Parishes: Newchurch

NEWCHURCH

The village of Newchurch lies on the high ground traversed by the road from Langbridge to Apse Heath, which here crosses the Eastern Yar. Creeper-covered cottages line the village street on either side, and Parsonage Farm lies in the low ground of the Newchurch valley, while on the bluff above stands the church of All Saints, making a picturesque feature in the landscape with its wooden tower and spire visible for many miles round. Just to the east of the church is the vicarage, built in 1888. On Ashey Down opposite is the truncated obelisk erected in 1735 as a sea-mark. Here till the middle of the 19th century stood a semaphore and signalling station placing the south of the Island in communication with Portsmouth. Under the north slope of the down lie the Ryde waterworks erected in 1856.

Newchurch was formerly the largest parish in the East Medine, stretching from sea to sea. On the east it touched the parishes of St. Helens, Brading, Shanklin and Bonchurch; and on the west those of Binstead, Arreton, Godshill and St. Lawrence. Since 1866 the parishes of Ryde, Ventnor, Ashey and Wroxall have been taken out of it, and it now comprises 2,960 acres. (fn. 1) There is a station on the Isle of Wight Central railway and a post-office in the village. The school is a Council school, which followed the Board school built soon after the Act of 1870 was passed. Before that the children were educated in the schoolhouse given by Lieut.-General Maurice Bocland.

Ryde may be said to owe its importance to the Player family (see below under Ryde Manor), who in the beginning of the 18th century acquired that portion of the manor of Ashey and started to develop it. Henry Player erected a mansion for himself close to the shore and a house was built on the quay on the site of the old Watch House, (fn. 2) afterwards known as the Black Horse Inn. A chapel was erected by Thomas Player on a piece of free land called Picket Close at his own cost, dedicated to St. Thomas and consecrated by Bishop Trelawney in 1719. (fn. 3) By 1756 the old quay had become so dilapidated that it was agreed between Lord Mount Edgcumbe, Sir John Barrington, Sir John Oglander and other influential Island gentlemen to rebuild it and make a convenient Hard from the high to the low-water mark—judging by Fielding's experience two years before a very necessary undertaking. (fn. 4) Ryde consisted of an upper and lower village, (fn. 5) separated by fields called Node Close, the upper being the residential part, the lower a mere collection of fishermen's cottages. Under the Player family the lower Ryde quickly developed. The sloping, timbered Node Close, with its pack-way (fn. 6) crossing it from north to south, was selected for building sites, and in 1780 Union Street was laid out, probably on the line of the old pack-way, the first house (fn. 7) erected being that now known as Yelf's Hotel. Ryde now began to be popular, and lodging-houses were erected for the accommodation of visitors. Other houses speedily sprang up in George Street, West Street and Nelson Street; and people of position, such as the Duke of Buckingham, Earl Spencer and Hon. Charles Anderson Pelham, settled in the town. The place now progressed so rapidly that in 1827 the old chapel of St. Thomas gave place to the present structure, and in 1829 St. James' Church was built. By the middle of the century the population had risen to 7,000 and Ryde was established as a seaside resort. Its annual regatta rivalled, and for some years surpassed, that held at Cowes; its house property was a sound investment. It boasted of an excellent theatre, a fine town hall (fn. 8) and two pre-eminently handsome churches—those of All Saints and Holy Trinity. Southward the town had spread to Swanmore, westward to Binstead, while the St. John's estate had been laid out as a flourishing suburb to the east. But by the end of the century a reaction set in, from which the town is at present happily recovering.

The pier, a structure originally 174 ft. in length, was begun in 1813 in order to take the place of the old quay or Hard, and has been repeatedly added to till it is at present half a mile long. In 1880 a railway pier was built alongside of it for the convenience of the boat service. It was at Ryde Pier the Empress Eugénie disembarked from Sir John Burgoyne's yacht, the Gazelle, after her flight from Paris in 1870. The Victoria Pier, built by an extinct 'Isle of Wight Steam Ferry Co.,' is now used as a bathing establishment.

Ryde was constituted a separate parish under the Newchurch Parish Act of 1866, (fn. 9) and two years later was incorporated as a borough, (fn. 10) comprising most of the parish and a portion of St. Helen's, and divided into east and west wards. The corporation consists of a mayor, six aldermen and eighteen councillors.

There is an ample water supply from Knighton under Ashey Down, with pumping station built in 1856. There are two railway stations—St. John's Road and the Pier Gates. The cemetery in West Street, containing 10 acres, was consecrated in 1842. The Royal Victoria Yacht Club House in St. Thomas Street was built in 1846, it is said, on the site of the old manor-house of the Players, and enlarged in 1864. It contains some fine rooms with a pleasant look-out to the Solent and Spithead. The theatre where Mrs. Jordan made her last public appearance in 1816 was rebuilt on its present site in 1872. There is a Young Men's Christian Association and Literary Institute in Lind Street, (fn. 11) Temperance and Oddfellows' (fn. 12) halls in High Street, and a Foresters' hall in Warwick Street. (fn. 13) In Union Street there are branches of the Capital and Counties Bank, the National Provincial Bank and the Wilts and Dorset Bank. A dispensary was established in 1842 and rebuilt in 1895 at the junction of the Swanmore Road and West Street. The Royal Isle of Wight Hospital was erected in the Swanmore Road in 1849, and has been enlarged 1865, 1882, 1888, 1898, 1904, 1907. There are almshouses in Newport Street, founded in 1854 by the widow of Francis B. S. Wilder for twelve poor women; and in Player Street, built in 1891, by Miss Brigstocke. There is a school of art in George Street, the foundation stone of which was laid in 1874 by the Empress Frederick of Germany, then Crown Princess. There are provided schools in Bettesworth Road (1877), St. John's Road (1883), and a Higher Grade school; National in Green Street, and those of Holy Trinity and St. John's, Oakfield; Catholic elementary school, High Street.

Ventnor originally formed the southern portion of Newchurch parish, from which it was separated by the Newchurch Parish Act of 1866. (fn. 14) It comprises 744 acres, of which 67 are arable land and 203 acres permanent grass. (fn. 15) The town is built on a succession of terraces sloping to the south rising to over 400 ft. above the level of the sea, sheltered by St. Boniface Down, which rises another 400 ft. above. It sprang into notice about 1830, till which time it had been merely known as a picturesque cove with a few fishermen's cottages, an old inn, 'The Crab and Lobster,' and a corn mill turned by a little stream which afterwards fell in a cascade on to the beach. Sir James Clark in his book on The Sanative Influence of Climate on Disease drew attention to the advantages of Ventnor and it soon became a favourite residence for invalids. Till 1864, when the Local Government Act of 1858 was adopted, (fn. 16) the rising town was governed by a Board of Commissioners elected under the provisions of a local Act. In 1848 a sea wall was built and an esplanade made along the front. In 1866 the town was supplied with excellent water from the springs in the down 300 ft. above the sea level. A pier was built in 1872, which after the damage by storm in 1882 was repaired and lengthened. There is a town hall in Albert Street, a Literary and Scientific Institution in High Street with a free library, a London and City Mission seaside home built in 1867 at the sole cost of Captain Mark Huish; St. Catherine's Home for Consumptives in Grove Road, and a convalescent home of the Royal Hants County Hospital in Madeira Road. To the westward of the town in St. Lawrence parish (q.v.) lies the National Hospital for Consumption, with its chapel dedicated to St. Luke, founded in 1868. Under the Local Government Act of 1894 the affairs of the town are administered by an urban district council of eighteen members. There is a nine-hole golf course on Rew Down belonging to the Ventnor Golf Club.

At Ventnor there are National schools for boys, girls and infants, and mixed schools at Lowtherville and Longdown, and attached to the Roman Catholic church of St. Wilfrid.

Wroxall was constituted a separate civil parish in 1894. (fn. 17) The village is composed of a number of modern houses and cottages grouped round the station and extending along the road to Shanklin, and is of little interest. Wroxall became a separate ecclesiastical parish in 1908. (fn. 18)

Stone was early dug from the side of the down and in the 13th century was used in the repairs and buildings at Carisbrooke Castle. (fn. 19) There is a Council school at the north end of the village by the side of the road leading to Appuldurcombe.

Ashey was constituted a separate parish from the rural part of Ryde in 1894. (fn. 20) It contains 3,365 acres, of which, in 1905, 556 acres were arable land, 1,644 acres permanent grass and 105 acres woodland. (fn. 21)

MANORS

It does not appear that there was ever a manor of NEW CHURCH. The manorial rights there which now belong to the Ecclesiastical Commissioners are probably those belonging to the manor of the rectory of Newchurch. This manor passed with the advowson to the see of Bristol, (fn. 22) and was sold with the parsonage-house by the Parliamentary Commissioners in 1652 to John and Walter Bourchier. The manor had been leased in 1626 by the bishop to Thomas Cotele, (fn. 23) and in 1641 to Piers Edgcumbe, grandson of Thomas, and Mary his wife and Richard his son for their lives, (fn. 24) and had been sequestered as the property of a delinquent in 1646. (fn. 25) The descendants of Piers evidently continued to lease the manor, as it was held with Niton (q.v.) by the Lords Mount Edgcumbe during the 18th century. (fn. 26)

APSE

APSE (Apsa, Hapsa, xii cent.; Apps, xvii cent.; Apse Canonicorum, xix cent.), situated just within the eastern boundary of the parish, was granted by Roger del Estre (? de Estur) at the solicitation of Richard de Redvers (1100–7) to the canons of Christchurch Twyneham, (fn. 27) with whom it remained till the Dissolution. (fn. 28)

It then passed to the Crown and was leased from time to time. Thomas Rice appears to have been the lessee about the middle of the 16th century, (fn. 29) holding under a ninety years' lease from the monks dated 1535. The manor after the expiration of Rice's lease was granted in 1595–6 for forty years to Elizeus Wynne. (fn. 30) It seems afterwards to have passed to the Basketts, John Baskett being in possession in 1583, (fn. 31) and Thomas Baskett apparently succeeding him. (fn. 32) The Basketts were probably lessees under the Crown, for in 1624 at the request of John Ramsey Earl of Holderness the manor was granted to Edward Ramsey of Hethersett, Norfolk, and Robert Ramsey of London, at a fee-farm rent of £25 5s. 4d. (fn. 33) The Ramseys sold the manor in the same year to Richard Baskett, (fn. 34) and he died in 1626 seised of the manor, (fn. 35) leaving a son and heir Richard, who sold it in 1640 to John Warner, Bishop of Rochester. (fn. 36) He devised it to his nephew Dr. John Lee, D.D., whose son and heir Lee Warner, of the Inner Temple, sold it in 1678 to Edward Courthop. (fn. 37) Apse must have passed from Courthop to a member of the Dillington family, for Worsley states that it was purchased of a Dillington by Edward Leigh of Newport, who left it to John Chichester. (fn. 38) John Chichester was dealing with it in 1716, (fn. 39) and, as Sir John Chichester, was still in possession in 1747. (fn. 40) The manor was sold by him or his son Sir John towards the end of the 18th century to Sir Richard Worsley. (fn. 41) It passed from him with Appuldurcombe (fn. 42) to Lord Yarborough, who sold it in 1854 to George Young. From him it was probably purchased by Mr. Gassiott, who in 1896 sold it to Lord Alverstone, the present owner. The house is pleasantly situated just to the north of the high road from Shanklin and still retains a good room with a stone fireplace and a heavy panelled Tudor ceiling.

ASHEY

ASHEY (Aissheseye, Aschesaye, Asshaye, xvi cent.) was granted to the abbey of Wherwell near Andover before 1228, (fn. 43) and in 1291 was of the considerable annual value of £41 6s. 2d. (fn. 44) It certainly extended to the seashore, and the passage from Ryde to Portsmouth was one of its sources of income. (fn. 45) Ashey remained with Wherwell until the Dissolution. (fn. 46) It was leased by the last abbess, Morphita Kingsmill, to Giles Worsley and Elizabeth his wife 4 December 1538. (fn. 47) After the Dissolution Giles Worsley continued as tenant and collector of dues (fn. 48) till the grant of the manor to him by the Crown in 1544. (fn. 49) He died in 1558, (fn. 50) leaving a son James, who died intestate soon after his father, (fn. 51) when the estates were claimed by Sir Robert Worsley of Worsley, Lancs., as cousin and heir-at-law to Giles. This claim was contested by Richard Worsley, half-brother of James, in the Court of Wards and Liveries in 1563, when it was awarded that Sir Robert was to take a third, afterwards known as the manor of Ryde, while Richard was to have the part which had been bequeathed by Giles to his widow Margaret, comprising the site of the manor. (fn. 52) Richard Worsley died at Ashey 31 August 1599, (fn. 53) when the manor came to his son Bowyer, (fn. 54) afterwards knighted by James I. According to his contemporary, Sir John Oglander, Sir Bowyer Worsley was a reckless, improvident man. His son John having predeceased him, he sold Ashey in 1624 to Thomas Cotele. (fn. 55) The manor then followed the same descent as Niton (q.v.) until 1789, when George Lord Mount Edgcumbe sold it to Mr. Joseph Bettesworth. (fn. 56) He devised it in 1805 to his wife, with remainder to his younger daughter Augusta wife of Alexander Shearer, (fn. 57) whose son Bettesworth P. Shearer conveyed it to George Player of Gosport. Player's daughter Elizabeth Lydia married Captain Thomas Robert Brigstocke, R.N., whose grandson William Player Brigstocke is the present owner. (fn. 58)

RYDE

RYDE (La Rye, xiv cent.; le Rythe, xv cent.; Ride, xvi cent.) was parcel of the manor of Ashey, (fn. 59) and seems to have formed the portion of John the youngest son of Giles Worsley. (fn. 60) Ryde Manor was awarded to Sir Robert Worsley in 1563, and in 1565 he sold to Anthony Dillington (fn. 61) an estate which at the time of the death of Anthony's son Sir Robert in 1604 is called 'the manors of Ashley and Ryde.' (fn. 62) Sir Robert was succeeded by his nephew Robert, and with the Dillington family (see Mottistone) the manor remained till Sir John Dillington in 1705 sold it to Henry Player of Alverstoke. (fn. 63) The Player family seem to have held courts unchallenged by the Edgcumbes. (fn. 64) Considerable friction arose between the Bettesworths and the Players as to shore rights, which in 1811 were adjudged to belong to Mrs. Bettesworth. (fn. 65) By the middle of the century the Players, who seem from the first to have attempted encroachments (fn. 66) on the manorial rights of Ashey, had acquired that manor, which since 1588 had always been called in Court Rolls the manor of Ashey and Ryde. Thus the ancient manor was again united under one owner. The present lord of the manor of Ashey and Ryde, William Player Brigstocke, lives at Ryde House. (fn. 67)

LANGBRIDGE

LANGBRIDGE (Longebrugge, xiii cent.; Langebrigge, xiv cent.) was held of the manor of Ashey, and presumably took its name from an early bridge over the Yar on the site of the present one. It was probably granted to the abbey of Wherwell with Ashey, and the manor and church of Langbridge, with an annual pension of half a mark payable to the parish church of Newchurch, was confirmed to the Abbess of Wherwell in 1228 by Pope Gregory. (fn. 68) It followed the descent of Ashey (q.v.), and at a court of that manor held by Thomas Cotele in 1624 Thomas Lovinge is returned as holding Langbridge. (fn. 69) It is now the property of Mr. Edward Carter, who purchased it in 1906.

BRANSTON

BRANSTON (fn. 70) (Brandestone, xi cent.; Brondeston, xv cent.) was held at Domesday by William son of Azor, (fn. 71) and may have passed to the de Aula family, (fn. 72) as it was held at the end of the 13th century under William Russell of Yaverland by the lord of Whitefield for knight service. (fn. 73) In 1346 John atte Hale held this estate in Branston. (fn. 74) He was still in possession in 1384–5, when the reversion after his death was granted by Richard Couper, one of the heirs of John Wyvill, to Annora widow of John. (fn. 75) In 1428 the estate was divided between Henry Howles and Richard Russell. (fn. 76) Some land at Branston was glebe of the church of Newchurch, and was claimed in 1414 by John Clerk. (fn. 77) Branston is now divided among various owners.

BIGBURY

BIGBURY (Bikeberye, xiii cent.; Bydeborough, xvi cent.; Bidborowe, xvii cent.), a small holding to the north of Apse Heath, was confirmed to the abbey of Quarr by Isabel de Fortibus, (fn. 78) and remained in the possession of the abbey until the Dissolution, (fn. 79) when it passed to the Crown. It was granted in 1610 to Lionel Cranfield, (fn. 80) who surrendered it in the following year. (fn. 81) In 1631 Basil Nicoll and others obtained a grant of the messuage or grange of Bidborowe. (fn. 82)

CHILLINGWOOD

CHILLINGWOOD (Chellingwood, xiii cent.; Chelyngwod, xvi cent.) was held of the honour of Carisbrooke. (fn. 83) Geoffrey de Chillingwood held it for the service of a thirteenth part of a knight's fee in 1262–3, (fn. 84) and Roger de Chillingwood was in possession at the end of the century and at the beginning of the 14th. (fn. 85) Robert de Barton is returned in 1346 as the holder. (fn. 86) Chillingwood passed with Barton's other estates (see Osborne in Whippingham) to the Raleighs of Walpen, (fn. 87) but another estate at Chillingwood belonged in the 14th century to the Gorges of Knighton, (fn. 88) and descended with Knighton (q.v.) to the Gilberts. (fn. 89) The Raleighs' estate followed the same descent as Walpen to George Raleigh, who died seised of it in 1545–6. (fn. 90) The whole was probably acquired by Thomas Cotele, as it was held in the 18th century by the Edgcumbe family and sold in 1787 by George Lord Mount Edgcumbe. (fn. 91) It is now owned by Mr. Edward Carter of East Upton, Ryde.

HAVEN STREET

HAVEN STREET (Hethenstreet, xiv cent.) may perhaps be identified with Strete, which was held in the 12th century by the de Estur family, who granted to Geoffrey Aitard (son of Etard) (fn. 92) land there which Geoffrey afterwards gave to the abbey of Montebourg. (fn. 93) Matthew son of Herbert gave to the abbey of Montebourg the land of 'Streta,' which William de Estur gave and Roger de Mandeville confirmed. This he did by the wish of Joan Patrick, his wife. (fn. 94) This or another estate called Haven Street (Hethene Street) belonged at the end of the 14th century to the Raleighs of Walpen in Chale. Thomas Raleigh died seised of it in 1398, and it followed the descent of Walpen until the death of William Raleigh in 1419. (fn. 95)

The principal landowner in Haven Street was the late Mrs. Rylands, whose husband Mr. John Rylands built the Longford Institute for the use of the parish in 1886. Her house is now the Longford Home of Rest.

CLEAVELAND

CLEAVELAND (La Clyve, xiii cent.) was held of the honour of Carisbrooke for the service of a thirteenth part of a knight's fee and the petty serjeanty of finding a man to guard the castle in time of war for forty days. (fn. 96) It was held in 1262 by Richard de la Clyve and at the end of the 13th century by William de la Clyve, who died seised of it in 1323–4, leaving a son John. (fn. 97) It had passed before 1333 to Sir John de Weston (fn. 98) and descended with Milton in Brading. (fn. 99) Like Milton it was divided at the end of the 14th century, one-half passing to the Gilberts and the other to the Cookes of East Standen. (fn. 100) The Gilberts' moiety was purchased of George Gilbert by Richard Worsley of Appuldurcombe just before his death in 1565. (fn. 101) The Cookes' moiety appears to have been divided in the same way as East Standen between the Bannister and Meux families and was purchased before 1572 by John Worsley, brother of the above-mentioned Richard. (fn. 102) This estate, known as Cleaveland, passed with Appuldurcombe to Lord Yarborough and was sold in 1854, apparently to a Mr. Williams; Mr. Robert Williams was holding in 1860. It has been split up in modern times and a terrace of houses occupies part of its site. A ranger's cottage at Cleaveland Shute is owned by Mr. Quickthorne.

Another estate known as Cliff by Shanklin is possibly to be identified with the manor of Undercliff held by John Lisle of Wootton at his death in 1471. (fn. 103) It appears in the inquisition on his greatgrandniece Mary Lisle as land in Cliff, (fn. 104) and passed on her death in 1539 to one of her co-heirs, Thomas Philpot. Sir George Philpot died seised of it in 1624, leaving a son John. (fn. 105) It was probably acquired by the Knight family, who sold it to William Pike in the 18th century. It then followed the history of Landguard and is now owned by Mr. Arthur Atherley.

HOLLOWAY

HOLLOWAY (Holewey, xiii, xiv cent.; Hollowey, xvi cent.) lies just to the north of Ventnor. It was held of the honour of Carisbrooke and formed part of the estate of John de Lisle in the Island at the end of the 13th century. (fn. 106) It followed the descent of South Shorwell (fn. 107) until 1641, when it is mentioned for the last time. (fn. 108) It is probably the same as the modern manor of VENTNOR, which is mentioned for the first time in 1755 and then belonged to the Pophams of South Shorwell. (fn. 109) Nearly all the land in Ventnor was sold in 1820 by the Hill family to John Hamborough and building speculators, (fn. 110) and the manor no longer exists. Holloway can now only be identified by the Holy Well spring on the down, from which possibly the holding derived its name. In a dispute as to boundaries in 1617, witnesses deposed that Ventnor, Littletown (fn. 111) and Holloway were tithings of themselves and that Sir Edward Dennis' ancestors kept court and law day at Holloway, where his tenants did suit royal. (fn. 112)

STEEPHILL

STEEPHILL was another holding belonging to the Lisle family towards the end of the 13th century. (fn. 113) It followed the descent of South Shorwell (q.v.) until about 1820, (fn. 114) when it was sold by the Hills to John Hamborough, who erected Steephill Castle in 1835. The house occupies the site of a cottage where Hans Stanley resided during his governorship of the Island. (fn. 115) It now belongs to Mr. John Morgan Richards.

KNIGHTON

KNIGHTON (Chenistone, xi cent.; Kinytheton, Kynzteton, xiii cent.; Knyghteton, xiv cent.) was held of the manor of Carisbrooke. (fn. 116) It occupies the ground between the Eastern Yar and Ashey, and is no doubt identical with the 'Chenistone' of Domesday held by the king. (fn. 117) It must have been a considerable holding, as it is returned as three knights' fees in the Testa de Nevill. (fn. 118) The early 13th-century holders were a family of De Morville, of whom John or Ivo de Morville died in 1256, leaving a daughter and heir Ellen married to Ralph de Gorges, (fn. 119) who survived her husband and was in possession of the manor at the end of the century. (fn. 120) She died seised in 1291–2, leaving a son Ralph, (fn. 121) who in 1305 leased the manor to William de Caleshale and his wife for the term of their lives. (fn. 122) The manor seems to have reverted to Ralph de Gorges before 1316. (fn. 123) Ralph (afterwards Sir Ralph) and his wife Eleanor had one son Ralph, who died without issue, evidently before 1330–1, when Sir Ralph settled the manor in tail-male on two younger sons of his daughter Eleanor, who had married Theobald Russell of Yaverland. (fn. 124) William, the elder of the two, died without issue and the manor was delivered to his brother Theobald Russell in 1343. (fn. 125) He appears thereupon to have assumed the name de Gorges, and as Theobald de Gorges was sued in 1346–7 by Elizabeth widow of Ralph de Gorges the younger for the manor. Judgement was given in Elizabeth's favour, (fn. 126) but as she had no issue by Ralph the manor reverted to Theobald, who was in possession in 1362. (fn. 127) He (then Sir Theobald) died in 1380 and the manor passed successively to his sons Sir Randolf, who died in 1382, Bartholomew, who died in 1395–6, and Thomas, (fn. 128) who died in 1404. (fn. 129) Thomas left a son John, who only lived to be fifteen, and left his brother Theobald, a boy of ten, as heir in 1413. (fn. 130) Sir Theobald Gorges was in possession of the manor in 1462, (fn. 131) and probably died without issue, as the manor passed to the heirs of Thomas Russell, greatgrandson of Theobald Russell and Eleanor de Gorges by their eldest son Ralph Russell of Yaverland. (fn. 132) Thomas Russell's heir was his cousin John Haket, son of his aunt Alice. (fn. 133) John Haket's daughter and heir Joan married John Gilbert, and the manor passed with Wolverton in Brading in the Gilbert family (fn. 134) until 1563, when George Gilbert sold it to Anthony Dillington. (fn. 135) Anthony's son Sir Robert died seised of it in 1604, leaving it to his nephew Robert. (fn. 136) Sir Tristram Dillington, great-grandson of the lastnamed Robert, was the last of the direct line. (fn. 137) Dying without issue in 1721 (fn. 138) he left his sisters Mary and Hannah as heirs. Hannah died intestate. Mary died unmarried, leaving the estate in common between her nephew Maurice Bocland (fn. 139) and her niece Jane wife of John Eyre. (fn. 140) General Maurice Bocland was in possession of the manor in 1750 (fn. 141) and died in 1765, when it descended to his nephew George Maurice Bissett, who held the manor at the beginning of the 19th century. George Young was in possession in 1878, (fn. 142) and the manor is now held by Mr. Edward Carter, who acquired it under the will of his father, Mr. Edward Carter.

The house, a remarkably good example of Tudor work, (fn. 143) was burnt, and demolished in 1820 and not a vestige now remains.

SMALLBROOK

SMALLBROOK, lying at the north-eastern boundary of the parish, doubtless took its name from the stream that here forms the boundary of the parish. It is of ancient origin, as in 1280 William de Smallbrook (Smalebroo) granted land to his son Hugh. (fn. 144) It was held at the end of the 14th century by the Wyvill family, (fn. 145) and remained in their possession until 1491–2, when Stephen Wyvill, the last of the family, sold it to Henry Howles. (fn. 146) Smallbrook passed in the Howles family until the reign of Elizabeth, when it was divided between co-heirs and sold to Sir William Oglander. (fn. 147) In the court held at Ashey, 1 November 1624, Sir John Oglander is returned as a freeholder and free suitor of the manor for his farm called 'Smallbroke.' (fn. 148) The estate has since descended with Nunwell (fn. 149) (q.v.), and is now held by Mr. J. H. Oglander, who has the Court Rolls in his possession.

WINSTON

WINSTON (Wenechetone, xi cent.; Wyneston, xiii cent.), judging from the Domesday entries, was an important manor held in part by the king (fn. 150) and in part by William (fn. 151) and Gozelin, (fn. 152) sons of Azor. The king's portion formed two manors with a virgate of land in Soflet (fn. 153) and was valued at £3, while the Azor land was held by six tenants (fn. 154) and was worth 70s., which makes up a considerable holding if the entries refer to the same place. It seems to have early been among the endowments of Christchurch Twyneham, being confirmed to the convent by William de Redvers Earl of Devon. (fn. 155) In 1241 Richard Quor gave up to the prior all his right in the manor, (fn. 156) and the priory still held it at the end of the century as a thirteenth part of a fee. (fn. 157) Its further history is not known, but it came in the 19th century into the hands of Mr. Alfred Smith, whose daughter's trustees now own it.

WROXALL

WROXALL (Warochesselle, xi cent.; Wrockeshal, xiii cent.; Wroxhale, xiv cent.) was held before the Conquest by Countess Gytha (Gueda) of her husband Earl Godwin as a free manor, and at Domesday was in the king's hands, being one of the most valuable holdings in the Island. (fn. 158) It belonged to the lords of the Island, (fn. 159) and passed on the death of Isabel de Fortibus in 1293 to Edward I, who leased it in 1304–5 for life to Matthew son of John. (fn. 160) Matthew died about 1308 and in 1309 the manor was granted by Edward II to Piers de Gaveston and his wife Margaret, the king's niece, (fn. 161) on whom the lordship of the Island had been conferred, but in the same year they restored it to the king. (fn. 162) The manor was evidently granted with the lordship of the Island to Edward Earl of Chester, (fn. 163) and was given in 1355 to the Princess Isabel for life. (fn. 164) It remained a Crown possession (fn. 165) until 1624, when James I granted it with Apse and Bleakdown to Edward Ramsey. (fn. 166) He sold it in the same year to Richard Baskett, who held the manor courts from 1627 to 1634. (fn. 167) At the end of the century it was in the hands of the Hopson family. (fn. 168) It afterwards came to Thomas Cotele, (fn. 169) and passed from him with Niton to Lord Mount Edgcumbe, who owned it in 1771, when it was divided into North and South Wroxall; the former, comprising Winford, Queen Bower, Borthwood and Hill Farms, was sold in different lots in 1787. The latter, including Wroxall Farm and Hide Place, also put up for sale in 1787, was bought in for Lord Mount Edgcumbe. (fn. 170) The whole has since been split up and is now in the hands of numerous owners.

In the reign of Henry II, Richard Earl of Devon bequeathed to the monks of Quarr twenty solidates of land in his manor of Wroxall. (fn. 171) The land was confirmed to the abbey by Isabel de Fortibus and her grant was confirmed by the king in 1333. (fn. 172) Nothing further is known about the holding.

PRINCELET

PRINCELET (Premsloud, xiii cent.; Prymesflode, xiv cent.; Prynslode, xv cent.; Princelade, xvi cent.), a small holding to the south-west of Apse Heath, was held of the Lisles of Wootton. (fn. 173) Of them it was held by the Kingstons of Kingston until the middle of the 14th century. (fn. 174) It was held in 1428 by Richard Hearn and John Mayhew. (fn. 175) Princelet was purchased at the end of the 16th century by Richard Gard, who in 1617 left an annuity issuing out of it to the poor of Newchurch. (fn. 176) In 1780 John White paid a fee-farm rent for it, (fn. 177) but in 1837 it was owned by William Thatcher; the present owner is Mr. Charles Allen.

WACKLAND

WACKLAND (Wakelond, xiii, xiv, xv cent.) was held in the 13th century under the Lisles of Wootton, (fn. 178) but in 1311–12 was said to be held of Ralph de Gorges of Knighton. (fn. 179) At the end of the 13th century it was held by John de la Brigge, from whom it passed with Bridge Court (q.v.) to the Kingstons. (fn. 180) It followed the descent of Kingston until 1424, (fn. 181) when Robert Dingley and Lewis Meux conveyed it to John Taillour, who was returned in 1431 as holding Wackland. (fn. 182) Its descent has not been traced from that time until the end of the 18th century. Some time before 1786 it must have been in the possession of Thomas Davis, as he left a charge of 20s. upon it for charities. (fn. 183)

In the early part of the 19th century Wackland was the residence of a hunting farmer, well known as 'Squire' Thatcher, who kept and hunted a pack of harriers. Mr. E. Carter was lord of Wackland in 1878, (fn. 184) and it now belongs to the trustees of the late Mr. Thomas F. Perrott. (fn. 185)

CHURCHES

The church of ALL SAINTS may be described as a cruciform structure of the 13th century with a south porch. The earliest building must have been of the 12th century, as there are evidences of 13thcentury additions. The transept piers do not bond into the east wall of the nave, which with its wall 4 ft. in thickness probably formed part of the original church; the eastern arches of the aisles spring from plain-splayed imposts, and the starting pier of the south aisle does not bond into the west wall. The 13th-century builders practically remodelled the whole structure, leaving it much as it is to-day—a nave of three bays, a fourth being formed by the transept arches, north and south aisles, a long chancel, north and south transepts and a south porch supporting a wooden tower containing six bells. The massive piers at the entrance to the transepts suggest a central tower. (fn. 186) Both transepts are singularly deep and must have been original features, (fn. 187) though the south one has been lengthened 10 ft., probably in the 16th century when the east window was inserted. The original north wall of the chancel still remains with its blunt-lancet ungrooved window openings. The aisles must have been undertaken later in the century, as they are not in alignment with the transept piers. (fn. 188) They both end in pointed arches, that to the north being splayed inwards for some ritual purpose, while the south one has been rebuilt when the way to the rood-loft was cut through in the 15th century. The south wall of the nave is lighted by 14th-century windows with cusped heads, and has been raised to admit of their insertion. The north wall is pierced by two windows and a door of the 13th century, the westernmost window having been converted into a single round-headed light in the 17th century. Over the chancel arch is a wide splayed lancet window or opening of early 13thcentury detail.

The entrance to the rood-loft still remains, with its steps on the aisle side. (fn. 189) It has a semicircular head, from which springs the cross arch of the aisle with its two rings of voussoirs. The transept and chancel arches are very massive in appearance, with pointed heads and triple-splayed orders springing from slightly curved abaci, forming a continuous moulding round the piers. The responds to the latter end in clumsy square bases the whole thickness of the wall, as if intended for a stop to some feature since removed.

The chancel, unusually long for its width, is lighted on the north by the three blunt lancets already referred to, on the east and south by threelight 16th-century windows. In the south wall is a priest's door. For some structural reason its east and south walls have been rebuilt in the 16th century, and it is probable that at this time the south transept was lengthened 10 ft. and the porch widened eastward to form the sub-structure of a wooden tower containing the three bells mentioned in the inventory of 1553. (fn. 190) The west wall of the nave appears to be all of one date—c. 1200— and is pierced with three original windows, a small narrow lancet in each aisle, a circular window with simple cusped filling in the centre of the gable. The crown of the west entrance has been lowered to admit of the insertion of a large 'churchwarden' window and the external jambs have been replaced with plain cut stone.

In the 17th and 18th centuries a certain amount of 'tinkering' was done by the Dillingtons, then owners of Knighton. Both transepts appealed to them as excellent places for family vaults, so in 1688 Sir Robert Dillington obtained a faculty to build a vault in the north transept. (fn. 191) In 1725 the south transept received their attention (fn. 192) as a further burialplace for the family, and it is doubtless to the Dillingtons we owe the churchwarden creations in the north transept and the west wall and the final remodelling of the tower.

The oak pulpit with its quaint sounding-board and canopy, as also the carved 'Pelican' lectern said to have been brought from Frome, belong to the Dillington period.

There are memorials in the north transept to the Dillington family, 1674 to 1749, wall tablets to Lieut.-General Maurice Bocland, 1765, and William Thatcher, 1776. Over the south door is a panel with the royal arms of William III, dated 1700.

The bells are six in number, four of which were founded in 1810 by Thomas Mears of London (fn. 193); the other two are inscribed 'ANNO 5189 [1589]. ANTHONY BOND MADE ME 1626.'

The ancient communion plate consists of a chalice 8 in. high and 3½ in. in diameter, with the date 1620 pricked on the cover. The alms-dish is inscribed 'The gift of Mrs. Dillington to the Parish of Newchurch anno 1737.' There is also a Sheffield plate flagon, probably given at the same time, inscribed 'DEO ET ALTARI SACRUM.'

The registers begin—burials 1690; baptisms and marriages 1692. (fn. 194)

The church of ST. JOHN, WROXALL, consisting of chancel, nave, south porch, west belfry and one bell, was erected as a chapel of ease to Newchurch in 1875, and is in the gift of the Bishop of Winchester.

The parish church of ALL SAINTS, RYDE, consisting of a nave, six bays, north and south aisles, north porch, chancel, north chapel, tower and spire with eight bells, was erected in 1870 from designs by Sir Gilbert Scott. It has a fine spire, which formed a later addition. The registers, taken over from St. Thomas, the original parish church, date from 1719.

The church of the HOLY TRINITY is also of the same style, though bearing large evidence of the cheapening process, and was built in 1845–6. The ecclesiastical parish was formed in 1846 from Newchurch and Ryde. (fn. 195)

The church of ST. THOMAS, a chapel of ease to All Saints, built by Thomas Player, and rebuilt by his grandson George in 1827, contains some monuments to the Player and Brigstocke families.

ST. JAMES' Church, in Lind Street, erected in 1829 as an Episcopal proprietary chapel, can only be described as debased Gothic.

Swanmore, formed into an ecclesiastical parish from Newchurch in 1864, (fn. 196) possesses a somewhat striking church in ST. MICHAEL AND ALL ANGELS, a cruciform building of 13th-century motif, with a square central tower having three bells, an apsidal chancel, a nave of four bays, with north and south aisles and transepts, completed in 1874. The living is a vicarage in the gift of trustees.

There is a chapel at Ashey served from All Saints.

The first church to be built in Ventnor is that of ST. CATHERINE, erected in 1837 by Mr. John Hamborough at his sole expense on a site called Ventnor Farm Mead, restored 1872 and enlarged 1897. It consists of nave, chancel and steeple tower. The registers date from 1837, the ecclesiastical parish having been formed in 1836. (fn. 197) The living is a vicarage, chiefly endowed by pew rents, in the gift of the Church Patronage Society.

The church of ST. MARGARET, Lowtherville, erected in 1882, is a chapel under the vicar of St. Catherine's.

The ecclesiastical parish of HOLY TRINITY, Ventnor, was formed in 1862. (fn. 198) The church, consisting of aisled nave of three bays, transepts, chancel and tower, owes its existence to the three daughters of Bishop Percy, and was consecrated in 1862, from which year the registers date.

The church of ST. PETER, Haven Street, consisting of chancel, nave, south porch and bell turret, with one bell, was built in 1852. The ecclesiastical parish of St. Peter, Haven Street, was formed from Arreton and Newchurch in 1853. (fn. 199) The living is a vicarage, in the gift of the trustees of the Society for the Maintenance of the Faith.

ADVOWSON

Newchurch was one of the six churches mentioned in Domesday (fn. 200) as belonging to the abbey of Lire, probably by gift of William Fitz Osbern or his son Roger Earl of Hereford. Lire took the great and small tithes of the manor of Wroxall and great tithes of Apse, Holloway and Knighton. (fn. 201) The advowson remained with the abbey of Lire until 1409, (fn. 202) when it was given by the Abbot of Lire to the Abbot of Beaulieu. The Abbot of Beaulieu at the same time obtained licence to appropriate the rectory, provided adequate endowment was made for the vicarage and a sufficient sum of money annually distributed to the poor. (fn. 203) The advowson remained with the abbey of Beaulieu until the Dissolution, and was granted by Henry VIII in 1542 to his newly-founded bishopric of Bristol. (fn. 204) The advowson remained in the see of Bristol (fn. 205) until 1852, when by an Order in Council it was transferred to the see of Winchester. (fn. 206) Under the Newchurch Parish Act of 1866 the Ecclesiastical Commissioners were authorized to sell the advowson of Newchurch and to apply the proceeds to erecting a church at Ryde. (fn. 207) The Rev. W. Thomas was apparently the purchaser, as he was patron in 1869. (fn. 208) The advowson passed in the same year to the Young family, and they held it until 1876, when it was apparently purchased by J. C. Dicker. (fn. 209) It remained in his possession until 1897, (fn. 210) when it was sold to Thomas Henry Broughton Bamford, the present patron.

There was a chapel at Knighton, the advowson of which belonged to the lords of Knighton, (fn. 211) but it was not mentioned after the beginning of the 15th century, and was probably disused before the beginning of the 16th century, as no record of it has been found among the chantry certificates.

There is a Roman Catholic church in Trinity Road, built by subscription in 1871, and dedicated to the honour of our Lady and St. Wilfrid, and another in High Street, Ryde, dedicated to the Blessed Virgin, built in 1845 by Georgiana Countess of Clare, with nave, chancel, aisles, baptistery and four bells.

There are denominational chapels at Langbridge (Congregational), Haven Street (Wesleyan), and Apse Heath (Wesleyan). At Ryde: Congregational, George Street (1871), and smaller churches in Weeks Road and Marlborough Road, Elmfield; Christ Church, Baptist (1870), Wesleyan, Garfield Road (1845); Zion Chapel in William Street, Swanmore (1853); Evangelical Protestant, Newport Street (1893), United Methodist, Newport Street (1860); and Primitive Methodist chapels in High Street and Wells Street.

The denominational places of worship at Ventnor are: Congregational Church, High Street, rebuilt 1852, enlarged 1872; Wesleyan Methodist, also in High Street, built 1860, with a small chapel of the same denomination at Upper Ventnor; Baptist in Pier Street, built 1875; Primitive Methodist in Albert Street; United Methodist in Victoria Street, built 1881. There is also a mission hall in St. Catherine Street, and the Salvation Army use the Albert Hall in Victoria Street, built in 1887.

CHARITIES

Thomas Davis, as appears from the parliamentary returns of 1786, gave a rent-charge of 20s. for the poor, issuing out of an estate called Wackland.

In 1617 Richard Gard, by his will (among other charitable gifts), devised for the poor 20s. out of an estate called Blackpan (now Merry Gardens), and 10s. out of an estate called Princelet.

In 1748 William Bowles, by his will, proved in the P.C.C., left £100, the interest to be distributed among ten poor labouring families. The legacy is now represented by £99 12s. 6d. consols, with the official trustees, who also hold a sum of £49 16s. consols, representing a legacy of £50, for the poor, by will of Mary Dillington, dated 1749. The annual dividends, amounting together to £3 14s. 4d., are in accordance with the trusts distributed at Christmas time.

The charity, formerly known as the School, founded by will of William Bowles, above referred to, and Mrs. Elizabeth Bowles, his widow, and by deed of Maurice Bocland, 1755, is endowed with £274 7s. consols, with the official trustees, who also hold a sum of £105 16s. 10d. consols, arising under the will of the Rev. John Swinton, proved in the P.C.C., 1777.

The annual dividends, amounting together to £9 9s. 8d., are applied in prizes and awards to children attending public elementary schools. (fn. 212)