Yarmouth Castle

Yarmouth Castle was built around the time of Henry VIII in 1547, located around 10 miles west of Newport. Its purpose was as a defence against French attack. Built using stone from two Monasteries, which had previously been dissolved by Henry, with a doorway on the east wing. Accommodation blocks were positioned along the southern wall, with the kitchen and service areas situated at the arrow-head of the castle. Yarmouth Castle took a different look to Henry VIII's usual structures of defence, which were large circular forts with a keep at the centre. This castle, however, is square, and runs in a line along the south and east coast of the Solent, near to where his beloved flagship, the Mary Rose, sank. From its original design, Yarmouth Castle has seen many changes over the years, including angular buttresses built on the west and north walls, and the filling in of the courtyard with earth for gun platforms in the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries. A second storey addition and a gabled roof put on to the arrow-head bastion were also added at this time. The Master Gunners House in the south-east corner was also enlarged, and in 1632, the 'Long Room' in the south-west corner was refurbished. During the time when Richard Worsley was the Island's Captain, the original three cannon and culverins, and twelve smaller guns were altered. Several additions were made outside the Castle, with an eastern defence wall constructed along the outer edge of the moat. This took around fifty years to complete.

During the English Civil War, the Royalist gentry were under Captain Barnaby Burley. However, the Castle was duped inadequate, so he surrendered the castle to parliamentarians for reformation in 1660. It was then decided, after ten years, to remove the outer earthworks, to fill in the moat, to build a large house and new entrance in the south curtain wall. The next significant change in the castle's appearance came in 1813. The platform's low wall was altered, with gun rails laid for four naval guns. In 1869, the guns were dismantled, and in 1875 the troops retired. Until 1901, Yarmouth Castle was used as a coastguard signal station. Practical use was made of the castle during the First and Second World Wars. The English Heritage became Trustees of Yarmouth Castle in 1984, making way for the public to access and admire one of the Isle of Wight's most historic sites.