496 
THE ANCIENT DEFENCES OF THE ISLE OF WIGHT 
The total expense of these alterations and additions came to 
£470 18s. 5d. 
At the same time, works were being carried out at Yarmouth and 
Freshwater. 
Yarmouth : — 
The cost of the works at Yarmouth was £50 7s. 7d. The Castle was 
originally built by Henry VIII. out of the stones of Beaulieu Abbey. 
Freshwater , SharpnocLe> or Carets Sconce : — 
It was thought desirable to repair the defence opposite Hurst Castle, 
as Worsley’s Tower was then going to decay, and had probably only 
been erected as a temporary defence. Sir George Carey, instead of the 
site of the Tower, chose a point of land called Sharpnode, about half a 
mile nearer to Yarmouth, and there erected an earthworrk whch he 
called Carey’s Sconce, at a cost of £651 ns. 2j^d. The point is now 
called Sconce Point, and is the site of the present Fort Victoria. 
Sandown Fort : ■— 
This fort was a quadrangular building, flanked by four bastions, and 
encompassed with a ditch. It stood a long way to the south of the 
present fort, and its site is now covered by the sea. It was also built 
by Henry VIII. out of the stones of dismantled monastical establish¬ 
ments. It was considered one of the most important works, as it 
commanded the Bay. 
Cowes Castle : — 
Built by Henry VIII. at the same time as Yarmouth and Sandown. 
It had a semi-circular battery, mounting eleven 9-prs., with rooms for 
the garrison in a building behind. 
This is now the Club House of the Royal Yacht Squadron. 
Hurst Castle : — 
This ancient fort was built by Henry VIII. out of the stones of 
Beaulieu Abbey. There is a mason’s mark over the entrance door to 
the central tower, bearing date of 1585. The first Governor was 
Thomas Bertie, Esqr., of Berstead in Kent, an ancestor of the Duke of 
Ancaster. He was made Captain of Hurst Castle during the latter end 
of the reign of Henry VIII., and was still there in 15 50. Charles I. was 
brought here from Carisbrooke on 6th December, 1648 and confined in 
a small room about 6 ft. by 4 ft., with a window about a foot square, in 
the central tower of the Castle. After 27 days confinement here, 
during which his sole exercise consisted in walking up and down the 
beach, he was removed to Windsor Castle, and then to London for his 
execution. 
Paul Atkinson, a native of Yorkshire, born in 1655, a Popish priest, 
was confined here for 30 years, and he died on 15th October, 1729, and 
was buried in St. James’ Churchyard, Winchester. The Captain at this 
time was a Mr. Dore, who is said to have treated Atkinson very kindly. 
The ground plan of the Old Castle was a trefoil, with a central tower, 
the three lobes forming towers on the north-west, south-west and east 
skH e 
