ISLAND HISTORY & HISTORIC BUILDINGS
- life
Left to right: A corner of the Gunner’s Quarters. - Artefacts from the ‘Yarmouth Roads’
shipwreck on permanent display for the first time. - Visitors can find out about the 90 wrecks
which lie offshore Below: Jigsaw pieces can be removed to reveal the castle as it looked in the
18th century. Main picture: Yarmouth Castle kitchen and gun room
Yarmouth Castle
makeover is final touch
to major community
heritage project
New displays including old photographs
of Yarmouth and artefacts from a ship
wrecked just offshore in the 16th
century, are highlights of the makeover
of Yarmouth Castle, just completed by
English Heritage. The Tudor fortress
now enjoys pride of place at the heart
of the historic island town and is
the crowning glory of an 18 monthlong community heritage project.
Opened officially by Major General Martin
White, HM Lord Lieutenant of the Isle of
Wight, the newly presented castle is the
final link in the heritage project which draws
together the people and places that have shaped
the history of the 1,000 year old town.
Tracey Wahdan, Visitor Operations Director
for English Heritage in the South East said:
Island Life - www.isleofwight.net
“Although we now attract some 10,000 visitors
a year, the visitor experience at Yarmouth Castle
has not reflected its importance either as one
of Henry VIII’s strategically placed defensive
castles or as pivotal building in the town.
“Improvements to the visitor experience and
interpretation have been long overdue and this
project provided the impetus to enable us to
make these changes in partnership and with
the support of the whole community. We hope
that the people of Yarmouth now feel that they
can once again take great pride in their castle
and that it will act as a flagship attraction for the
town and its rich heritage long into the future.”
Other aspects of the project include: a heritage
trail around the town which culminates at
the castle with a massive 15 metre glass, a
ceramic and clay tiled mural designed by
island artists working with Yarmouth school
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