Henry died the following year, in total the huge sum of £376,000 had been spent on the Device projects. Architects and engineers Some of the Device Forts were designed and built by teams of English engineers. The master mason John Rogers was brought back from his work in France and worked on the Hull defences, while Sir Richard Lee, another of the King's engineers from his French campaigns, may have been involved in the construction of Sandown and Southsea; the pair were paid the substantial