page_title: Cowes Castle
section_title: 20th–21st centuries
hierarchical_section_title: Cowes Castle / History / 20th–21st centuries
caption_attribution_description: English: Cowles Castle cannon
context_page_description: Cowes Castle, also known as West Cowes Castle, is a Device Fort in Cowes on the Isle of Wight. Originally built by Henry VIII in 1539 to protect England against the threat of invasion from France and the Holy Roman Empire, it comprised a circular bastion, flanking wings and a keep, and in 1547 it housed 17 pieces of artillery. With its companion fortification at East Cowes, the castle overlooked the entrance to the River Medina, an important anchorage. The invasion threat passed but the fortification continued in use until the middle of the 19th century, very briefly seeing action in 1642 during the English Civil War.
  Decommissioned in 1854, the castle was first leased, and later bought outright, by the Royal Yacht Squadron to form their new clubhouse. The Squadron then employed the architect Anthony Salvin to rebuild large parts of it between 1856 and 1858. It became the headquarters for part of the D-Day invasion force during the Second World War, but has otherwise remained in use by the Squadron and is a distinctive landmark in yacht races along the Isle of Wight.
context_section_description: Cowes Castle was bought outright from the Crown by the Royal Yacht Squadron in 1917. Further development work was carried out on the property in the 1920s, and a ballroom in an adjacent hotel was purchased for use as an annexe for female members.
  The Isle of Wight became an important staging location for the Allied efforts to invade France during the Second World War. By October 1942, the castle was occupied by the British Admiralty and became the senior officer's headquarters of the HQ Naval Commander Force "J" Landing Craft base, known as HMS Vectis. The force's vessels docked in the nearby Solent, and took part in the D-Day landings. The castle was damaged during the German bombing raids on the island.
  After the war, the architect A. G. Biggs carried out substantial additions to the castle between 1962 and 1968, including remodelling the western range to provide for more female accommodation, using stone from the second East Cowes Castle, an 18th and 19th-century stately home, which had been demolished the previous year. A prefabricated conservatory extension followed in 1988, and a new pavilion designed by Sir Thomas Croft was added in 2000.
  Archaeological excavations in the winter of 2010–11 rediscovered the remains of the old castle wall and ditch, and more than 400 artefacts were removed for storage at the Isle of Wight County Museum. Cowes Castle is a distinctive landmark in yachting and powerboat events, particularly at the start and finish of local races. It is protected under UK law as a Grade II* Listed Building.
caption: William IV's brass cannon at the castle in 2012
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