Carisbrooke Castle

Coordinates: 50°41′15″N 1°18′48″W / 50.6874°N 1.3133°W / 50.6874; -1.3133
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Carisbrooke Castle
Isabella de Fortibus, Charles I of England (imprisoned), Princess Beatrice of the United Kingdom

Carisbrooke Castle is a historic motte-and-bailey castle located in the village of Carisbrooke (near Newport), Isle of Wight, England. Charles I was imprisoned at the castle in the months prior to his trial.[1]

Early history

The site of Carisbrooke Castle may have been occupied in pre-

Viking
raids.

Later history

A reconstruction of Carisbrooke Castle during the 14th century

From 1100 the castle remained in the possession of

Countess Isabella de Fortibus, the last Redvers resident, sold the castle to Edward I. From then on, its governance was entrusted to wardens as representatives of the crown.[2][3]

In 1377, in the reign of

Edward Woodville was given control of the castle on the accession of Henry VII in 1485.[5]

The keep was added to the castle in the reign of

trace Italienne fortification, a squat rampart and ditch supported at intervals by powerful bastions, which completely surrounded the old castle and bailey. The new fortification was mostly completed by 1600 at the cost of £4,000.[6]

The bowling green used by Charles I during his imprisonment

Governor of the Isle of Wight.[7] It is now under the control of English Heritage.[8]

The castle is located above, and to the south of, Carisbrooke village centre.

In 2007, English Heritage opened a holiday flat inside the castle, in converted former staff quarters.[9] The castle received 131,358 visitors during 2019.[10]

Description

The gatehouse entrance to the castle
View of the castle from the south
View of the castle from the west

Carisbrooke was the strongest castle on the Island; though it is visible from some distance, it does not dominate the countryside like many other castles.

There are traces of a Roman fort underneath the later buildings. Seventy-one steps lead up to the keep. In the centre of the castle enclosure are the domestic buildings; these are mostly of the 13th century, with upper parts of the 16th century. Some are in ruins, but the main rooms were used as the official residence of the governor of the Isle of Wight until the 1940s, and they remain in good repair.

The Great Hall, Great Chamber and several smaller rooms are open to the public, and an upper room houses the Isle of Wight Museum. Most rooms are partly furnished.

One of the main subjects of the museum is King Charles I. He tried to escape from the castle in 1648 but was unable to get through the bars of his window.

The name of the castle is echoed in a very different structure on the other side of the world. A visit to the castle by

Dunedin's main sporting venue
.

The Main Gate

The gateway tower was erected by

Lord Scales who was lord of the castle at the time in 1464.[4]

The Chapel

Main article: Church of St Nicholas in Castro, Carisbrooke

The chapel is located next to the main gate. In 1904 the chapel of St Nicholas in the castle was reopened and re-

consecrated, having been rebuilt as a national memorial of Charles I. Within the walls is a well 200 ft (61 m) deep and another in the centre of the keep is reputed to have been still deeper.[2]

The Well-House

A donkey operating the well

Near the domestic buildings is the well-house with its working donkey wheel. As it is still operated by donkeys, the wheel is a great attraction and creates long queues. The well is also famous as the hiding place of the Mohune diamond, in the 1898 adventure novel Moonfleet, by J. Meade Falkner.[11] Wyndham Lewis, who lived on the Isle of Wight as a child, cites the donkey wheel at Carisbrooke as an image for the way machines impose a way of life on human beings ('Inferior Religions', published 1917).

The Constable's Chamber

The Constable's Chamber is a large room located in the castle's medieval section. It was the bedroom of Charles I when he was imprisoned in the castle, and Princess Beatrice used it as a dining room. It is now home to Charles I bed as well as Princess Beatrice's large collection of

stag and antelope
heads. This room was used as the castle's education centre up until recently.

Earthworks

Surrounding the whole castle are large

Elizabeth I
.

List of constables of Carisbrooke Castle

Name Dates in office Source
William Briwere, Jnr 1217 [12]
Waleran Tyes 1224 [12]
Savery de Mauleon 1227 [12]
Bishop of Winchester 1233 [12]
Benedict 1269 [12]
Hugh de Hanneby 1270 [12]
John Hardington 1277 [12]
Humphrey de Dunster c.1294 [13]
Sir William Russell ?–1307 [14]
Nicholas de Bois 1307/1309? [15]
John de Langford 1334 [12]
Sir Hugh Tyrrel 1377 [12]
William de Montagu, Earl of Salisbury
 1382–1397 [16]
Henry Beaufort, 3rd Duke of Somerset 1457-? [17]
Anthony Woodville 1467–1483 [4]
Sir Edward Woodville
 1485–1488 [18]
Sir Reginald Bray
 1495–1503 [12]
Sir Nicholas Wadham (d.1542) 1509–1520 [19]
Thomas Cromwell, 1st Earl of Essex
 1520–1538 [12]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "English Castles – Carisbrooke Castle". theheritagetrail.co.uk. Archived from the original on 12 September 2009. Retrieved 8 March 2017.
  2. ^ a b c d  One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Carisbrooke". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 5 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 337.
  3. ^ "CastleXplorer – Carisbrooke Castle". castlexplorer.co.uk. Archived from the original on 30 July 2012. Retrieved 2 January 2009.
  4. ^ a b c "Fortified Places – Fortresses – Carisbrooke Castle". fortified-places.com. Archived from the original on 19 October 2014. Retrieved 2 January 2009.
  5. ^ Wilkins, Christopher, The Last Knight Errant: Edward Woodville and the Age of Chivalry, IB Tauris, 2009, p. 133
  6. ^ Goode, Dominic. "Carisbrooke Castle". fortified-places.com. Archived from the original on 19 October 2014. Retrieved 5 December 2014.
  7. ^ "Tour UK – A tourist guide to Carisbrooke Castle". touruk.co.uk. Archived from the original on 10 December 2008. Retrieved 2 January 2009.
  8. ^ "English Heritage – Carisbrooke Castle, Isle of Wight". englishheritage.org.uk. Retrieved 2 January 2009.
  9. ^ Rix, Juliet (14 July 2007). "Carisbrooke Castle is real thing – and now you can be part of its history". The Independent. Archived from the original on 7 March 2010. Retrieved 13 June 2008.
  10. ^ "ALVA - Association of Leading Visitor Attractions". www.alva.org.uk. Retrieved 12 November 2020.
  11. ISBN 9781099406003. Archived from the original
    on 19 June 2019. Retrieved 19 June 2019.
  12. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Victoria County History, Hampshire, 1912, vol.5, Parishes: Carisbrooke, pp. 4556 35
  13. ^ Worsley, Sir Richard III, History of the Isle of Wight, London, 1781, p. 86; Victoria County History, Hampshire, 1912, vol.5, Parishes: Carisbrooke, pp. 221–235
  14. ^ Wiffen, Memorials of the House of Russell, pp. 127–131
  15. ^ Wiffen, Memorials of the House of Russell, pp. 127–131; Victoria County History, Hampshire, 1912, vol. 5, Parishes: Carisbrooke, pp. 221–235
  16. ^ The dates appear in error, as quoted by Victoria County History, Hampshire, 1912, vol.5, Parishes: Carisbrooke, pp. 221–235
  17. ^ Lee, Sidney, ed. (1901). "Beaufort, Henry (1436–1464)" . Dictionary of National Biography (1st supplement). London: Smith, Elder & Co.
  18. ^ Wilkins, Christopher, The Last Knight Errant: Edward Woodville and the Age of Chivalry, IB Tauris, 2009, pp. 162–3
  19. ^ History of Parliament

External links

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