View source for Carisbrooke Castle

{{Short description|Castle on the Isle of Wight, United Kingdom}}
{{Use British English|date=February 2023}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2020}}
{{Infobox military installation
|name=Carisbrooke Castle
|partof=
|location=[[Carisbrooke]], Isle of Wight, England
|gridref ={{gbmapping|SZ486877}}
|image=Carisbrooke castle buildings 2023.JPG
|caption=The interior of Carisbrooke Castle
|image2=
|caption2=
|map_type=United Kingdom Isle of Wight
|coordinates = {{coord|50.6874|N|1.3133|W|type:landmark_region:GB-IOW|display=inline,title}}
|map_size=260
|type=Castle
|code=
|built=Begun in 12th century
|builder=
|materials=
|height=
|used=Until 1944
|demolished=
|condition=Complete
|ownership=Managed by [[English Heritage]]
|open_to_public=Yes
|controlledby=
|garrison=
|current_commander=
|past_commanders=Sir [[Nicholas Wadham (1472–1542)|Nicholas Wadham]] (died 1542) Captain of the Isle of Wight, 1509–1520
|occupants=[[Isabella de Fortibus]], [[Charles I of England]] (imprisoned), [[Princess Beatrice of the United Kingdom]]
|battles=
|events=
}}

'''Carisbrooke Castle''' is a historic [[motte-and-bailey castle]] located in the village of [[Carisbrooke]] (near [[Newport, Isle of Wight|Newport]]), [[Isle of Wight]], England. [[Charles I of England|Charles I]] was imprisoned at the castle in the months prior to his trial.<ref name="English castles">{{cite web|url=http://www.theheritagetrail.co.uk/castles/carisbrooke%20castle.htm|title= English Castles – Carisbrooke Castle |website = theheritagetrail.co.uk| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20090912102122/http://www.theheritagetrail.co.uk/castles/carisbrooke%20castle.htm | archive-date= 12 September 2009| access-date= 8 March 2017}}</ref>

==Early history==
The site of Carisbrooke Castle may have been occupied in pre-[[Ancient Rome|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-Saxons|Anglo-Saxon]] stronghold occupied the site during the 8th century. Around AD 1000, a wall was built around the hill as a defence against [[Viking]] raids.

==Later history==
[[File:Carisbrooke Castle 14th century.jpg|thumb|upright=1.3|left|A reconstruction of Carisbrooke Castle during the 14th century]]

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, [[Isabella de Fortibus|Countess Isabella de Fortibus]], the last Redvers resident, sold the castle to [[Edward I of England|Edward I]]. From then on, its governance was entrusted to wardens as representatives of the crown.<ref name="EB1911">{{EB1911|inline=y|wstitle=Carisbrooke|volume=5|page=337}}</ref><ref name="castle explorer">{{cite web|url=http://www.castlexplorer.co.uk/england/carisbrooke/carisbrooke.php|title=CastleXplorer – Carisbrooke Castle|publisher=castlexplorer.co.uk|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120730012233/http://www.castlexplorer.co.uk/england/carisbrooke/carisbrooke.php|archive-date=30 July 2012|access-date=2 January 2009}}</ref>

In 1377, in the reign of [[Richard II of England|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, 2nd Earl Rivers|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.<ref name="main gate"/> Woodville was killed by [[Richard III]] in 1483, but his brother [[Edward Woodville, Lord Scales]] was given control of the castle on the accession of Henry VII in 1485.<ref>Wilkins, Christopher, The Last Knight Errant: Edward Woodville and the Age of Chivalry, IB Tauris, 2009, p. 133</ref>

The keep was added to the castle in the reign of [[Henry I of England|Henry I]], and in the reign of [[Elizabeth I of England|Elizabeth I]], when the [[Spanish Armada]] was expected, it was surrounded by additional fortifications by [[Sir George Carey]], who had been appointed [[List of Governors of the Isle of Wight|Governor of the Isle of Wight]] in 1583.<ref name="EB1911"/> 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 (fortification)|ditch]] supported at intervals by powerful [[bastion]]s, which completely surrounded the old castle and bailey. The new fortification was mostly completed by 1600 at the cost of £4,000.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.fortified-places.com/images2/carisbrooke.html |title=Carisbrooke Castle |last1=Goode |first1=Dominic |website=fortified-places.com |access-date=5 December 2014 |archive-date=19 October 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141019005304/http://fortified-places.com/images2/carisbrooke.html |url-status=dead }}</ref>

[[File:The Bowling Green, Carisbrooke Castle - geograph.org.uk - 1505542.jpg|thumb|The [[bowling green]] used by Charles I during his imprisonment]]
[[Charles I of England|Charles I]] was imprisoned here for fourteen months before his execution in 1649.<ref name="English castles"/> Afterwards his two youngest children were confined in the castle, and [[Princess Elizabeth of England|Princess Elizabeth]] died there.<ref name="EB1911"/> From 1896 to 1944, it was the home of [[Princess Beatrice of the United Kingdom|Princess Beatrice]], daughter of [[Queen Victoria]], as [[Governor of the Isle of Wight]].<ref name="Princess Beatrice">{{cite web|url=http://www.touruk.co.uk/castles/castle_carisbrooke.htm|title=Tour UK – A tourist guide to Carisbrooke Castle|publisher=touruk.co.uk|access-date=2 January 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081210062756/http://www.touruk.co.uk/castles/castle_carisbrooke.htm|archive-date=10 December 2008|url-status=dead}}</ref> It is now under the control of [[English Heritage]].<ref name="English heritage">{{cite web|url=http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/server/show/nav.14466|title=English Heritage – Carisbrooke Castle, Isle of Wight|publisher=englishheritage.org.uk|access-date=2 January 2009}}</ref>

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.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/travel/uk/carisbrooke-castle-is-real-thing--and-now-you-can-be-part-of-its-history-457110.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100307042154/http://www.independent.co.uk/travel/uk/carisbrooke-castle-is-real-thing--and-now-you-can-be-part-of-its-history-457110.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=7 March 2010|title=Carisbrooke Castle is real thing – and now you can be part of its history|last=Rix|first=Juliet|date=14 July 2007|newspaper=The Independent|access-date=13 June 2008}}</ref> The castle received 131,358 visitors during 2019.<ref name="ALVA 2019 visitor numbers">{{cite web |title=ALVA - Association of Leading Visitor Attractions |url=https://www.alva.org.uk/details.cfm?p=423 |website=www.alva.org.uk |access-date=12 November 2020}}</ref>

==Description==
[[File:Carisbrooke Castle gatehouse.jpg|thumb|The gatehouse entrance to the castle]]
[[File:Carisbrooke_Castle_from_south.jpg|thumb|View of the castle from the south]]
[[File:Carisbrooke_Castle_from_the_west.jpg|thumb|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 [[Ancient Rome|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 [[James Macandrew]], one of the founders of the [[New Zealand]] city of [[Dunedin]], led to him naming his estate "Carisbrook". The name of the estate was later used for [[Carisbrook (stadium)|Dunedin's main sporting venue]].

===The Main Gate===
The gateway tower was erected by [[Anthony Woodville, 8th Baron Scales|Lord Scales]] who was lord of the castle at the time in 1464.<ref name="main gate">{{cite web|url=http://www.fortified-places.com/images2/carisbrooke.html|title=Fortified Places – Fortresses – Carisbrooke Castle|publisher=fortified-places.com|access-date=2 January 2009|archive-date=19 October 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141019005304/http://fortified-places.com/images2/carisbrooke.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>

===The Chapel===
{{Main|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-[[consecrate]]d, having been rebuilt as a national memorial of Charles I. Within the walls is a well {{cvt|200|ft}} deep and another in the centre of the keep is reputed to have been still deeper.<ref name="EB1911"/>

===The Well-House===
[[File:Newport and Carisbrooke - Carisbrooke Castle - 20460301222354.jpg|thumb|upright|A donkey operating the well]]
Near the domestic buildings is the well-house with its working donkey wheel. The well is also famous as the hiding place of the Mohune diamond, in the 1898 adventure novel ''[[Moonfleet (novel)|Moonfleet]]'', by [[J. Meade Falkner]].<ref name="Moon">{{cite book |last1=Falkner |first1=John |title=Moonfleet |date=2019 |publisher=Dilek Atik |isbn=9781099406003 |pages=144, 159 |url=https://www.tropikalkitap.com/ |access-date=19 June 2019 |archive-date=19 June 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190619212453/https://www.tropikalkitap.com/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> [[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 until recently used as the castle's education centre.

===Earthworks===
Surrounding the whole castle are large [[Earthworks (archaeology)|earthworks]], designed by the Italian [[Federigo Gianibelli]], and begun in the year before the [[Spanish Armada]]. They were finished in the 1590s. The outer gate has the date 1598 and the arms of [[Elizabeth I of England|Elizabeth&nbsp;I]].

==List of constables of Carisbrooke Castle==

The [[castellan|constable]] was the officer in charge of the castle.

{{Incomplete list|date=January 2011}}
{| class="wikitable"
!Name !!Dates in office!!Source
|-
|William Briwere, Jnr||1217||<ref name=autogenerated1>Victoria County History, Hampshire, 1912, vol.5, [http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=42081 Parishes: Carisbrooke], pp. 4556 35</ref>
|-
|Waleran Tyes||1224||<ref name=autogenerated1 />
|-
|Savery de Mauleon||1227||<ref name=autogenerated1 />
|-
|[[Peter des Roches|Bishop of Winchester]]||1233||<ref name=autogenerated1 />
|-
|Benedict||1269||<ref name=autogenerated1 />
|-
|Hugh de Hanneby||1270||<ref name=autogenerated1 />
|-
|John Hardington||1277||<ref name=autogenerated1 />
|-
|Humphrey de Dunster||c.1294||<ref>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</ref>
|-
|[[William Russell (knight)|Sir William Russell]]||?–1307||<ref>Wiffen, ''Memorials of the House of Russell'', pp. 127–131</ref>
|-
|Nicholas de Bois||1307/1309?||<ref>Wiffen, ''Memorials of the House of Russell'', pp. 127–131; ''Victoria County History, Hampshire'', 1912, vol. 5, Parishes: Carisbrooke, pp. 221–235</ref>
|-
|John de Langford||1334||<ref name=autogenerated1 />
|-
|Sir Hugh Tyrrel||1377||<ref name=autogenerated1 />
|-
|[[William de Montacute, 2nd Earl of Salisbury|William de Montagu, Earl of Salisbury]]||1382–1397||<ref>The dates appear in error, as quoted by Victoria County History, Hampshire, 1912, vol.5, Parishes: Carisbrooke, pp. 221–235</ref>
|-
|[[Henry Beaufort, 3rd Duke of Somerset]]||1457-?||<ref>{{cite DNB |wstitle=Beaufort, Henry (1436{{nat|-}}1464) |display=Beaufort, Henry (1436–1464) |supplement=1}}</ref>
|-
|[[Anthony Woodville, 2nd Earl Rivers|Anthony Woodville]]||1467–1483||<ref name="main gate"/>
|-
|[[Edward Woodville|Sir Edward Woodville]]||1485–1488||<ref name="wil">Wilkins, Christopher, The Last Knight Errant: Edward Woodville and the Age of Chivalry, IB Tauris, 2009, pp. 162–3</ref>
|-
|[[Sir Reginald Bray]]||1495–1503||<ref name=autogenerated1 />
|-
|[[Nicholas Wadham (1472–1542)|Sir Nicholas Wadham]] (d.1542)||1509–1520||<ref>History of Parliament</ref>
|-
|[[Thomas Cromwell, 1st Earl of Essex]]||1520–1538||<ref name=autogenerated1 />
|}

==See also==
*[[Castles in Great Britain and Ireland]]
*[[List of castles in England]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons}}
* [http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/carisbrooke-castle/ Carisbrooke Castle official English Heritage information]
* [http://www.carisbrookecastlemuseum.org.uk/ Carisbrooke Castle Museum official site]
* [https://artsandculture.google.com/exhibit/dwKCp1UmRlGXLg 'Carisbrooke Castle: island fortress and royal prison'] on Google Arts & Culture
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20070927070140/http://www.carisbrooke.shalfleet.net/carisbrooke%20text.htm ''Carisbrooke Church from Blacks Guide to the Isle of Wight, 1870'']
* [https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Franklin/01-01-02-0029#BNFN-01-01-02-pb-0075 Benjamin Franklin's description of Carisbrooke from ''Journal of a Voyage, 1726'']

{{Isle of Wight}}
{{Governors and Constables in England and Wales}}
{{Royal palaces in the United Kingdom}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Castles on the Isle of Wight]]
[[Category:English Heritage sites in the Isle of Wight]]
[[Category:Grade I listed buildings on the Isle of Wight]]
[[Category:Museums on the Isle of Wight]]
[[Category:History museums on the Isle of Wight]]
[[Category:Historic house museums on the Isle of Wight]]
[[Category:Local museums on the Isle of Wight]]
[[Category:Motte-and-bailey castles]]
[[Category:Scheduled monuments in Isle of Wight]]