Sir Walter Scott is said to have had this castle in his
mind when writing _Marmion_. Beyond the great interest attached to the
fact that it was here that Charles I. was confined, the castle does not
figure very prominently in history. The fact, however, that this
unfortunate monarch was imprisoned here in 1647 by the Parliament will
be always sufficient to give its ancient walls and battlements a
never-dying interest. When Charles was brought to the castle he was
treated more as a guest than a prisoner, but after his attempted escape
the king was much more closely watched and his pleasures curtailed. The
story of the king attempting in vain to get through his bedroom window
is known to all. Everything was in readiness, the details of rescue were
all carefully prepared. Captain Titus and others of the guard had been
won over to assist the king, and had King Charles negotiated the narrow
window, in all probability the escape would have been a success. In
1650, the year after Charles I. was beheaded, Henry Duke of Gloucester
and the Princess Elizabeth were brought to the castle. Shortly after her
arrival the princess, who was of a sickly constitution, took a severe
chill and was found one morning by her attendants lying dead on a couch.
Queen Victoria had a beautiful monument erected to her memory in Newport
Church. The Well House, where the water is drawn from the depth of 150
feet by a clever donkey and draw-wheel, is an interesting feature of the
castle.
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