Something heart-warming on the Isle of Wight

After reading Katrina's post about her recent stay at S Cecilia's Abbey on the Isle of Wight, I thought I would commit some shameless marketing of the Island and specifically its Catholic heritage.

MARTYRS
I couldn’t start anywhere else really! Blessed Robert Anderton and Blessed William Marsden were captured at Cowes after their ship sought safe harbour during a storm. They were taken first to Winchester and later to London for trial, subsequently returning to the island for execution at either Cowes or the county town of Newport on 25 April 1586. They were beatified by Pope Pius IX on 15 December 1929.

Pilgrims are able to venerate the memory of these two Blessed Martyrs at a special commemorative memorial in the Catholic Parish Church of S Thomas of Canterbury, in Newport. As far as I’m aware, no formal shrine in their honour exists.

NEWPORT
At the heart of the island is its 'capital', Newport, which received its first charter during the twelfth century. Prior to this, Carisbrooke was almost certainly the principle town on the island, but after the Norman Conquest, the more advantageous and accessible 'New Port' took precedence over the old Jute stronghold. The most remarkable old building in the town is the grammar school, dating from 1612, which was occupied for a time by Charles I during his negotiations with Parliament. There are several quiet little streets off the High Street which encapsulate the town's history.

There is an interesting suggestion that Newport was the real town in Robert Browning's 'The Pied Piper of Hamelin'. It is said that Newport was once infested by rats which were duly exterminated by a man on the promise of a reward which was never paid; Browning supposedly transferred the story to Hamelin which had a similar tale. In certain reference books, the town is given as Newport and, in this version, because the piper took all the children with him, that was why the French were able to attack so easily a generation later, as only the old men were left to defend the town.

The Catholic parish of S Thomas of Canterbury was created in 1790 when the first Mass was offered. Construction on the present building started in 1790 and opened for worship on 17th April 1792 (nearly one hundred years before the Catholic diocese of Portsmouth was created in 1882.) The donor, Elizabeth Heneage of Sheat Manor, had purchased land in Newport and together with her chaplain, The Rev Mr Simon Lucas, set about its construction in the ‘preaching box’ style, in line with the terms of the Catholic Emancipation Act of 1790 which stipulated that Catholics may worship, but must maintain a low profile. As a result, S Thomas’ looks more like an eighteenth century Quaker Meeting House than a Catholic church. Nevertheless, it is a fine building of its era and worth a visit.

S Thomas’ Presbytery or "Chapel House" pre-dates Mrs Heneage’s purchase of the land for the church and dates from the seventeenth century. For some time before the church’s construction, this had been her own home.

COWES
Cowes is possibly the most widely known town on the island, but it is, in fact, two very different towns - Cowes and East Cowes - divided by the River Medina. They derive their name from two sandbanks, called 'the cows', which were situated at either side of the mouth of the river. Cowes is the larger of the two towns and possesses a great deal of charm, with narrow streets and picturesque architecture. While being a place of pilgrimage for the yachting fraternity, most notably during ‘Cowes Week’; for Catholics, it is remembered as the place where the Isle of Wight martyrs were captured and possibly executed.

The Catholic Parish Church of S Thomas of Canterbury in Cowes is an elegant ‘preaching box’-style building and boasts an interesting Baroque-type reredos, which looks delightfully incongruous in a building, which like Newport’s church, was designed to look like a Non-Conformist chapel.

QUARR
The abbey was founded in 1132 by Bladwin de Redvers, Earl of Devon, whose family ruled the island for many generations. It was once an important Cistercian abbey (now ruins); the newer Benedictine abbey was begun in 1908 by monks from the famous French abbey of Solesmes, under the patronage of Our Lady of Quarr. The musical and scholastic traditions of Solesmes are continued at Quarr and visitors are treated to the Office sung beautifully in Latin. The name 'Quarr' is derived from the quarries at nearby Binstead, and stone from these was used, not only to build the original abbey, but also Chichester Cathedral, Beaulieu Abbey and Portchester Castle.

RYDE
The elegant seaside resort of Ryde is popular with Catholics who are disposed towards good music and traditional liturgy.

S Cecilia’s Abbey
Like Quarr, S Cecilia’s Abbey was founded by Benedictines of the Solesmes Congregation. The community sing the Office entirely in Latin and much of the Mass, including the ordinary and propers. If you do visit the Island, S Cecilia’s is a MUST!



S Mary’s Parish Church
Built by Elizabeth, Countess of Clare in 1846, the present structure was designed by Joseph Hansom and is a fine example of an early Victorian Gothic church. Dedicated in honour of the Immaculate Heart (for the reparation of sinners), it contains many beautiful features, not least being the Lady Chapel (with its Pugin-designed altar and image of Our Lady of Walsingham) and the Sacred Heart Chapel.

The church also boasts a fine choir and is used frequently by the Latin Mass Society.

BRADING
Brading is one of the oldest (and most haunted) towns on the island and contains the oldest house on the Isle of Wight, now the Wax Museum. In the small town hall, sandwiched between the museum and the beautiful and ancient church, are three relics of a bygone age that once brought terror into the hearts of any wrongdoers - the stocks, the whipping post and the town gaol. One wonders how many Catholics may have been tormented on these devices?. The main pride of Brading, and a major tourist attraction, is the Roman villa, discovered in 1880 at Morton Farm and said to be the finest collection of Roman remains in Britain. A large building has been constructed over the villa as protection, which also shields visitors from the weather.

SHANKLIN TO S CATHERINE'S POINT
Sandown, Shanklin and Ventnor are the three main holiday centres, made popular by the masses who flocked to be near the royal court after Queen Victoria came to live on the Island. All are situated within a few miles of each other and boast beautifully clean 'Blue Flag' beaches. In addition to the wonderful beach, Sandown is also home to the island's zoo and Dinosaur Museum, (a place where the modernists of the 1970s will soon feel at home). Backed by downs, Shanklin is really two communities, with the charming 'Old Village' set on top of the cliffs (together with the beautiful Shanklin Chine), slightly away from the more commercial holiday resort proper. This area of coastline was a popular haunt for smugglers who used the local chines as cover for their activities. Shanklin chine enjoyed a more recent use, when, during World War II, it served as the start of the undersea fuel pipeline to France, known as ‘Operation Pluto’.

In the nearby village of Bonchurch, whilst writing David Copperfield, Charles Dickens lived, enjoying visits from the likes of Tennyson, Thackery and Longfellow. The unfortunate Charles I also stayed here under less happy circumstances. Catholics will be interested to visit the Saxon Church of S Boniface, complete with wall paintings. This small chapel, which clings to the cliff face between Shanklin and Ventnor, was built by monks who may even have accompanied S Boniface, and the village’s name, ‘Bonchurch’, commemorates the fact that this is the village of S Boniface’s Church and not the weird yarn that is sometimes heard about it being Norman French for beautiful church. (Incidentally, there are two S Boniface churches in Bonchurch – the Victorians decided to build a replacement for the Saxon one when it became too small and, unhelpfully for the pilgrim and tourist alike, gave it the same dedication.) Since the Reformation, this church has been in the hands of the Established Church.

A few miles north of Ventnor, near Wroxall, lies Appuldurcombe House, an imposing mansion that was once owned by Earl Godwin prior to the Norman Conquest. Between the 16th and 19th centuries, the house was the seat of the Worsley family: Sir James Worsley was Keeper of the Wardrobe to that wicked monarch, Henry VIII, becoming the holder of all the important offices in the Isle of Wight. The family made many alliances, by marriage, to some of the great families of Engand - the Nevilles, Herberts and Thynnes. Appuldurcombe has, unfortunately, been uninhabited since 1909 and the building has decayed to such an extent that only the shell remains. Rose Macauley, in her Pleasure of Ruins (1953) described the house as having 'disintegrated beautifully in all the morbid shades of a fading bruise'. It was hear that the Solesmes community settled, prior to building Quarr Abbey.

South-west of Ventnor, the coast runs along S Catherine's Down to Blackgang Chine. Once a wooded valley, much used by smugglers, Blackgang Chine, situated on the cliffs between Niton and Chale provides a opportunity to survey the magnificent scenery from the Sussex coast on one side to the ‘Jurassic Coast’ of west Wight towards ‘The Needles’ and Dorset beyond, on the other. Nearby, are the medieval remains of a small oratory and tower, both dedicated to S Catherine (of ??).

GODSHILL
A few miles north of S Catherine’s Point lies the picturesque village of Godshill. As well as tea gardens, the Cider Barn and traditional village 'pubs', there is a magnificent Model Village with miniature versions of many island towns and attractions. For those of a mercantile disposition, the Old Smithy houses many different shops. Nevertheless, perhaps the most magnificent treasure in the village is the Parish Church of All Saints' and its wonderful medieval wall painting of the ‘Lily Cross’. Now, a unique feature in the United Kingdom, it was once a more common devotional device, reminding the medieval faithful of the years when Good Friday coincided with the feast of the Annunciation. You will find the wall painting above the Blessed Sacrament altar in the south transept.

The name ‘Godshill’ is often thought to refer to the story of the church’s construction. Each day, the medieval builders would start work at the foot of the knoll around which the village was built. However, each evening, the church would mysteriously disappear from the foot of the hill and re-appear on its summit. This continued for a few days until the builders gave up and built the church atop the hill, believing it to be God’s will that the church be on the hill. Scholars now believe that the hill’s summit was the site of a pagan temple and that this was an example of the Christian Church ‘Christianising’ a former place of worship.

Since the Reformation, this church has been in the hands of the Established Church.

SHEAT MANOR
The manor was built around the late sixteenth century by the Urry family, many of whom remained Catholic during penal times. Elizabeth Heneage was born at Sheat in 1734. She inherited the manor from her uncle, which by this time contained a secret chapel in the attic where Mass was celebrated; the escape route for the priest being behind the chimney which led down a tunnel into the garden and which may still be seen today.

As mentioned above, the Catholic Emancipation Act of 1790 allowed Catholics to build their own churches, and Elizabeth was instrumental in the erection of the first Catholic Church on the island since the desecration of the churches at the Reformation.

Elizabeth died in 1800 and is buried in S Thomas of Canterbury’s Church – the church which she caused to be built.

Almost all the island’s medieval churches are of great beauty and many preserve much of the feel of a medieval Catholic church, albeit thanks to the ‘Oxford Movement’.

If you do decide to come to the Island, don’t forget to say hello!!

You can find more general information about the island here.