Castle of the Week 19 - Carisbrooke Castle
Carisbrooke Castle is on the Isle of Wight off
the south coast of England and is probably best known as the
castle where Charles I ws imprisoned prior to his execution.
Not much is known of its earliest
history, although one remaining ruined wall suggests there was
some sort of building on the site in late Roman times. The Jutes
probably took over the Roman fort and the Saxons would have been
there by the late 7th century. The remaining earthworks date back
to the end of the 11th and early 12th centuries, including the
motte and bailey – a shell keep on a mound and a curtain
wall round a courtyard. The chapel dates back to the 13th century
and was finally restored during the last century having fallen
into ruin and the governor’s house, with its medieval Great
Hall, now houses the castle museum. The large gatehouse dates
from the 14th and 15th centuries.
After the Norman Conquest, William I gave the
Isle of Wight to his friend William Fitzosbern who built a wooden
castle on top of the Saxon mound. After an unsuccessful uprising
against the king by Fitzosbern’s son, the castle was taken
over by the Crown and William arrested his traitorous
half-brother Odo there in 1092. The lordship was then granted to
the de Redvers family who built the stone castle. In 1136 Baldwin
de Redvers fought for Empress Maud against King Stephen and,
after being defeated, was pursued to the castle which was
besieged. The water supply ran out and the castle was
surrendered. Countess Isabella was the last of the family to own
the castle and was the first person in England to use glass for
windows. When she died in 1293, it reverted to King Edward I.
During the Hundred Years War, the island and
castle were frequently attaacked by the French. In 1377 they
landed on the island and lay siege to the castle. It was
successfully defended after the French Commander was killed, as
legend has it by a long distance bowman. In Elizabethan times the
Spanish were heading for the island when they were defeated in a
naval battle. Because they had come close to invading, the castle
was altered so it could withstand artillery bombardment. An
Italian engineer was employed in the 1590s to build an outer
wall, enclosing the original castle and the walls, bastions and
bulwarks can still be seen today. Landscaped gardens were also
added. Since then the only alterations have been modernisation.
When Charles I escaped from
imprisonment at Hampton Court in 1647, he sought refuge on the
Isle of Wight. Unfortunately the man he thought would help him,
Colonel Hammond who was the governor, imprisoned him in
Carisbrooke. He tried unsuccessfully to escape three times, but
in 1648 was returned to London where he was executed in 1649. The
following year two of his children were put in detention in the
castle where 14 year old Princess Elizabeth died of pneumonia.
Her brother was set free two years later and sent to Holland.
Another thing for which Carisbrooke is famous is
the 49m deep medieval well. Not unusual in itself, but uniquely
it was worked by a donkey walking inside a treadwheel and this is
still demonstrated to visitors today.
Write-up and images provided by GillB*
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