Carisbrooke Castle is another of those iconic English castles and the first thing you see on your visit is the instantly recognisable gatehouse. The castle is probably most famous for being the prison of Charles I and is now an impressive tourist attraction, run by English Heritage.
Visiting Carisbrooke Castle
Carisbrooke Castle is one of the largest tourist attractions on the Isle of Wight so it is well signposted with a decent car park. Being a proper EH site there is also a cafe and toilets which is always good news!
My Experience
We chose to visit Carisbrooke Castle in March as I was lucky enough to be working on the Isle of Wight for a few days. The weather was amazingly good and we were one of the very few visitors that day.
As soon as you arrive you see that Carisbrooke is a real castle, not some gentrified residence with a couple of tower stuck on the sides. The gatehouse entrance is a long route with portcullis’ above, ready to trap or delay any attackers.
The Norman keep here is a superb example of a classic motte and bailey castle, very similar to Cardiff castle and providing a concentric defence point as well as a final refuge. You can actually climb onto the wall walk and do a circuit of the walls to get an idea of the commanding location of the fortress.
One unique feature of Carisbrooke Castle to see on your visit is the well. This has a water wheel that is powered by donkeys, now thankfully well cared for by the English Heritage team.
The gardens here would probably be lovely later in the year but were quite barren when we visited. The onsite museum had some excellent information and artifacts showing the castle’s connections with Charles I.
Carisbrooke Castle Photo Gallery
History
The site of Carisbrooke Castle may have been occupied in pre-Roman times. A ruined wall suggests that there was a building there in late Roman times. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle mentions that Wihtgar, cousin of King Cynric of Wessex, died in AD 544, and was buried there. The Jutes may have taken over the fort by the late 7th century. An Anglo-Saxon stronghold occupied the site during the 8th century. Around 1000, a wall was built around the hill as a defence against Viking raids.
From 1100 the castle remained in the possession of Richard de Redvers’ family, and over the next two centuries his descendants improved the castle with stone walls, towers and a keep. In 1293, 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.
In 1377, in the reign of Richard II the castle was unsuccessfully attacked by the French. It was reputedly saved by local hero Peter de Heyno who shot the French commander. Anthony Woodville, Lord Scales, later Earl Rivers, obtained a grant of the castle and rights of Lordship in 1467. He was responsible for the addition of the Woodville Gate, now known as the Entrance Gate. Woodville was killed by Richard III in 1483, but his brother Edward Woodville was given control of the castle on the accession of Henry VII in 1485.
The keep was added to the castle in the reign of Henry I, and in the reign of Elizabeth I, when the Spanish Armada was expected, it was surrounded by additional fortifications by Sir George Carey, who had been appointed Governor of the Isle of Wight in 1583. Carey later commissioned the Italian engineer Federigo Giambelli (or Genebelli) to make more substantial improvements to the defences. Starting in 1597, Giambelli constructed a modern 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.
The bowling green used by Charles I during his imprisonment
Charles I was imprisoned here for fourteen months before his execution in 1649. Afterwards his two youngest children were confined in the castle, and Princess Elizabeth died there. From 1896 to 1944, it was the home of Princess Beatrice, daughter of Queen Victoria, as Governor of the Isle of Wight. It is now under the control of English Heritage.
References
The English Heritage entry for the castle is here.
The history above is copied from the Wiki site here.