Women's Institute Isle of Wight Village Book

Carisbrooke

"Few fortresses in England crown their sites so completely and effectively as the Royal Castle of Carisbrooke" declared the architect Percy Stone. The steep chalk hill must always have been an obvious defensive position, and there is evidence that both Roman and Saxon invaders found it so, one fortress after another rising on the hill-top. Whether Roman legionaries were actually stationed at Carisbrooke is not known, but there seems to have been a settlement of either Roman or Romano-British people around the castle, remains of several buildings having been discovered, both at Carisbrooke and Clatterford. A good deal of excavation was carried out in Victorian times, but unfortunately, the mosaics and other relics were not properly preserved, and unwise attempts to "mend" the floors only added to the general ruin.

With the coming of the Normans the castle began to take shape, and it must have been a dramatic scene when the Conqueror stormed into the Great Hall to arrest his own brother, Bishop Odo, another "turbulent priest". Under Isabella de Fortibus, Countess of Albemarle, that redoubtable Lady of the Wight, a great deal of domestic building and repair work was done. At her death the castle reverted to the Crown and from thence onwards constant changes took place.

The imprisonment of King Charles I and his children is, of course, the best-known part of the Castle's history, and the lonely death of the young Princess Elizabeth must be its saddest moment. The bowling green, which was said to have been laid down for the benefit of the King, is now one of the Island's most valuable possessions, for it provides a superb setting for pageants and all kinds of outdoor shows, and is often used. In more modern times, Queen Victoria's youngest daughter, Princess Beatrice, quite often lived in the Castle during her long term of office as Governor of the Island; and Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II visited Carisbrooke in 1965 for the colourful ceremony of installing the present Governor, Earl Mountbatten, The Governor's apartments have now been converted into a Museum, and interesting exhibitions are mounted there from time to time.

Picture of Carisbrooke

Carisbrooke Church came into existence as a Priory of Benedictine monks, who were sent from France to collect the tithes of the six Island churches granted to the Abbey of Lyra in Normandy. Before 1150 the Church was at Bowcombe, and it seems likely that the village was also there, rather than at Carisbrooke. This Church was served by two local priests for the term of their lives, after which it was to revert to the monks to deal with as they pleased – in the event they promptly pulled it down ! Baldwin de Redvers then granted a part of Alvington Manor as a site for the Priory, and the monks built a large Church, the village apparently springing up round it. After the Dissolution, Sir Francis Walsingham held the manor through his wife, the widow of Sir Richard Worsley. He seems to have considered the Church too large after the departure of the monks, and, coming to an agreement with the parishioners, he pulled down the chancel and made many alterations to the building, greatly to its disadvantage.

Through the centuries much piecemeal repair work was done, but in 1906 the condition of the beautiful 15th century tower, and of the interior of the Church, was very bad. A great Market was organised in the Castle to try to raise £3,000 for its restoration, and the whole Island seems to have taken part. Even the railways co-operated, running extra late trains on both days and charging special fares to holders of Bazaar tickets. Every kind of attraction was laid on, including the stocks and the whipping post; and the refreshments were indeed magnificent – a three-course supper, comprising salmon mayonnaise or chicken-and-ham, cold joints, and sweets, cost only two-and-sixpence!

With the considerable increase in population, Carisbrooke seems to have merged with Gunville, with its light industries; and with the outskirts of Newport; but it still keeps its village street and at least one pond, and is not so very unlike the picture of it in its earlier days.

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