Carisbrooke Castle

En un regard

Le château en bref

Standing on a hill south of the village of Carisbrooke, on the outskirts of Newport, Carisbrooke Castle has dominated the centre of the Isle of Wight for nearly a millennium. An Anglo-Saxon enclosure already protected the inhabitants here from Viking raids; the Normans then established a motte topped by a keep, and for centuries the site became the seat of the lords and later the governors of the island. The de Redvers family, followed by Countess Isabella de Forz, made it a fortified stone residence, before the fortress passed to the Crown in 1293. It repelled a French raid in 1377 and, at the end of the 16th century, was surrounded by a ring of earthen bastions designed by the engineer Federigo Giambelli. Its most famous episode remains the captivity of Charles I in 1647-1648, marked by failed escape attempts. Managed today by English Heritage, the castle can be explored by walking the wall-walk and visiting the great hall, the Isle of Wight Museum and St Nicholas' Chapel. The donkeys that still work the well wheel are the most endearing attraction of the site, while Princess Beatrice's garden recalls the last royal resident.