A number of military events took place in Dorset during The Anarchy of the 12th century, and this gave rise to the defensive castles at Corfe Castle, Powerstock, Wareham and Shaftesbury. In 1348 the Black Death came to England, probably landing in ports along the south coast, including Melcombe Regis now part of Weymouth. The then busy port was one of the first towns to experience the epidemic which went on to wipe out a third of the population of the country. In the 14th and 15th centuries the hilltop villages shrank further, and many disappeared altogether. Throughout the Medieval period, Dorset was popular amongst the nobility, including a number of kings, for its hunting estates, such as Gillingham and Sherborne. A number of deer parks still remain in the county.