Carisbrooke Castle by Jane Shuter

Why and how the castle was built

Part of a series that focuses on six world heritage sites, this text explores Carisbrooke Castle. It provides a narrative tour of the site, looking at surviving evidence that can help reconstruct why and how the castle was built and the lives of the people who lived there.

Near Newport

Carisbrooke Castle is sited on a hill near Newport, in the middle of the Isle of Wight. Sometime around 1000 AD the Anglo Saxons built a wall around the hill to defend themselves against Viking raids. Soon after the Norman invasion of England in 1066, the new lord of Wight, William Fitz Osbern, chose to build a castle within the existing defences.

History

After the Norman Conquest, William the Conqueror gave the Isle of Wight to his friend William fitz Osbern, who built a wooden structure at Carisbrooke Castle. The castle is mentioned in Domesday Book under Alvington, and was probably raised by fitz Osbern, who was made first lord of the Isle of Wight. From this date, lordship of the Isle of Wight was associated with ownership of the castle, which thus became the seat of government of the island.
In 1100, Henry I gave Carisbrooke Castle to Richard de Redvers. Carisbrooke Castle was garrisoned by Baldwin de Redvers for the Empress Matilda in 1136, but was captured by Stephen of England.

Museum

On 11 August 1898 Princess Beatrice, the Island Governor and youngest daughter of Queen Victoria, opened the museum in the gatehouse newly restored as a memorial to her late husband Prince Henry of Battenberg. The exhibits related mainly to King Charles I - imprisoned in the castle for the last year of his life - and comprised personal relics, documents, prints, and armour of the English Civil War period.

By Jane Shuter

Publisher: Heinemann Library, 2000
ISBN: 1575728575

More information

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