CARISBROOKE
"CARISBROOKE, a parish in the liberty of West Medina, Isle of Wight, in the
county of Southampton, 1 mile to the S.W. of Newport. The village, seated
in a picturesque wooded dell under the hill on which the castle stands, was
formerly a market town, and the capital of the island. In Domesday Book it
is called Boncombe, a name still retained by the manor. The parish includes
the liberty of Parkhurst Forest, the hamlet of Bowcombe, and part of the
tything of Chillerton. Carisbrooke Castle, from which the place derived its
importance, is one of the oldest in England, and is chiefly a Norman
structure, although most probably erected on the site, and even embracing
some portions, of a much more ancient fortress. Its erection is attributed
to William Fitz-Osborne, who became lord of the island soon after the
Norman Conquest. The original walls enclosed a square area of 12 acres. It
was enlarged in the reigns of Richard II. and Edward IV., and in the reign
of Queen Elizabeth extensive additions were made, the walls then erected by
Genebella, an Italian engineer, enclosed an area of 20 acres."
[Description(s) from The National Gazetteer of
Great Britain and Ireland (1868) - Transcribed by Colin Hinson (c)2003]
[Last updated: 4th August 2003, 04:02 BST - Brian Pears]
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