Solent, the western portion of the strait that intervenes between the Isle of Wight and the mainland of England. It is 17 miles long, and about 3 in average breadth, but contracts to mile at Hurst Castle (1535), built by Henry VIII. to guard its entrance on the south-west; and here the tide flows with a rapidity which at certain times no boat can stem.
Solent
Chambers's Encyclopaedia, Volume 9: Bound to Swansea, p. 560
Source scan(s): p. 0573