Condition that the town of Poole supplied six men to keep watch and
ward. In 1543 the Castle was granted to John Vere, Earl of Oxford, who
sold it to John Duke. In the reign of Elizabeth it was termed "The
Queen's Majestie's Castell at Brownecksea", and in 1576 the Queen sold
it, together with Corfe Castle, to Sir Christopher Hatton, whom she made
"Admiral of Purbeck". In the early days of the Great Rebellion the
island was fortified for the Parliament, and, like Poole, it withstood
the attacks of the Royalists. In 1665, when the Court was at Salisbury,
an outbreak of the plague sent Charles II and a few of his courtiers on
a tour through East Dorset. On 15th September of that year Poole was
visited by a distinguished company, which included the King, Lords
Ashley, Lauderdale, and Arlington, and the youthful Duke of Monmouth,
whose handsome face and graceful bearing were long remembered in the
town. After the royal party had been entertained by Peter Hall, Mayor of
Poole, they went by boat to Brownsea, where the King "took an exact view
of the said Island, Castle, Bay, and Harbour to
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