KING CHARLES' CASTLE

Tresco, Isles of Scilly

This Castle was, like most on the Islands, built at the very end of the time of Castles.  It was erected around 1548-51 on the orders of the boy-king Edward VI.  It stands on the highest point of the island of Tresco overlooking the narrow channel between it and its neighbour, Bryher.  The design is of an oblong blockhouse with a bastion intended for cannon facing the sea.  It would also have provided some protection to the rest of Tresco and the northern approaches to the islands.

The Fort became known as "King Charles' Castle" in the Civil War.  The Scilly Isles rebelled against the victorious Parliamentarians in 1651.  The rebellion was dealt with quickly, the New Model Army arrived and took the Castle, destroying it in the process.

A year later the small tower known as Cromwell's Castle was built by the shore at the bottom of the hill upon which King Charles' Castle stands.

Both Castles are free to visit and Tresco is the jewel of the Scilly Isles; quite something on a group of islands as beautiful as these.

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2018