In the first of our new series on historic Isle of Wight buildings, Island Echo examines East Cowes Castle – one of the finest gothic structures in Britain – which was sadly demolished in 1963.
East Cowes Castle gained worldwide fame for its intricate castellation, complete with its gothic-style turrets and towers, and was regarded as a masterpiece of Regency architecture.
The castle was the Isle of Wight home of the greatest architect of the period – John Nash – who designed (amongst numerous projects) Buckingham Palace, Brighton’s Royal Pavillion and Marble Arch. Here on the Island, Nash was responsible for Newport Guildhall, Whippingham Church, St James’ Church and Northwood House.
Construction of East Cowes Castle began in 1798 and was completed in 1800 – although Nash continued to tinker with the building for the remainder of his life. At the time, it was said to have been built ‘at unlimited expense’.
Described as a ‘marine mansion’, the ‘castle’ (it was never intended as a genuine military structure) had 1 square and 2 circular embattled towers. Within its walls, there was a dining room, drawing room, billiard room, 2 libraries, numerous bedchambers, as well as offices and servants apartments.
Within the 43-acre grounds were stables, coach houses, conservatories, a picture galley, hothouses, 5 commodious detached residences, 2 lodges, a gardener’s cottage and a castle farm. The gardens had been laid out with the assistance of the famous landscape gardener Humphry Repton.
The castle naturally had its own icehouse supplied by a brick-lined pond. It also had a battery of 8 guns to fire royal salutes whenever the Royal Yacht visited Cowes.
East Cowes became the haunt of the rich and famous with the Prince Regent (George IV), the King of France and renowned artist J. Turner all visiting the castle.
In 1814, an exact copy of East Cowes Castle was built on Lough Cutra in County Galway, Ireland at a cost of £70,000 (£4,715,000 in today’s values). Its owner, Charles Vereker, 2nd Viscount Gort, had been to East Cowes with the Prince Regent and expressed his desire to transport the castle to his Ireland home.
Lough Cutra Castle in Ireland can be visited to this day. Prince (now King) Charles and Camilla hosted a state dinner there in 2015.
Nash sadly died a pauper in 1835. He had fallen out of favour with the royal family due to the spiralling costs of building work on Buckingham Palace.
When he died, his furious creditors descended on East Cowes Castle, demanding his body. He was therefore buried in the dead of night at St James’ Church in East Cowes.
In 1836, East Cowes Castle was bought by Henry Boyle, the 3rd Earl of Shannon for 20thousand guineas (around £2million in today’s values). Under his ownership, it became known as Shannon’s Castle. The Earl built the impressive South Lodge gatehouse to the castle, which was sadly demolished in 1965.
The castle was again sold in 1853 to George Tudor and was inherited by his widow Elizabeth on his death in 1857. In 1861 – in a remarkable twist of fate – Elizabeth Tudor married John Vereker, 3rd Viscount Gort.
The Gort family had been obliged to sell Lough Cutra Castle (the replica of East Cowes Castle) in 1846 due to the Irish famine. John Vereker however, had no idea that East Cowes Castle was identical to his former family seat, until Elizabeth took him down to the Isle of Wight to see it and was said to have been in a state of shock when given a guided tour.
East Cowes Castle remained in the hands of the Gort family until 1934, when it was bought by the development company Cowes Estates Ltd.
In 1940, the castle was requisitioned by the military and used to billet Canadian troops, who unfortunately used the doors and ornamental panelling as firewood. At the end of World War II, much of the lead roofing and floorboards were used to patch up war damaged local properties.
Rain entered through the roof, causing serious decay. Such was the damage, no-one was willing to pay for its restoration.
By 1951, it was announced the castle would be demolished. A subsidiary of Cowes Estates – Cowes Growers Ltd – began to grow strawberries in the once immaculate gardens.
In 1958, the whole of the castle estate was sold to Arthur Guy for just £1,000. He planned to preserve parts of the castle and build an 18-hole golf course and holiday development there. After planning permission was refused, the land was sold to developers.
East Cowes Castle was demolished in 1963. Much of the stone was subsequently used to rebuild the Royal Yacht Squadron in Cowes.
The following roads now occupy the grounds of East Cowes Castle: Sylvan Avenue, Birch Close, Vereker Drive, Hefford Road, John Nash Avenue, Oak Tree Way, Hendy Road, Benton Close, Glossop Close, St James Close and Moon Close.
The castle’s icehouse was buried under a grass mound by the council in 1990, and it is hoped it may be reconstructed in the future. The clock from the square turret in the castle – built in 1819 – was restored to working order in 1995 and put on permanent display in Carisbrooke Castle Museum.
Did you ever play in the grounds of East Cowes Castle as a child? What can you recall? Let us know in the comments…
In the next edition of historic Isle of Wight buildings, we shall look at the famous Steephill Castle in Ventnor.
Absolute shame that so many historical buildings on the island were demolished in the sixties and not preserved.
East Cowes Castle was very much part of my childhood, living only a stone’s throw away and on the edge of the estate. I used to play in the ice house and was regularly chased by Mr Guy when sampling his acres of soft fruit.
The Canadian troops wrought ridiculous damage on the castle; there had been a beautiful dance floor under one of the towers but a fire had been lit in the centre and it had partly collapsed. Much of the building was inaccessible due to rotted and collapsed stairways, but not badly enough to deter adventurous small boys.
The orangery on the south face was largely intact in my time (mid-1950s) and still had some exotic fruit trees growing in it.
At that time, John and David Warne ran the farm to the south-east of the castle; i was occasionally sent to fetch fresh (still warm) milk and eggs but it was always a wellie-boot job.
East Cowes Sea Scout Group, of which I was a member for some 10 years, still bears the dedication “Lord Gort’s Own”.
Great article thankyou
Why did this building not have a presvation order on it .???
I do love these stories.