Carisbrooke Castle introduce donkeys

Year 1696

Since 1696 at Carisbrooke Castle in Newport, they have a group of donkeys that are there to ‘walk the 16th century wheel’, bringing a bucket of water up from the 150 foot well. This was originally thought to be performed by prisoners at the castle.

The donkeys that have this very important role all have names beginning with ‘J’. This tradition was started when Charles I was a prisoner at Carisbrooke; when he wrote letters, or was planning his escape, he always signed his letters with a ‘J’. So, for 150 years all the donkeys at the castle have had a name beginning with ‘J’.

We have a donkey here at the Isle of Wight Donkey Sanctuary who has retired here from English Heritage’s Carisbrooke Castle. He’s a perfect royal donkey (in the fact he expects a butler service and a bubbly bath every night...), and his name is Jimbob!

Ventnor taxi service

Year 1900

Thank you to Mrs. Win Hatcher who kindly gave us permission to reproduce these beautiful photographs. They show her family running their business at the turn of the century in Ventnor here on the Isle of Wight.

Visitors staying at hotels in the area were treated to a ride on the 'Donkey Taxi Service', which saved them a long walk up the steep hills in Ventnor.

Donkey races at St Helens

Year 1905

Much like the 'Grand Donkey Derby' held in Bembridge, there were also Donkey Races featured much earlier at St Helens Green, on the Isle of Wight.

Notice how the image clearly shows a large crowd on either side of the race course, with donkeys and seated riders at the start line.

Donkey rides at Ryde Esplanade

Year 1925

Donkey rides have taken place at various places over the Isle of Wight over the last century. As early as the 1920s, donkeys were present on Ryde beach and Appley. Reports exist of donkeys being brought down from Haylands to Ryde Esplanade, where children were treated to donkey rides throughout the summer season.

Donkey rides were popular on the Island right up until the 1970s, but no longer take place. The image above shows children to the left of Ryde Pier on the beach, in front of Western Gardens.

Rookley milk churn

Year 1930

Here is a donkey pulling a milk churn, which was carried in the small village of Rookley, in-between Newport and Godshill.

Laundry delivery

Year 1933

This image was sent in by James Saunders; it pictures Mrs. J Saunders (Auntie Jane), delivering laundry to the Cowes area, circa 1933 – 1935.

It seems bizarre to think that donkeys were used around Cowes for delivery purposes, especially as Cowes is quite hilly in places – it’s also only around 85 years ago!

The Grand Donkey Derby

Year 1971

Bembridge Youth Community Club hosted the 'Grand Donkey Derby' at Steyne Park, Bembridge.

This was a regular occurrence and included donkey races, tote, bingo, and the 'Miss Bembridge Heat' for the 'Miss Southern' TV beauty competition. In common with other regional tv companies, Southern ran their own glamour competitions.

The Isle of Wight Donkey Sanctuary began

Year 1987

In 1987, a local postman, Charlie, 'came by' a donkey (Dillon, pictured above), and set up some land on the outskirts of Newport, at Betty Haunt Lane. He and his wife, Cheryl, bought the piece of land and from then onwards people left rescued and abandoned donkeys with them.

In 1990 the Sanctuary was registered as a charity and in 1994, we re-located to its current site, here in Wroxall. The charity just about ticked over with generous donations from the public, but it was hard work! 

Getting bigger

Year 2000

By the year 2000 it was the home to over 100 donkeys. These animals mostly lived in one herd, in a large field, although a small group of adoption donkeys were kept separate from the main group.

A new hope

Year 2012

By 2012 however, the charity was in dire straits. A poor summer combined with several failed fund raising ventures and a big reduction in visitor numbers meant that the charity was on the verge of closure. The charity was virtually bankrupt and were literally days from closure.

A new group of trustees were determined to save the Sanctuary. They held a fundraising appeal, which luckily, was very successful. The trustees then approached the mainland Donkey Sanctuary at Sidmouth for a loan to help the Isle of Wight Donkey Sanctuary get through the winter of 2012. 

First newsletter

Year 2013

Newsletters are given twice a year to people who adopt a donkey. They are filled with donkey gossip, health and welfare information, and important Sanctuary updates.

First volunteers

Year 2014

Lynda (top image) and Mac (bottom image) were the very first volunteers, and Lynda is still here!

Our volunteers are so valuable to us and make all the work we do possible! We have volunteers in all sorts of areas of the Sanctuary, not just helping with the donkeys, but in the café, on meet and greet, as part of our outreach team, and plenty more. If you would like to come and volunteer with us, visit our volunteer page for more information.

New field shelter

Year 2015

Field shelters protect the donkeys from getting wet in the rain, or getting too hot in the sun. In 2015, funds finally allowed us to purchase our first new field shelter! It costs around £5,000 to build a new field shelter for the donkeys.

First horesbox (or donkeybus!)

Year 2015

Our first horsebox (or donkey bus!). This donkey bus allowed us to transport our own animals and meant we were able to start an outreach and therapy programme, and also go to events within the community.

First outreach visit

Year 2015

Our first outreach visit was at Inver House with Sooty the donkey. Since then we have been able to visit a large variety of places and expand our therapy and outreach programme. We can be found at many of the community events on the Isle of Wight and regularly make visits to lots of care homes, who always love to see our donkeys!

New walkways and paddocks

Year 2016 / 2017

New walkways and paddocks with help from Pilkinson Trust. These new walkways offered much more for our visitors to explore. They were now able to access far more of the 55-acre site, and creating more paddocks provided us with more space for our animals.

Shop and cafe opening

Year 2017

Before Grazers Cafe and Browse and Brays Shop. Our very first shop and café was built and opened in 2017 offering a small selection of gifts and a limited food and drinks menu. This building is now home to Browse and Brays shop.

Bruno's Bungalow, Paddy's Penthouse & woodchip paddock

Year 2017

Bruno’s Bungalow was a new barn extension to cater for more donkeys and to provide further shelter.

At the back of the Bruno's Bungalow is Paddy's Penthouse and Health Suite, which are smaller 'pens' for donkeys that need to isolate, or donkeys who need special attention.

It also houses a large woodchip play area for the donkeys. This is especially useful when donkey's hooves are tender, or they need something soft and dry to be on.

First 'classroom in a stable'

Year 2017

In 2017 we introduced our classroom in a stable programme which offers packages to school groups and involves a variety of activities and learning opportunities. These packages allow school groups to be hands on with our animals and be given lots of information in a practical way.

Red Funnel Charity of the Year

Year 2018

In 2018 we were chosen as Red Funnel’s Charity of the Year, and through their fundraising we received an amazing £48,000! This money was put towards a new barn and some field shelters for the donkeys.

Wildlife meadows

Year 2019

Opened to the public through a scheme called ‘from the downs to the sea’ and continues to be maintained and developed further. We work alongside The National Wildlife Trust and Island Riverways to make the most of this beautiful space. This area is perfect for a picnic and is very popular with all the dogs that come to visit us!

Poppy's Place

Year 2019

In 2019 we were able to build a brand new, completely separate stable block, which is called Poppy’s Place. This was named in memory of a beloved donkey who passed away at the Sanctuary called Poppy.

This new barn allowed for more accommodation for the donkeys and has been a very useful space to perform some of the surgical treatments we have done here.

Friendship with Flicka Foundation

Year 2019

Rupert and Frida arrived to us organised with Flicka Foundation.

Friendship with French sanctuary

Year 2020

The 'French 10' donkeys, originally from France, came to our Sanctuary thanks to the partnership we made with Pour L’Amour des Anes Sanctuary.

Grazers Cafe

Year 2020

Grazers café began as a barn which was used for storage and one of our isolation areas when we had new donkeys arrive to us. This barn was beautifully converted into what is now Grazers Café and was able to open in 2020.

The Price is Wight selected charity

Year 2022

The Price Is Wight chose us as their selected charity for 2022.

Busby's Barn

Year 2022

Busby's Barn was completed in 2022. This barn was named after our much-loved donkey, Busby, who sadly passed away. This barn has helped us to provide more space for our donkeys and give us the opportunity to rescue further donkeys. The barn was funded with the help of generous donations, including a donation from Busby’s previous owners, who continued to regularly visit him whilst he was here.

New website

Year 2022

Our old website was starting to show its age so it was time for an upgrade! We have been working with a local graphic designer and illustrator, MooksGoo, for many years, so we were delighted to work with her again on our new website. We hope you love our new website as much as we do!