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Lot Essay
The tumultuous history of the British Isles can be traced through that of Carisbrooke Castle on the Isle of Wight, each chapter making an appearance in John Martin’s suitably Romantic view of the famous ruins.
Though the castle’s roots go back to the centuries when Anglo-Saxon warriors battled to defend their strongholds from Viking hoards streaming over their ramparts, the earliest element depicted here is the keep, seen in ivy-clad ruins to the far right of Martin’s composition. This was constructed at the beginning of the 12th Century, when the castle belonged to Richard de Redvers, who is thought to have come over to fight alongside William the Conqueror. It remained in his family until 1293, when it was sold to the English crown.
In 1467, Anthony Woodville, Lord Scales, later 2nd Earl Rivers, was given command of Carisbrooke, erecting the Woodville Gate, now less poetically called the Entrance Gate. With its two round, crenelated turrets, this can be seen clearly in the centre of Martin’s painting. Woodville, brother of Elizabeth Woodville, wife of Edward IV, and uncle to the ill-fated Princes in the Tower, was later himself assassinated by Richard III, and Carisbrooke passed to his younger brother Edward, a staunch supporter of Henry Tudor.
The impressive walls that can be seen extending from the Woodville Gate date from the reign of Henry’s granddaughter, Elizabeth I. These fortifications were added in the 1580s by Sir George Carey when the threat of the Spanish Armada loomed on the horizon. At first hastily built, the sturdy walls Martin studied are those reconstructed by the Italian engineer Federigo Giambelli in 1597 in the modern trace italienne design.
Half a century later, Carisbrooke became the final home of Charles I, who was imprisoned in the castle for fourteen months prior to his execution. Sadly not visible in Martin’s painting is the bowling green that the doomed king had built on the castle grounds to keep him entertained in these final days.
It is not surprising that a place so intimately intertwined with such dramatic moments in British history should have attracted John Martin, a painter known for fantastical paintings of the Last Judgement and Belshazzar's Feast, scenes of swirling fire and brimstone, in which tiny figures struggle hopelessly to overcome their certain fate. Unlike these characters however, Carisbrooke stands firm, a bastion of strength against Martin’s stormy skies.
Though the castle’s roots go back to the centuries when Anglo-Saxon warriors battled to defend their strongholds from Viking hoards streaming over their ramparts, the earliest element depicted here is the keep, seen in ivy-clad ruins to the far right of Martin’s composition. This was constructed at the beginning of the 12th Century, when the castle belonged to Richard de Redvers, who is thought to have come over to fight alongside William the Conqueror. It remained in his family until 1293, when it was sold to the English crown.
In 1467, Anthony Woodville, Lord Scales, later 2nd Earl Rivers, was given command of Carisbrooke, erecting the Woodville Gate, now less poetically called the Entrance Gate. With its two round, crenelated turrets, this can be seen clearly in the centre of Martin’s painting. Woodville, brother of Elizabeth Woodville, wife of Edward IV, and uncle to the ill-fated Princes in the Tower, was later himself assassinated by Richard III, and Carisbrooke passed to his younger brother Edward, a staunch supporter of Henry Tudor.
The impressive walls that can be seen extending from the Woodville Gate date from the reign of Henry’s granddaughter, Elizabeth I. These fortifications were added in the 1580s by Sir George Carey when the threat of the Spanish Armada loomed on the horizon. At first hastily built, the sturdy walls Martin studied are those reconstructed by the Italian engineer Federigo Giambelli in 1597 in the modern trace italienne design.
Half a century later, Carisbrooke became the final home of Charles I, who was imprisoned in the castle for fourteen months prior to his execution. Sadly not visible in Martin’s painting is the bowling green that the doomed king had built on the castle grounds to keep him entertained in these final days.
It is not surprising that a place so intimately intertwined with such dramatic moments in British history should have attracted John Martin, a painter known for fantastical paintings of the Last Judgement and Belshazzar's Feast, scenes of swirling fire and brimstone, in which tiny figures struggle hopelessly to overcome their certain fate. Unlike these characters however, Carisbrooke stands firm, a bastion of strength against Martin’s stormy skies.