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Castle Cornet is a large Castle in Guernsey , and former Tidal Island , which is now part of one of the breakwaters of St Peter Port's Harbour , the main one in the island. HISTORY Formerly a tidal island, like Lihou on the west coast of Guernsey, it was first fortified as a castle between 1206 and 1256 , following the division of the Duchy Of Normandy in 1204 . With the advent of cannon and gunpowder, the castle was remodelled between 1545 and 1548 . It served as Official Residence of the Governor Of Guernsey until 1672 when the keep was catastrophically destroyed. A bolt of lightning struck the magazine of the castle, destroying the keep and a number of living quarters. The Governor at the time was Lord Hatton . His mother, wife and a number of members of staff were killed in the explosion. It became integrated into the breakwater during the period of the Napoleonic Wars . Along the breakwater, a pond for toy yachts was constructed in 1887 for the jubilee of Queen Victoria , which served as a seaplane base during World War I . In WWII , it became occupied by a small group of German troops. It was presented to the people of Guernsey in 1945 by The Crown . PRESENT DAY Nowadays it incorporates the following museums:
It also has a restaurant, and hosts outdoor theatre performances during the summer months. EXTERNAL LINKS REFERENCES
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