Carisbrooke Castle, the Isle of Wight’s Most Historic Castle

Carisbrooke Castle Gatehouse. Image from Wikimedia Commons

The motte-and-bailey Carisbrooke Castle can be found in the village of Crisbrooke in Isle of Wight, England. The First occupation on the site has been suggested, but never proven, to go as far back as the pre-Roman times.  The earliest definite use of the site was for a pagan Anglo-Saxon cemetery dating back to the 6th century. Three graves were unearthed during excavations.

Around 1000, the site, a prominent hilltop located at the center of the island, became an Anglo-Saxon burh or fortress, serving as refuge against the Vikings. Following the Norman conquest, the burh was converted into a castle. They dug deep ditches within the fortress and built a defended closure.

A Norman Fortification

In 1100, The Isle of Wight came under the lordship created by Henry I for Baldwin de Redvers. It is assumed that Baldwin built the current motte-and-bailey castle. Following Henry I’s death, Baldwin supported the king’s daughter, Matilda, in her claim to the throne, which was challenged by the king’s nephew, Stephen, resulting in a civil war. Year 1136 saw Baldwin defending Carisbrooke Castle, however was forced to surrender to King Stephen due to lack of water supply. By that time, the castle already had stone walls, though its internal layout still looked uncertain. The chapel is believed to have stood on the location of the present one, and an enclosure behind it is currently known as the Privy Garden.

Isabella de Fortibus

Countess Isabella de Fortibus, the last de Redvers to take charge of the Carisbrooke Castle, was the one who transformed the castle’s interior into its present form. She aimed to create a residence fit for a great magnate, building the existing but massively altered great wall with her chamber at one end, and her own private chapel at the other, not to mention the numerous buildings surrounding a central courtyard. Days before she died, in 1923, Countess Isabella de Fortibus sold her estates to Edward I. Carisbrooke Castle has remained Crown property since then.

Carisbrooke Castle Chapel. Image from Wikimedia Commons

Crown Property

The Isle of Wight and the Carisbrooke Castle was governed by a quick succession of Crown-appointed lords for the rest of the Middle Ages. The island was raided five times between1336 and 1370, and the castle was besieged in 1377.

In 1377, during the reign of Richard II, French forces unsuccessfully attacked Carisbrooke Castle, which was saved by a local hero, Peter de Heyno, Lord of Stenbury, Isle of Wight, by shooting the French commander. Anthony Woodville, Lord Scales (later 2nd Earl Rivers), who obtained a grant of the castle in 1467, added the Woodville Gate, which is currently known as the castle’s Entrance Gate. At the end of the 14th century, William de Montacute remodeled the great hall and also rebuilt the chamber block adjoining it.

Carisbrooke Castle Keep. Image from Wikimedia Commons

Tudor Period

Carisbrooke Castle’s importance declined in the early 16th century after Henry VIII adopted a coastal defenses policy. However, things would change in 1583 following Elizabeth I’s appointment of her cousin, Sir George Carey, as the new Governor of the Isle of Wight. He rebuilt the decaying domestic buildings. He also made radical changes to the hall block and the St. Peter’s Chapel by inserting an upper floor. Also, he added a new range, the Carey’s Building, which is comprised of 17 rooms and a long gallery.

Amidst the threat of the Spanish Armada, Carey also aimed to strengthen the castle’s defenses. The invasion scare of 1596-1597 pushed him to persuade the queen and the local gentry to pay for the creation of a modern trace Italienne fortification at Carisbrooke—a low, quasi-rectangular rampart almost a mile long, supported at intervals by five powerful bastions. It was designed by Italian military and civil engineer Federigo Giambelli and was completed in 1602 at the cost of £4,000. It was never utilized.

Civil War Period

Carisbrooke Castle was passed into the hands of the Parliamentary forces at the onset of the 1642 Civil War. It served as a prison for important Royalists until 1660. Its most notable inmate was Charles I, who was incarcerated there for 14 months before his execution on January 30, 1649. He sought refuge in the island in 1647 after escaping a house arrest at Hampton Court hoping to live more freely, only to find himself a prisoner once more inside the castle. He made two unsuccessful attempts to escape as he could not get pass through the bars of his window, in March and May 1648. His two youngest children were also confined in the castle, where his daughter Princess Elizabeth would succumb to her death in 1650 at the age of

The castle’s significance yet again waned as defenses moved back to the coast. It became an occasional residence of the Governors of the Isle of Wight, some of whom, notably Lord Cutts and earl of Cadogan, carried out alterations. In 1738, the Chapel of St Nicholas was demolished and transformed in Georgian style.

Princess Beatrice of the United Kingdom. Image from Wikimedia Commons

The Castle During the 19th Century

Carisbrooke Castle no longer served as a residence by mid-19th century, however became a base for the Isle of Wight Artillery Militia. The gatehouse’s roof and floors were removed, and Carey’s building was reduced to a ruin and many of the buildings were in disrepair. It was a much visited tourist attraction before the castle went under the care of the Office of Works in 1856. For the first time in years, restoration works was carried out by Philip Hardwick in 1856. He converted the Constable’s Lodging and the L-shaped block in the southeast corner into their present form. He also destroyed the Chapel of St Nicholas in order to create a romantic ruin.

Architect Percy Stone, who was also Isle of Wight’s historian, was the major influence on Carisbrooke Castle’s present form. He published the first study of the castle’s history and architecture in 1891.

Stone restored the gatehouse by replacing the roof and the upper floor, paving the way for the first Isle of Wight Museum that opened in 1898 in commemoration of Prince Henry. He restored the Chapel of St Nicholas, transforming it into its current quasi-medieval appearance.

In 1889, Prince Henry of Battenberg, Queen Victoria’s son-in-law and husband of the queen’s youngest child, Princess Beatrice, was appointed Governor of Carisbrooke Castle and Captain-General of the Isle of Wight. The princess succeeded to the post after Prince Henry’s death in 1896, modernizing the Constable’s Lodging to become her summer residence. After selling Osborne Cottage in 1913, she moved to the castle while maintaining her apartment in Kensington Palace as her London residence.

The Princess dedicated her time in collecting material,which served  as basis for the establishment of the Carisbrooke Castle Museum. Queen Victoria also donated some significant objects for display. The new museum of Isle of Wight history, installed in the specially-restored Castle gatehouse, was opened by the Princess herself in August 1898. 

Carisbrooke Castle and Garden across the wall. Image from Wikimedia Commons

Post-World War II

Since World War II, Carisbrooke Castle has largely remained as a monument and is primarily a tourist destination, though it is occasionally being used for island ceremonies. Within the walls of the Chapel of St Nicholas is a well that is 200 feet deep, and another deeper one in the center of the keep. Located near the domestic buildings is the popular well-house with its donkey wheel, which is still working and still being operated by donkeys! The well-house has been known as the hiding place of the Mohune diamond in the adventure novel “Moonfleet” (1898) by J. Meade Falkner and Wyndham Lewis.

Carisbrooke Castle is the strongest castle in all of Isle of Wight. Though it is visible from a distance, it does not dominate the countryside just like many other castles. For more details about Carisbrooke Castle, visit http://carisbrookecastlemuseum.org.uk.