Carisbrooke Castle Built

c. 1100

Carisbrooke Castle was built by the Normans in the late eleventh and early twelfth centuries on the site of an earlier Saxon fortification. The castle sits on a hill overlooking Newport and commanded the centre of the island, serving as the seat of the Lord of the Isle of Wight for centuries. The stone keep, the gatehouse and the curtain walls date from the Norman period, with later additions including Elizabethan artillery defences. The castle served as a military garrison, a law court, a prison and an administrative centre. It was the most important building on the island for over five hundred years and remains one of the finest castle ruins in southern England, now managed by English Heritage.