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Carisbrooke in Southampton County England History and GeographyCARISBROOKE, a parish in the liberty of WEST MEDINA, Isle of Wight division of the county of SOUTHAMPTON, 1 mile (W. S. W.) from Newport, comprising the hamlets of Billingham, Bowcomb, and Carisbrooke, and part of the environs of the borough of Newport, and containing 4670 inhabitants. The living is a vicarage, in the archdeaconry and diocese of Winchester, rated in the king's books at £23. 8. 1½., and in the patronage of the Provost and Fellows of Queen's College, Oxford. The church is dedicated to St. Mary. This place derives its principal importance from its castle or fortress, which stands on a commanding conical eminence, rising above the village of Carisbrooke, and occupying about twenty acres. Its foundation is of very remote antiquity: the Saxon annals state that it was besieged and taken by Cerdric in 530; it received considerable additions immediately after the Conquest, and at subsequent periods: some attribute its foundation to the Romans, as a few of their coins have been discovered in the neighbourhood; but the appearance of it, especially the keep, clearly shews it has been principally a Norman erection. The whole was greatly improved in the time of Elizabeth, and surrounded by an extensive fortification, with five bastions and a deep moat, to which is attached a terrace-walk of three quarters of a mile in length: these works were raised by the inhabitants, and those who did not labour were obliged to contribute in a pecuniary way. The ancient fortress, a rectangular parallelogram including the keep, an irregular polygon, occupies about an acre and a half of ground, the latter being raised on an artificial mound, to which there is an ascent of seventy-two steps, and from its summit an extensive and beautiful prospect, embracing a great portion of the island, and parts of the New Forest and Portsdown Hills opposite. Here, on days of public rejoicing, and during the residence of the governor, the British flag is displayed. Within the castle are the ruins of an ancient guard-house, also the chapel of St. Nicholas, built in 1738, on the site of a more ancient one, in which the mayor and high constables of Newport are sworn into office annually. The castle was attacked and taken by Stephen, in 1136, when Baldwin, Earl of Devonshire, took refuge there, after declaring in favour of the Empress Maud; and in the reign of Richard II., it successfully resisted an attack of the French, who plundered the island. Carisbrooke Castle is however most remarkable for being the place in which Charles I. was confined for thirteen months, previously to his being delivered up to the parliamentary forces, and whence he made one or two unsuccessful attempts to escape: his children were also subsequently imprisoned in it. It has always been the residence of the governors of the Isle of Wight, and generally contains a strong garrison. Opposite to the castle, on a rising ground, stands the church, also an ancient structure, with an embattled tower, to which was formerly annexed a monastery of Cistercian monks, founded by William Fitz-Osborn, marshal to the Conqueror, who captured the island, at the same time that William conquered the kingdom; but the remains of the monastery have been converted into a farm-house, still called the priory. On the banks of a rivulet at the bottom of the castle hill, the village of Carisbrooke is pleasantly situated; but it was of much more consequence formerly than it is at present, having been a market town and considered the capital of the island. From Lewis's Topographical Dictionary of England 1831, courtesy of Databases 4 Sale |
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