The Forgotten Castle

by

David Paul

SEPARATING Niton Village from Ventnor are six miles of lush green woodland, overshadowed by a high, jagged rock-face. It is known as the Undercliff. During the last couple of years a considerable amount of building has taken place there especially near Steephill, which lies close to Ventnor. Here a large, modern complex known as Steephill Castle Estate has grown up. Most of the residents around that part know of the existence of Steephill Castle, on the remains of which their houses now stand. But what of its story?

It starts during the mid-seven­teen hundreds when the governor of the Island, Hans Stanley, had a building erected called ‘The Cot­tage’. It became well-known for its picturesque setting and artistic de­sign. A description of the time goes as follows: ‘...it has captivating rus­tic simplicity with plain walls, bow windows and a thatched roof...’ It was also said to have a very beauti­ful garden.

Hans Stanley was thought of most highly by George III and this was reflected in the appointments given to him by the King. In 1780, however, Stanley committed sui­cide and the estate of Steephill was bought by the Earl of Dysart. Al­though he owned several other estates, Steephill Cottage was the Earl’s favourite residence until his death some forty years later.

It was then handed over to his sister, Lady Louisa Manners, who sold the property eight years later to Mr John Hambrough. Ham­brough demolished the cottage and several other buildings — one of which was an inn — in order to make way for the proposed build­ing of Steephill Castle.

The construction started in 1833 but was not completed until two years later. It was built in an oblong shape and featured a square battlemented keep with a high rounded tower. Inside, magnificent carvings and oak panelling adorned the rooms. The lay-out of the house consisted of a billiard room given light through a stained-glass win­dow, library and study, and a din­ing room with a large black marble chimney piece and polished pine ceiling. The drawing room stretched the whole length of the west wing which was thirty-two feet. On the arched entrance to the drive were carved the initials of Hambrough and his wife, Sophie Townsend. When completed the total cost of the Castle was said to have been approximately £250,000 but John Hambrough never saw it finished because he lost his sight.

During the following years, Steephill had many famous visitors. Queen Victoria and the Prince Con­sort would visit the Castle in order to enjoy the wonderful view and terraced walks. One of her favourite walks was named after her: Victoria Promenade. Much later in history, King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra also visited the Castle and its grounds.

A wonderful story concerns the Empress of Austria, another royal visitor, who occupied a suite in the building for almost a year. She would spend hours just walking silently in the grounds and during this time she would frequently visit the ‘Holy Thorn’ — this is a rare plant in England, coming from the East. Legend has it that soldiers used the bush to make the crown for Christ’s head, the leaves being exceptionally prickly. This bush had an irresistible attraction for the Empress and she would stand silently, touching the thorny leaves. Afterwards she remarked to her maids that a crown made of leaves such as those would have caused a great deal of pain. She in fact eventually suffered an awful death at the hands of an assassin.

John Morgan Richards was the next owner of Steephill and it was here that his elder daughter, drama-list and playwright, Pearl Craigie, wrote many of her works, her pen-name being John Oliver Hobbs.

During the years that followed, Steephill became well-known for its social life and garden parties, fetes and open days. However, all this came to an end on the death of Mr J M Richards just after the First World War. The mansion that he had bought for £14,000 was up for auction.

At this time England was rapidly changing its ideas and a small revolution was taking place, a part of this being the auctioning of many large privately owned estates. No more could people manage to maintain them in the manner in which their grandfathers had, and such was the fate of Steephill. Most of the surrounding land and build­ings were auctioned to private buyers as was the Castle itself. The stables and clock tower also came under the hammer. These buildings still remain at the junction of Undercliff Road and Castle Road in Ventnor, and are little changed up to the present day.

   However, after the auction, although the Castle and surrounding grounds were not altered, the roles played by them changed considerably. The Holiday Friendship As­sociation took over its ownership and it then served as a hotel, leading a fairly mundane existence until it was turned into a school in the Second World War. After this it resumed its role as a hotel. The Holiday Friendship Association gave up the ownership in 1959 due to more stringent regulations con­cerning fire-escapes, coupled with the cost of the general upkeep. It was decided that Steephill Castle was no longer a viable proposition and many prospective buyers were put off for the same reason. After four years of neglect and con­sequent deterioration, a demolition order was obtained.

Work on the Castle and the surrounding wilderness — once beautiful gardens — began in the early part of August 1963 and was completed four months later. A great deal of the metal fittings had already been removed during the war but most of the stone was put to good use during the repairs to St Catherine’s Church in Ventnor, which dates from the same period as the Castle. The stone for both buildings was quarried locally. It is quite a coincidence that the first owner of Steephill, John Hambrough, lies buried in the vaults of the church. A hotel on the outskirts of Ventnor can boast of the fire­place and staircase from the Castle, and many of the locals went to the site to obtain souvenirs.