French invasion of the Isle of Wight

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French invasion of the Isle of Wight
Part of the Italian War of 1542–1546.
DateJuly 1545
Location
Isle of Wight, England
Result English victory
Belligerents
Flag of England.svg England Pavillon royal de la France.png France
Commanders and leaders
Flag of England.svg Robert Fyssher [1] Pavillon royal de la France.png Le Seigneur de Tais [2] [3]
Strength
300 [1] –2,800 [3] militiamen Approx 500 soldiers [1]
Casualties and losses
Unknown Unknown
A French fleet attacks Bembridge in 1545. The French fleet attacks Bembridge.jpg
A French fleet attacks Bembridge in 1545.

The French invasion of the Isle of Wight occurred during the Italian Wars in July 1545. The invasion was repulsed.

Contents

France had a long history of attacking the Isle of Wight, though the 1545 campaign would be the final last time the French attempted to take it. [4] The French forces were led by Claude d'Annebault, [5] . The battles of the Solent and Bonchurch ended without a clear victory for either side. However, as the French withdrew from the island, the campaign could be considered an English victory. [6] Details of the campaign have not been very well recorded, with conflicting accounts regarding its outcome; some sources state that the operation was inconclusive, with the English suffering heavily, including the loss of the carrack Mary Rose at the Solent, [7] while others claim that the French were defeated at each battle rather easily. [8]

French strategy was to effect a landing at Whitecliff Bay and cross Bembridge Down to attack Sandown, and another landing at Bonchurch with a view to marching to link up at Sandown. The northern force was intercepted whilst crossing the Down, but fought its way to Sandown Castle, which was then under construction offshore. The southern force, meanwhile, was routed at St Boniface Down. Both forces were repulsed after stiff fighting.

The Chronicle of Charles Wriothesley (died 1562) reports: "The 21 day of July the French galleys and navie came before Portesmouth haven, and landed certeine of theyre armye in the Yle of Wyght, and there burned and camped there about to the nomber of 2,000 men, and came every tyde with theyr gallies and shott their ordinaunce at the Kinges ships in the haven; but the winde was so calme that the Kinges shippes could bear noe sayle, which was a great discomfort for them." Three days later a muster of 1500 men was sent from the City of London to repel them, but by the King's command turned back at Farnham, the French having left the Isle of Wight "and divers of them slaine and drowned". [9]

An 1873 illustration of the French landing Attack on the Isle of Wight.jpg
An 1873 illustration of the French landing

Contemporary accounts suggest that the French (or their mercenaries) sacked the area in order to provoke the English fleet into battle against a far larger fleet. Martin Du Bellay wrote: "To keep the enemy's forces separated, a simultaneous descent was made in three places. On one side Seigneur Pierre Strosse was bidden to land below a little fort where the enemy had mounted some guns with which they assailed our galleys in flank, and within which a number of Island infantry had retired. These, seeing the boldness of our men, abandoned the fort and fled southwards to the shelter of a copse. Our men pursued and killed some of them and burned the surrounding habitations". [10]

A later mention by Sir John Oglander evidently paraphrases du Bellay: "They landed at three several places at one time, purposely to divide our forces. Pierre Strosse landed at St Helens where there was a little fort, and beat our men, being divided from the fort, into the woods. Le Seigneur de Tais, General of the Foot, landed at Bonchurch, where there was a hot skirmish between them and us, and on either party many slain." [11]

The French seem to have landed at undefended points and then attacked defences from inland. At Whitecliff Bay and at Bonchurch they moved swiftly to seize the high ground. However, the attacks were expected and in both cases local forces reached the high grounds to oppose them. The settlement at Nettlestone and its manor were burnt.

At Bonchurch the French landed easily at Monk's Bay, but were then faced with the difficulty of breaking out from what is known descriptively as the "Undercliff". Their solution was to ascend the extremely steep slopes of St Boniface and Bonchurch Downs, which are over 700 feet (210 m) high. The defenders thus had them at a considerable advantage, having taken up positions on the top of the hill.

The plaque at Seaview

The event is commemorated by a plaque in Seaview which reads:

During the last invasion of this country hundreds of French troops landed on the foreshore nearby. This armed invasion was bloodily defeated and repulsed by local militia 21st July 1545. [12]

The veracity of this account has been challenged, [13] on the grounds that there were few if any local inhabitants, the militia may have been sent from the mainland, the numbers involved are uncertain, and that there would be later attempted invasions of Great Britain, culminating in the Battle of Fishguard in 1797.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Isle of Wight</span> County and island of England

The Isle of Wight is an island, English county and unitary authority in the English Channel, 2 to 5 miles off the coast of Hampshire, across the Solent. It is the largest and second-most populous island in England. Referred to as "The Island" by residents, the Isle of Wight has resorts that have been popular holiday destinations since Victorian times. It is known for its mild climate, coastal scenery, and verdant landscape of fields, downland, and chines. The island is historically part of Hampshire. The island is designated a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve.

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

Sandown is a seaside resort town and civil parish on the south-east coast of the Isle of Wight, England with the resort of Shanklin to the south and the settlement of Lake in between. Sandown has a population of 11,654 according to the 2021 Census and together with Shanklin and Lake forms a built-up area of around 25,000 inhabitants.

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

The ancient 'Kynges Towne' of Brading is the main town of the civil parish of the same name. The ecclesiastical parish of Brading used to cover about a tenth of the Isle of Wight. The civil parish now includes the town itself and Adgestone, Morton, Nunwell and other outlying areas between Ryde, St Helens, Bembridge, Sandown and Arreton. Alverstone was transferred to the Newchurch parish some thirty years ago.

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

Culver Down is a chalk down to the north of Sandown, Isle of Wight. It is believed that its name derives from "Culfre", which is Old English for dove.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of the Isle of Wight</span> Island south of the Solent

The Isle of Wight is rich in historical and archaeological sites, from prehistoric fossil beds with dinosaur remains, to dwellings and artefacts dating back to the Bronze Age, Iron Age, and Roman periods.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of the Solent</span> Naval conflict between England and France in 1545

The naval Battle of the Solent took place on 18 and 19 July 1545 during the Italian Wars between the fleets of Francis I of France and Henry VIII of England, in the Solent, between Hampshire and the Isle of Wight. This was one of only two full-fledged naval battles fought by King Henry VIII's Tudor navy, along with the earlier Battle of Saint-Mathieu. The engagement was inconclusive, and is most notable for the sinking of the English carrack, Mary Rose.

<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">Bonchurch</span> Human settlement in England

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, it is situated on The Undercliff adjacent to the Bonchurch Landslips 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sandown Castle, Isle of Wight</span> Device Fort built at Sandown on the Isle of Wight

Sandown Castle was a Device Fort built at Sandown on the Isle of Wight by Henry VIII in 1545 to protect against the threat of French attack. Constructed from stone with angular bastions, its design was a hybrid of Italian military architectural thinking with traditional English military design. The site was raided by a French force that summer while the fortification was still being constructed. The site suffered from coastal erosion and the castle was demolished in 1631.

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

Yaverland is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Sandown, on the Isle of Wight, England. It is just north of Sandown on Sandown Bay. It has about 200 houses. About 1⁄3 of a mile away from the village is the Yaverland Manor and Church. Holotype fossils have been discovered here of Yaverlandia and a pterosaur, Caulkicephalus. The White Air extreme sports festival was held annually at Yaverland pay and display car park between 1997 and 2008, but moved to Brighton for 2009.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Bonchurch</span> 1545 battle in the French invasion of the Isle of Wight

The Battle of Bonchurch took place in late July 1545 at Bonchurch on the Isle of Wight. No source gives the precise date, although 21 July is possible from the sequence of events. The battle was a part of the wider Italian War of 1542–1546, and took place during the French invasion of the Isle of Wight. Several landings were made, including at Bonchurch. Most accounts suggest that England won the battle, and the French advance across the island was halted.

Chevalier D'Aux was a senior French commander who, while leading a foraging party into the Isle of Wight to search for sources of clean water to replenish the stocks of a French fleet, which had just been forced to retire from Portsmouth, was attacked and killed in July 1545 by a group of the local Isle of Wight militia, at Bonchurch.

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

Monks Bay is situated on the southern coast of the Isle of Wight, England just to the east of the village of Bonchurch, it is around 1⁄3 mile (0.54 km) in length. It is popular with visitors and is one of the natural highlights of the town, which has hosted such figures as Charles Dickens. The bay is also a good site for local flora, and it has a row of houses which look out to the English Channel.

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

Whitecliff Bay is a sandy bay near Foreland which is the easternmost point of the Isle of Wight, England, about two miles south-west of Bembridge and just to the north of Culver Down. The bay has a shoreline of around three-quarters of a mile (1.2 km) and has a popular sandy shingle beach which is over half a mile long. It is a tourist site with three holiday parks in the vicinity of the bay; it has two cafes though minimal facilities. Access is limited and only possible down two steeply sloping concrete tracks.

Steynewood Battery is a battery located between Bembridge and Whitecliff Bay on the Isle of Wight, England. It is one of the many Palmerston Forts built on the island to protect it in response to a perceived threat of French invasion. Construction of the battery began in 1889 and was completed by 1893.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sandown Fort</span>

Sandown Fort is a fort built in Sandown on the Isle of Wight in the middle of Sandown Bay. It is one of the many Palmerston Forts built on the island to protect it in response to a perceived French invasion. It was a replacement of the earlier Sandown Diamond Fort as in 1859 the Royal Commission felt it did not offer suitable protection. Construction of the fort began in April 1861 and was completed by September 1864 at a cost of £73,876. In later documents it is often referred to as Granite Fort. The fort originally had 18 9-inch R.M.L guns facing the sea behind iron shields, these guns were later upgraded and an extra 5 inches of armor was added.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bembridge Fort</span> 19th-century fort near Bembridge, Isle of Wight, England

Bembridge Fort is a fort built on the highest point of Bembridge Down close to the village of Bembridge on the Isle of Wight, England. It is one of the many Palmerston Forts built around Portsmouth during the period of the Second French Empire, as a safeguard against a perceived threat of French invasion by Napoleon III.

Many forts and fortifications have been built to protect the Isle of Wight from foreign invasion. Throughout history the island has been a site of key military importance. Controlling both entrances to the Solent and the home of the Royal Navy, Portsmouth. This is a list of most of the fortifications on the island.

Events from the year 1545 in France.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Goodwin, Bonchurch from A–Z, 7.
  2. ↑ False Prophets, archived from the original on 5 December 2004, retrieved 2 January 2008
  3. 1 2 The Last Invasion of the Isle of Wight, archived from the original on 13 July 2011, retrieved 14 February 2008
  4. ↑ "Isle of Wight Heritage". April 2009. Archived from the original on 27 October 2005. Retrieved 7 September 2013.
  5. ↑ Glete, Jan (2000). Warfare at Sea, 1500–1650: Maritime Conflicts and the Transformation of Europe . Routledge. p.  141. ISBN   0-415-21454-8.
  6. ↑ Murray, John (1876). A Handbook for Travellers in Surrey, Hampshire, and the Isle of Wight. J. Murray. pp.  396.
  7. ↑ Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Wight, Isle of"  . Encyclopædia Britannica . Vol. 28 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 626–627, see p. 627, "History" midway down second para. A more formidable raid was attempted in 1545 when a French fleet of 150 large ships, 25 galleys, and 50 smaller vessels drew up off Brading Harbour...
  8. ↑ Rose, John Holland (1909). Dumouriez and the Defence of England Against Napoleon. J. Lane Company. p.  47.
  9. ↑ W. D. Hamilton (ed.), A Chronicle of England during the Reigns of the Tudors by Charles Wriothesley, Windsor Herald, Vol. I, Camden Society New Series vol XI (1875), pp. 158–159.
  10. ↑ Les Mémoires de Mess. Martin du Bellay Seigneur de Langay (A l'Olivier de P. l'Huilier, Paris 1569) pp. 340–341. (in French)
  11. ↑ (T.N.A. Discovery Catalogue): Account book and common place book of Sir John Oglander of Nunwell, Isle of Wight Record Office ref. OG/AA/28. Cited in 'Minor Fortifications of the Isle of Wight', webpage of the Isle of Wight History Centre.
  12. ↑ 'Memorials and Monuments on the Isle of Wight' website.
  13. ↑ 'A Plaque comes before a Fall', Isle of Wight Historical Review website.
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