CARISBROOKE, a village in the Isle of Wight, about a mile S. of Newport, at the base of a steep conical hill crowned by the castle, to which its celebrity is principally due. It was at one time a considerable market-town, and under the independent lords of Wight it ranked as the capital of the island. The original fortress is supposed to have been built by the Saxons as early as the 6th century; and, indeed, according to the annals, it was besieged by Cerdic in 530. It was enlarged by William Fιtzosborne, the first lord of Wight, in the 11 th century, was captured by Stephen in 1136, and in the reign oī Richard II. resisted an attack by the French. Furtheι additions were made to it at different times, till, in the reign of Elizabeth, it reached its greatest dimensions, and comprised within its outer walls a space of 20 acres. The most interesting incident in its history is the captivity of Charles I., who took refuge with its governor, Colonel Hammond, in November 1647, but soon found his asylum converted into a prison. After his execution his two youngest children were confined in the castle, and the princess Elizabeth died there. The remains are still extensive and imposing, but the king’s apartments are in ruins. Within the walls is a well 200 feet deep; and another in the centre of the keep is reputed to have been still deeper. Opposite the castle-hill are the remains of a Cistercian priory founded in the 11th century, and the parish church, which boasts of even greater antiquity. The population of the parish in 1871 was 8198.