Background Information

Crowning a hilltop south of Newport, Carisbrooke Castle has been the key to the Isle of Wight's security for more than nine centuries.

With its high Norman shellkeep at the core of everexpanded circuits of defences, Carisbrooke Castle is an exciting property for the whole family to explore. There has been a fortress here - known as 'Wihtgarasburh' - since Saxon times, but the present castle was begun on this site in c. 1100, when the Isle of Wight was granted to the de Redvers family. The last of the family, the energetic Countess Isabella, extensively rebuilt the castle after 1262. Following the addition of its distinctive double-towered 14th-century gatehouse, Carisbrooke experienced its only siege in 1377, beating off a seaborne French raiding force which had burnt Yarmouth.

After the Spanish Armada passed alarmingly close in 1588, Carisbrooke became enormously significant for the defence of the whole realm. It was suspected that the Spanish might attempt to seize the island, and in response the castle was transformed into an artillery fortress by surrounding it with 'bastioned' outer earthworks, still impressively visible. Long a mansion as well as a fortress, Carisbrooke's most famous resident was Charles I, imprisoned here in 1647-8. At first he came voluntarily, was comfortably accommodated in the Constable's Lodging, and a bowling green was constructed for his recreation. But the discovery of his plots to renew civil war made him a closelyguarded prisoner, and he made two attempts to escape. The first was foiled only when he became wedged in the window bars. Today the Charles I Room is furnished as a typical bedroom of the Stuart period. Carisbrooke's famous Elizabethan well house, and the tread wheel which raises water 49 metres (161 feet) from the well, are still in working order and open to visitors. Prisoners may have originally worked the wheel, but from the late 17th century donkeys were used. These happy, hard-working animals - they must walk 274 metres (300 yards) inside the wheel to raise the bucket - can now be found giving demonstrations. The on-site Carisbrooke Museum (managed by the Carisbrooke Museum Trust) provides more historical information about the castle, as well as memorabilia and artefacts relating to Charles I.