Bonchurch

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Bonchurch
Bonchurch, IW, UK.jpg
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Bonchurch
Location within the Isle of Wight
Civil parish
Unitary authority
Ceremonial county
Region
Country England
Sovereign state United Kingdom
Post town VENTNOR
Postcode district PO38
Dialling code 01983
Police Hampshire and Isle of Wight
Fire Hampshire and Isle of Wight
Ambulance Isle of Wight
UK Parliament
List of places
UK
England
Isle of Wight
50°35′58″N1°10′54″W / 50.599545°N 1.181629°W / 50.599545; -1.181629

Bonchurch is a small village in the civil parish of Ventnor, to the east of the town of Ventnor, now largely connected to the latter by suburban development, on the southern part of the Isle of Wight, England. One of the oldest settlements on the Isle of Wight, [1] [2] it is situated on The Undercliff adjacent to the Bonchurch Landslips (or "The Landslip") Site of Special Scientific Interest. The main village is backed by a cliff to the north, with the Upper Bonchurch section on the clifftop halfway up St Boniface Down on the main A3055 road.

Contents

Geography

Bonchurch is situated on a stable section of former landslip, its main street (Bonchurch Village Road) running east–west in a valley sheltered to the north by cliffs, and to the south by The Mount, a ridge of slipped rock. Bonchurch Village Road has an adjacent landscaped pond, fed by a spring, on the site of former withy beds. The Shanklin-Ventnor route originally passed through Bonchurch, descending the cliff by the steep Bonchurch Shute; now it is bypassed by the clifftop A3055 Leeson Road.

History

Old St Boniface Church Old St Boniface Church, Bonchurch, IW, UK.jpg
Old St Boniface Church

The presence of a water spring known locally as 'The Source' behind the southern wall of the old church, is believed to be the reason why humans first settled in the area where present-day Bonchurch is located. [1] [2] A prehistoric race lived in the area [2] around the Undercliff, land which was wild forest. [1] Evidence has also been found showing that the people that lived during the Stone Age had lived near to the water spring. [1] Five burial mounds have been discovered at St. Boniface Down. [1] Evidence has also been discovered showing that the Romans [2] established a settlement in the area. [1]

The Saxon patron saint, St. Boniface, is believed to have visited the Isle of Wight, and possibly the area where Bonchurch is now located, in the 8th century. Legend states that monks from Lyra in Normandy landed at Monks Bay, and erected a building in dedication to St. Boniface. This building could be the wooden building which is believed to have existed in the 9th century where the Old Church now stands.

The first documented proof of the existence of Bonchurch is found in the Domesday Book. [1] [2] [3] In the Domesday Book, the settlement was called Bonecerce. [3] 'Cerce' is Anglo-Saxon for 'church', whilst 'Bone' is presumed to have been derived from St. Boniface. [3]

Bonchurch has two churches. [1] The oldest one is called the Old Church. [1] The Domesday Book recorded its existence. [1] See Old St. Boniface Church, Bonchurch and the Parish church, St. Boniface Church, Bonchurch.

In July 1545, the Battle of Bonchurch was fought. [4] 500 French soldiers had landed at the coast near Bonchurch, one of three landings that took place on the coastline of the Isle of Wight by French soldiers. [4] 300 Isle of Wight militiamen engaged the French forces, and the militiamen won the engagement. [4] Some accounts state that local women participated in the battle by shooting arrows at the French soldiers. [4] The victory is considered to have decisively stopped the French invasion of the Isle of Wight. [4]

Soon after the battle, a number of men from the French fleet which had retreated from the Solent after the Battle of the Solent landed on the coast near Bonchurch. [4] The men were engaged in a military action by English soldiers whilst they were on a mission to collect fresh water on the island. [4] A French senior officer, Chevalier D'Aux, was killed. His body was buried in Bonchurch, but was exhumed and taken back to France in 1548 after the war between England and France had ceased. [4]

In the late 1830s and onward, the hitherto rural Bonchurch was developed for private villas, following land acquisition and sale by the Reverend James White.[ citation needed ] White married Rosa Hill, heiress to Bonchurch Manor, and subsequently obtained a private local Act of Parliament to overturn parts of his father-in-law's will forbidding development and breakup of the estate. [5] In the mid to late 19th Century, Bonchurch developed into a fashionable centre for writers and artists. Celebrated Victorians such as Charles Dickens, Thomas Carlyle, and Thomas Babington Macaulay, 1st Baron Macaulay came here and stayed in large villas that they rented, often for the season.

The Swinburne family residence East Dene is on the Shute running down to the Old Church; Admiral and Lady Swinburne's son, the poet Algernon Charles Swinburne spent part of his boyhood in Bonchurch, at East Dene, and was buried in 1909 at the Parish New Church, his grave being the subject of a poem by Thomas Hardy. His funeral, attended by crowds of people, aroused controversy as Algernon Swinburne was an atheist and his friends attempted to disrupt the funeral believing it should have no religious content. [6]

In 1931 the civil parish had a population of 502. [7] On 1 April 1933 the parish was abolished and merged with Ventnor, part also went to form Sandown Shanklin. [8]

Pop culture

In the 2006 TV Robin Hood , Much is made Earl of Bonchurch in the episode "A Thing or Two About Loyalty". It is implied it is not far from Locksley, but the non-fictional geography is different.

The village is also the setting of Graham Masterton's supernatural horror novel Prey.

Bonchurch, and its church is featured in the Commodore 64 videogame Spirit of the Stones , in which the game itself is set on the Isle of Wight itself.

Notable residents

The engineer Thomas Rumble retired to Bonchurch for health reasons and died there in 1883. He is buried in the New Churchyard there. [9]

In 1891, American chemists Arthur Michael and Helen Abbott Michael, lived and conducted research in Bonchurch in their private, self-equipped laboratory. [10]

Trevor Duncan (27 February 1924 – 17 December 2005) was an English composer, particularly noted for his light music compositions. Wrote the theme tune to Dr.Finlay's Casebook and longer compositions including St.Boniface Down. [11]

Charles Dickens, author, lived in Bonchurch for 3 months in 1849.

Algernon Charles Swinburne, poet, East Dene, Bonchurch.

Henry De Vere Stacpoole, author of 'The Blue Lagoon', lived in the village for over 40 years, and was buried here in 1951.

Elisabeth Sewell, pioneer of girls' education, author and prolific letter-writer.

Birthplace of Admiral Sir Thomas Hopsonn. [12]

Transport

Southern Vectis route 3 is the main bus service through the upper part of the village, to Newport, Ryde, Sandown and Shanklin.

Sources

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ventnor</span> Town on the Isle of Wight, England

Ventnor is a seaside resort town and civil parish established in the Victorian era on the southeast coast of the Isle of Wight, England, eleven miles (18 km) from Newport. It is situated south of St Boniface Down, and built on steep slopes leading down to the sea. The higher part is referred to as Upper Ventnor ; the lower part, where most amenities are located, is known as Ventnor. Ventnor is sometimes taken to include the nearby and older settlements of St Lawrence and Bonchurch, which are covered by its town council. The population is 5,567 according to the 2021 Census

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shanklin</span> Human settlement in England

Shanklin is a seaside resort town and civil parish on the Isle of Wight, England, located on Sandown Bay. Shanklin is the southernmost of three settlements which occupy the bay, and is close to Lake and Sandown. The sandy beach, its Old Village and a wooded ravine, Shanklin Chine, are its main attractions. The esplanade along the beach is occupied by hotels and restaurants for the most part, and is one of the most tourist-oriented parts of the town. The other is the Old Village, at the top of Shanklin Chine. Together with Lake and Sandown to the north, Shanklin forms a built up area of around 25,000 inhabitants, Shanklin alone contributing around 7,200 of this.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St Lawrence, Isle of Wight</span> Human settlement in England

St Lawrence is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Ventnor, on the south coast of the Isle of Wight, in southern England. It is located to the west of the town of Ventnor, in the Undercliff, which is subject to landslips. The Undercliff lies between the original high cliff and the sea, formed over thousands of years, since the last Ice Age, from accumulated landslips. Several rocky coves can be accessed from the coastal path, which affords fine views of some prominent Victorian villas, set in a wooded landscape below the great rock wall of the original sea cliff: Woody Bay, Mount Bay and Orchard Bay. The area of the parish was around 329 acres (133 ha) in size. In 1931 the parish had a population of 329. On 1 April 1933 the parish was abolished and merged with Ventnor.

The Undercliff is the name of several areas of landslip on the south coast of England. They include ones on the Isle of Wight; on the Dorset-Devon border near Lyme Regis; on cliffs near Branscombe in East Devon; and at White Nothe, Dorset. All arose from slump of harder strata over softer clay, giving rise to irregular landscapes of peaks, gullies and slipped blocks, that have become densely vegetated due to their isolation and change of land use. The Kent coast at Folkestone and Sandgate also has similar undercliff areas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sandown Bay</span> Broad open bay part of the Isle of Wights southeastern coast

Sandown Bay is a broad open bay which stretches for much of the length of the Isle of Wight's southeastern coast. It extends 8+1⁄2 miles (13.7 km) from Culver Down, near Yaverland in the northeast of the Island, to just south of Shanklin, near the village of Luccombe in the southwest. At Luccombe, the bay is separated from The Undercliff by a large headland from which Upper Ventnor sits atop. The towns of Shanklin, Lake and Sandown are on the bay's coast, while Luccombe and Upper Ventnor feature panoramic views across both Sandown Bay to the East and the Undercliff to the southwest. Due to the bay being relatively sheltered from offshore winds it is often used as temporary anchorage point for boats, including large cargo ships, before continuing east towards Continental Europe, or north towards The Solent.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St Boniface Down</span>

St Boniface Down is a chalk down near Ventnor, on the Isle of Wight, England. Its summit, 241 metres (791 ft), is the highest point on the island, with views on a clear day stretching over 70 miles from Beachy Head to the east, Walbury Hill to the north, the Isle of Portland to the west and the French coast of Normandy to the south. It is 1 kilometre (0.6 mi) north of the town. There is reputed to be a wishing well on its southern slope, which requires the wisher to climb up from the south without looking back. In 1545, a French invasion force attempted this against a force of the Isle of Wight Militia commanded by Sir John Fyssher – which allegedly included several women archers- and were routed. In 1940, the radar station was bombed by Ju 87 Stuka dive bombers, which is reconstructed in the film "The Battle of Britain". The top is surmounted by a round barrow.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">A3055 road</span> Road on the Isle of Wight

The A3055 is an A-Class Road on the Isle of Wight in Southern England. It forms the Southern portion of the circular around-the-Island A-class loop, the northern section being the A3054. The stretch along the south-west coast of the Island is formed by the Military Road.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Luccombe, Isle of Wight</span>

Luccombe is a hamlet a short distance south of Shanklin, on the south coast of the Isle of Wight, England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blackgang</span> Human settlement in England

Blackgang is a village on the south-western coast of the Isle of Wight, England. It is best known as the location of the Blackgang Chine amusement park which sits to the south of St Catherine's Down.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bonchurch Landslips</span>

Bonchurch Landslips is a 28.2-hectare (70-acre) site of special scientific interest which is located north-east of Ventnor, Isle of Wight. A wooded coastal landslip zone, the site was notified in 1977 for both its biological and geological features.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Isle of Wight Coastal Path</span> Long-distance footpath on the Isle of Wight, England

The Isle of Wight Coastal Path is a circular long-distance footpath of 70 miles (113 km) around the Isle of Wight, UK. It follows public footpaths and minor lanes, with some sections along roads.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Old St Boniface Church, Bonchurch</span> Church

Old St Boniface Church, Bonchurch is a parish church in the Church of England located in Bonchurch, Isle of Wight.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St Boniface Church, Bonchurch</span> Church

St Boniface Church, Bonchurch is a parish church in the Church of England located in Bonchurch, Isle of Wight.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Holy Trinity Church, Ventnor</span> Church

Holy Trinity Church, Ventnor is a parish church in the Church of England located in Ventnor, Isle of Wight.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Binnel Bay</span> Human settlement in England

Binnel Bay is a bay on the south coast of the Isle of Wight, England. It lies between the villages of St. Lawrence and Niton. It faces south towards the English Channel, and is just under one mile (1.6 km) in length. It stretches from Binnel Point in the east to Puckaster Cove in the west.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Devil's Chimney (Isle of Wight)</span>

The Devil's Chimney is a scenic rock cleft with steps that descended into the Bonchurch Landslips between Bonchurch and Luccombe, Isle of Wight.

The Undercliff, Isle of Wight, England is a tract of semi-rural land, around 5 miles (8.0 km) long by 0.25–0.5 miles (0.40–0.80 km) wide, skirting the southern coast of the island from Niton to Bonchurch. Named after its position below the escarpment that backs this coastal section, its undulating terrain comprises a mix of rough pasture, secondary woodland, parkland, grounds of large isolated houses, and suburban development. Its sheltered south-facing location gives rise to a microclimate considerably warmer than elsewhere on the island. Although inhabited, the Undercliff is an area prone to landslips and subsidence, with accompanying loss of property over time. Settlements along the Undercliff, from west to east, are: lower Niton, Puckaster, St Lawrence, Steephill, the town of Ventnor, and Bonchurch.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chink (Isle of Wight)</span>

The Chink is a scenic rock cleft between Bonchurch and Luccombe, Isle of Wight, with steps descending from St Boniface Down to the Bonchurch Landslips below.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Goodwin, Bonchurch from A-Z, 8.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 WightStay , retrieved 10 February 2008
  3. 1 2 3 Brett, Bonchurch, 1.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Goodwin, Bonchurch from A-Z, 7.
  5. ↑ An Act to enable the Reverend James White and the Persons for the Time being entitled to certain Estates situate in the Parish of Bonchurch in the Isle of Wight in the County of Southampton, devised by the will of Charles Fitzmaurice Hill, Esquire, deceased, to grant Building Leases, 21 June 1836
  6. ↑ "The Algernon Charles Swinburne Project".
  7. ↑ "Population statistics Bonchurch AP/CP through time". A Vision of Britain through Time . Retrieved 9 September 2023.
  8. ↑ "Relationships and changes Bonchurch AP/CP through time". A Vision of Britain through Time. Retrieved 9 September 2023.
  9. ↑ Biographical Index of Former Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh 1783–2002 (PDF). The Royal Society of Edinburgh. July 2006. ISBN   0-902-198-84-X. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 25 April 2018.
  10. ↑ Finley, Thomas K.; Siegel, Patricia J.; Grinstein, Louise S.; Rose, Rose K; Rafailovich, Miriam H. (1993), "Helen Cecilia DeSilver Abbott Micael", Women in Chemistry and Physics: A Biobibliographic Sourcebook, Westport, CT: Greenwood, pp. 405–409
  11. ↑ n.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_people_from_the_Isle_of_Wight
  12. ↑ "Parishes: Bonchurch | British History Online".
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