England, Everyday Heritage, Everyday Life, PHOTOGRAPHY,

Sunday….So Its Off to Church

Safe…Behind the Castle Walls

 

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Saint Nicholas Chapel, Carisbrooke Castle, Isle of Wight

There has been a Chapel dedicated to Saint Nicholas on this spot since at  1086 when it was recorded in the Domesday Book, so no doubt it is considerably older than that. It has been reincarnated over the years numerous times but substantially within the same footprint of the original walls.

Dwarfed by its location safely behind Carisbrooke Castle Walls it has seen Kings, Queens, Prince and Princesses plus a great many Noblemen of the Realm.  Despite its location within Carisbrooke it has for most of its religious life been the independent local Parish Church.

The Chapel you see today is the result of the ‘latest’ rebuilding  and restoration in 1904.

Whilst the exterior is rather plain the interior is much more ornate. It has also been adopted by the Island as its War Memorial to commemorate over 2000 island men killed on the two World Wars.  Their names are engraved on the walls.

The wood was specially selected….it is from HMS Nettle one of the very last wooden warships in the Royal Naval Fleet. But it is the ceiling that immediately grabs your attention…thoughtfully a mirror has been set into the floor to help visitors view the intricate designs

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The Privy Garden, Saint Nicholas Chapel.

Also now known as The Princess Beatrice Garden and is a 2009 redesign based upon the original layout.

Chapel, Gardens and Castle all worth a visit….but give yourselves plenty of time as there is so much to explore

12th June

(C) David Oakes 2016

7 thoughts on “Sunday….So Its Off to Church”

  1. Lovely litthe chapel. A wee intriguing when I read about a Princes Beatrice. Since our former Quees is called Beatrix and she is now a princess… I am sure they have nothing to do with one another. 🙂

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      1. Thank you. I tried to find out whether our former queen was named after her, but could not find that. That would have been lovely.

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    1. Hi Mary. The Isle of Wight, on which Carisbrooke Castle is located, is often just treated as a day excursion by overseas visitors…very understandable when they have made the trip to the UK and there are so many places to visit….however there is so much just on this one tiny island you could be there for a couple of weeks and not see all that there is. It is an Artists and Photographers little paradise.

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