THE VECTIS SCENERY.
BEING A SERIES OF MOST INTERESTING AND REMARKABLE VIEWS
IN THE
ISLE OF WIGHT.
Are
particularly requested to observe, that this being altogether a LOCAL PRODUCTION,
it is peculiarly suited to take a s a PRESENT to a Friend, or as an Object of
Curiosity: since it possesses a permanent interest, and will prove A NOVELTY
in every other part of the kingdom – because it has never been in the hands
either of Hawkers or the London Booksellers.
ADDRESS TO VISITORS
IT is a peculiar feature
in the VECTIS SCENERY, and which must strongly recommend it to the attention
of strangers, that it is altogether a LOCAL PRODUCTION, and never has
been committed to the hands of either Hawkers or the London Publishers: and
that its Sale is confined to the Trade in the Island, and three or four towns
on the opposite coast. Its accuracy
may be fairly inferred from the long residence of the Artist in the island,
and from the Views being studied and executed on the spot, as well as the printing
of the Plates and Letter-press;—circumstances which render it singularly well-suited
for a REMEMBRANCER, or to be taken away for the purpose of a PRESENT
to a Friend, or as an Object of Curiosity ; since it always possesses the value
of being a Novelty, taken to whatever part of the
Kingdom it may.
These facts are mentioned,
because so many cheap pictorial publications are every day starting, and which
are said to pay exceedingly well from their very wide circulation. But it must
be remembered at the same time, that all Graphic and Fancy Productions become
cheapened in proportion to their multiplicity : or in other words, commonness
destroys the interest and pleasure of possession.
The Artist has studied
to execute the Engravings in a bold, DISTINCT, and effective style—keeping as close as possible
to the natural character of the various subjects ; and whatever may be
the differing opinions of connoisseurs respecting the general merits of the
Work, he is proud of its having been pronounced by the resident Gentry, as very
superior to any other yet published (however elaborately finished,) in the essential
of the Views being strikingly correct and characteristic of the Island Scenery.
The Price must
be deemed quite moderate when it is considered, that the Plates are made every
year to correspond to any material changes which may take place in the subjects
through natural causes or artificial improvements; that the Views are studied
and engraved on the spot;—and that the number printed must be necessarily very
limited, from the sale being so confined. But these peculiarities in the mode of publishing
the Work, added to its intrinsic merit, will no doubt be duly appreciated by
those Visitors who desire to take some appropriate memento from the island
which is ENTIRELY LOCAL, —which shall have a permanent interest, and prove to the latest period
of life a most pleasing Remembrancer of their happy excursions through this
Garden of England.
It may not be quite
irrelative further to state, that the Engraver has been above thirty years a
local resident: a circumstance which certainly must be admitted to afford him
some advantage over those of his profession who make hasty trips for the purpose
of taking sketcnes ; and which, when returned to London, they are anxious to
elaborate into imposing pictures, rather than faithful copies of nature.
List of the Engravings.
VIGNETTE ON TITLE-PAGE.........………...North Entrance
to the
PAGE.
1 West Cowes, looking towards the harbour
and mouth of
2 -——-———westward of the Castle : the new Church, &c., ..................................... —
3 Osborne, the summer-residence of Her Most Gracious Majesty, .............................. 22
4
5 Town of
6 Ryde, eastward of the Pier, ............................................................................................... —
7 View from Nunwell Down, embracing Brading, Bembridge, &c., ............................... 30
8 Shanklin Chine, as it appears from off the water at high-tide, .................................... 32
9 The Head (or waterfall,) of Shanklin Chine, .................................................................. —
10 View from Shanklin Down, looking over the village to the Culvers, &c. .................. 34
11 The Chine and
12 Bonchurch : general view taken from near the old Church, ....................................... 40
13 The
14 The Town of Ventnor, as seen from the water, ............................................................ —
15
16 The Southern Coast of the
17 St. Lawrence Church, and the Undercliff looking to the westward, ........................... 44
18 St. Catharine's Light-house, near Niton,
looking towards
19 The Sandrock Spring, looking towards Blackgang Chine, ......................................... —
20 Blackgang Chine, at the time of the wreck of the ship ‘Clarendon,' .......................... 50
21 The
22 Freshwater Bay, from the cliffs, looking towards the beacon, ................................... 54
23
24 The Needle Rocks, and Light-house. ............................................................................ 56
25 The Freshwater Cliffs, particularly the Grand Arch in Scratchell’s Bay, ................... —
26 Grand Arch in Scratchell’s Bay, from the interior; and the Needles, ......................... —
27
28 The River Yar:
29
30 ——- -——-Village and Church, as seen from the ascent to the castle, ................... —
31 The High-street of
32 The River
33 Wootton-bridge, looking over the River and Village to Fernhill, .............................. 66
34 Gatcombe, and the Country between
35 Appuldurcombe, seat of the Right Hon. Earl Yarborough, ........................................ 70
36 Ashey Sea-mark, and the
INTRODUCTORY
GENERAL
DESCRIPTION OF THE
"Here in this delicious garden is
Variety without end : sweet interchange
Of hills, and vallies, rivers, woods, and plains:
Now land, now sea, and shores with forests crown'd,
Rocks, dens, and caves."
THE ISLE OF WIGHT
has been so much and deservedly admired for the sweetness and variety of its
landscapes, salubrity of air, and fertility of soil, as to have long acquired
the very emphatic designation of the "
The Island is separated
from the coast of Hampshire by a strait called the
The COAST changes
its aspect with the surrounding sea, and is distinguished by a diversity of
bold and picturesque scenery: its line being broken and varied by several rivers,
creeks, and bays. The shore opposite Hampshire generally falls to the water
in easy sweeps, cultivated or well-wooded, and enlivened by the presence of
towns, villages, and gentlemen's seats; but the southern side, provincially
called the Bade of the island, presents a succession of perpendicular cliffs
of great altitude, or bold and precipitous slopes destitute of vegetation. On the one side, all is busy, dressed, and cheerful,
while calmness and security characterise the usual state of the river; but on
the other, which is exposed to the impetuous tides of the ocean, the scenery
participates equally of the beautiful and romantic, the sublime and terrific.
The interior of the
island boasts of less sublimity of character; but we shall find the face of
the country replete with the most animating rural charms. Considering the small
dimensions of the island, its lofty hills and downs have quite as picturesque
an effect in the composition of its landscapes, as the vast heaving swells of
a more mountainous region. Its valleys are equally pleasing and diversified,
everywhere displaying the triumph of cultivation, and enriched by fertilizing
streams and navigable rivers. The whole
island is checquered by the most lively opposition of tints....the smooth pasturing
down, the wild heath, the polished lawn, luxuriant meadows, and extensive corn-fields,
delightfully inter-mixed with hedge-row trees, groves, and forest-woods.
In whatever direction
the eye strays, it is saluted by the more embellished scenes of elegant seats,
and genteel cottage-residences out of number; and as these enrich the face of
Nature with their parks, shrubberies, and flower-beds, she is no less adorned
by the respectable appearance of the farm-houses, and the neatness of the rustic
habitations, while the proximity of a town or village gives to every scene the
animating touches of busy life.
"The almost perpetual
succession of hills and dales which cover the
EXTENT, BOUNDARIES, &c.
The FIGURE of the
island is that of an irregular lozenge, measuring 23 miles from east to west,
and 13 from north to south: circumscribes about 60 miles, and contains upwards
of 100,000 acres. It is almost encompassed
by formidable rocks and shelves, of which the most noted are the Needles and
Shingles, at the western point, Rocken-end Race at the south, and Bembridge
Ledge at the eastern extremity. No part of the British coast is more dangerous
to vessels ungoverned and driving in a storm; and scarcely a winter passes without
the melancholy catastrophe of shipwreck. Those places where the shore is low
and accessible, are guarded by military fortifications.
The island is imagined
by many to have once formed part of the main land; and. To have been, in the
time of the Romans, a peninsula joined by an isthmus passable at low water.
This supposed isthmus was from Gurnet a mile west of Cowes), to a place on the
opposite shore called Leap, where the channel is not more than about three miles
across; each point has a hard gravelly bottom, extending out to a considerable
distance: and as the tides meet about midway in the channel, though the conflict
occasions rough water, still there is not that impetuous current, as at either
extremity to carry away the soil and
deepen its bed.
But the arguments for this hypothesis are opposed by reasoning equally forcible,
and in fact nothing conclusive has yet been advanced on either side of this
difficult question.
PROGRESSIVE CHANGE IN THE COAST.
The Coast throughout
its whole extent manifests an important change; the sea making alarming encroachments
in some parts, and retiring from it in others.
In many places on
the south side, or back of the island, which is exposed to the rage of a tempestuous
tide, the LOSS OF LAND has been estimated in certain spots to exceed 200 feet
in breadth in the course of the last century. As some balance, however, to this extensive
depredation of the sea on the one side of the island, the very reverse is certainly
taking place on the other, particularly from St. Helen's to Ryde; for vessels
are said formerly to have come up an arm of the sea to Barnsley and Nettlestone,
a mile from the shore, of which there is not at present the least trace remaining.
And about the year 1760, Ryde was accessible only at or near the time
of high water, the shore being a disgusting stretch of mere mud, too soft to
bear the slightest weight; but this is now covered with a layer of fine white
sand, sufficiently firm to bear wheel-carriages, and is found to be gradually
increasing both in depth and extent. The sea appears to be receding also in
certain parts of the eastern coast, in consequence of an accumulation of shingles
(or small pebbly stones), drifted and thrown up by the tides.
"No spot perhaps
upon the terrestrial globe shows more evident proofs of the gradual secession
of the sea, than the
"The operation of
the sea upon coasts, sometimes in deserting them, and sometimes in gaining upon
them, appears to be among the most surprising phenomena of Nature; and though
its agency is so sportive, that it has all the appearance of caprice, it is
governed by certain and regular causes. Where the land is high, and the sea
cannot overflow it, the continual beating of the waves will make an impression
by degrees, unless it consist of very stubborn rock. In all the looser parts
the earth will give way ; which is the case with the high lands about Brighthelmstone:
and if the shore be rocky, when the soil is washed off, the rocks will become
insulated, like the Needle Rocks at the western end of the Isle of Wight; or
perhaps they may fall off in fragments.——Again, when the coast is low, and the
tides over-flow it, they are continually depositing sand, and ooze, or gravel,
which by degrees become firm land, and keep back the sea.
Various causes indeed, such as currents, bold headlands, sand-banks,
reefs of rocks, or sheltered bays, may counteract the sea in both operations;
but where no foreign causes intervene, its action will be regular, in the manner
just described.——GILPIN.
AGRICULTURAL AND GEOLOGICAL PARTICULARS, ZOOLOGY, &c.
A range of chalk hills
stretch from east to west the whole extent of the island, dividing it into two
distinct regions, the soil and strata of which are essentially different: a
stiff clay predominating on the north side, which is extensively covered with
wood: while the south side is principally of a light sandy soil or mellow loam,
and being exceedingly fertile, the whole tract is almost exclusively employed
in tillage. In fact, the island affords a great diversity of soil, yet upon
the whole is extremely well calculated for husbandry; and produces as much corn
in one year, as would be consumed by the inhabitants in seven or eight.
The species of grain
most cultivated are wheat, barley, oats, beans, and pease: the green crops are
turnips, vetches, clover, rye-grass, and trefoil. Pasture and meadow land is
extremely rich, and produces from two to three tons of fine hay per acre. Farms
are generally of a moderate size, from 100 to £400 per annum, and a few from
700 to £.800. The extensive downs .of the island afford excellent pasture for
sheep, whose wool is of a staple not inferior to that produced on the South
Downs: the number annually shorn is supposed to be about 50,000,—and the lambs
sold to the London butchers are usually from 5 to 6000 in a year. Oxen sufficient
for home consumption are now fatted in the island : Devon and
The demands of the
Dock-yards both here and at Portsmouth have greatly thinned the TIMBER of the
island, which is principally oak and elm, and is found to grow most luxuriantly
in the wooded tract from East Cowes to St. Helen's. In the time of king Charles II, it is said
to have been so plentiful, that a squirrel might have run on the tops of the
trees from Gurnard to Carisbrooke, and in several other parts for leagues together.
The public HIGHWAYS
are generally kept in an excellent state of repair: but it must be obvious,
from the very hilly nature of the country, that there is no possibility of avoiding
steep acclivities and quick descents: but as this inconvenience is a source
of constant change of scenery, and affords occasionally unbounded prospects,
few pleasure-visitors will regret those frequent checks to their rapid driving.
The island affords
many rare and quite singular GEOLOGICAL phenomena, and is, from its smallness
and the nature of its coasts, peculiarly adapted for the investigation of its
structure. It abounds with chalk, marle, excellent brick-earth, gravel, tobacco-pipe
and potter's clay, fuller's earth, and red and yellow ochres. The finest white sand in the kingdom is obtained
from the cliffs of
Excellent Stone of
various qualities is also found in most parts of the island : and with that
procured from the quarries of Binstead, which were formerly very extensive,
the body of Winchester Cathedral was built. "A stratum of limestone is
found along the north of the island, which is full of hollows left by the perishing
of the shells imbedded in it, but is nevertheless of an extremely durable quality,
and
The Chalk that composes
the great range of hills which runs from east to west, is in every part divided
into strata of different thicknesses, from two to four or five feet, exactly
parallel, with scarcely any bend, and having a high inclination dipping north,
in one instance quite perpendicular. "It is in general of a closer and
harder texture than that of most of the chalk ranges in the south of
FISH of every kind
common to the southern coast of
GAME is abundant:
particular attention being paid to its preservation. "The great plenty of hares and other game
is owing to the care of Sir Edward Horsey, governor in 1582, who is reported
to have given a lamb for every living hare brought to him from the neighbouring
counties." Otters are frequently seen. It is very remarkable, there are
no polecats nor badgers loose in the island: nor were foxes till lately, but
these have been repeatedly introduced by some-admirers of hunting (regardless
of their mischievous depredations), and are now breeding rather numerously in
those parts which afford them a favorable haunt.
Astonishing numbers
of sea-fowl resort in the summer to the cliffs of Freshwater and Bembridge:
and in the latter, the eagle has been known to build its eyry.—The quantity
of poultry reared in the island is very considerable, and much esteemed.
THE CLIMATE
Has always been considered
extremely salubrious, from the highly cultivated face of the country, and the
ever-refreshing sea-breezes: but since the publication of Dr. darkens Treatise
on the Influence of Climate in the cure of Chronic Disorders, the island has
been much more resorted to by invalids. "The
TRADE, POPULATION, &c.
No manufacture of
any consequence is carried on in the island, except at a lace-factory which
has been established near
The stationary population
of the island is at present about 45,000 : and the total number of houses about
8500. The constant intercourse which the inhabitants have with persons from
all parts of the kingdom, has entirely erased any insular peculiarity which
might have formerly existed. The yeomanry are a very respectable class; and
the native females have the reputation of possessing superior personal charms,
and certainly are no less remarkable for those solid and amiable qualities,
which form the basis of domestic happiness.
The following extract
from the Memoirs of Sir John Oglander, which were written about the year 1700,
exhibits a most amusing picture of the simplicity of manners which characterised
the islanders in the 16th century. "I have heard," says Sir John, "and
partly knowe it to be true, that not only heretofore there was no lawyer nor
attorney in owre island, but in Sir George Carey's time (1588), an attorney
coming in to settle in the island, was by his command, with a pound of candles
hanging att his breech lighted, with bells about his legs, hunted owte of the
island, insomuch "that owre ancestors lived here so quietly and securely,
being troubled neither to London nor Winchester, so they seldom or never went
owte of the island, insomuch as when they went to London (thinking it an East
India voyage), they always made their wills, supposing no trouble like to travaile."
[Is it a disposition
for litigation that has since spread among the inhabitants of this once peaceful
spot, or what other cause is it, that has led to the present multiplication
of lawyers'? seeing that there are no fewer than 15 or 16 in Newport alone,
besides a sufficient number at Cowes and Ryde;—and even this ample number is
not adequate to the demand for legal assistance, for very frequently professional
gentlemen are engaged from the opposite shore to plead the cause of injured
innocence or invaded right.]
PAROCHIAL DIVISIONS.—The
river Medina, which rises in the south, and flows to the north, divides the
island into two nearly equal parts or hundreds, called respectively the East
and West Medene: the first comprising 14, the latter 16 parishes, viz.—EAST;
Arreton, Binstead, Bonchurch, Brading, Godshill, Newchurch, Niton, Shanklin,
St. Helen's, St. Lawrence, Whippingham, Whitwell, Wootton, and Yaverland.——WEST:
Brixton, Brooke, Calbourne, Carisbrooke, Chale, Freshwater, Gatcombe, Kingston,
Mottistone, Newport, Northwood, Shorwell, Shalfleet, St. Nicholas, Thorley,
and Yarmouth.
o
OUTLINE
OF THE LOCAL HISTORY.
m
THE HISTORY of a small
dependent island, such as the Wight, must be in its leading circumstances the
same as that of the country to which it belongs : and the relation of its peculiar
sufferings by predatory descents and invasions, forms only a broken and unconnected
narrative. According to Suetonius, it was first conquered by the Romans about
the year of our Lord 43; but they seem to have entertained no apprehension from
the inhabitants, as not the least traces of their usual fortifications have
been discovered. By them the
In the year 495, it was invaded by Henric, a
Saxon chief, who barbarously slew most of the natives, whom lie replaced with
a great number of Jutes and Saxons, and bestowed the island on his two nephews.
After this revolu- tion it probably remained undisturbed till attacked
and laid waste by Wulfar, king of Murcia, in 661; a few years after which it
was again ravaged by Ceadwalla, who claimed it as his inheritance. Bede relates,
that the inhabitants not having embraced Christianity (although it was 90 years
after the mission of Augustine), Ceadwalla formed a determination to root them
out as idolaters, and to repeople the island with "Christians;" he
was however prevailed upon to make use of less sanguinary measures, and to spare
the lives of such as would receive baptism, to which the majority most probably
submitted. The islanders being thus converted to Christianity,
nothing remarkable occurred till 787, when the island was surprized by Danish
pirates, with a design to render it a place of retreat, to which they might
retire with the spoils taken from the English coast. No appearances however
remain of their intrenchments; perhaps owing to their being protected by a fleet
much superior to that of the Saxons, who had for a long time neglected their
navy, till, roused by the repeated incursions of these piratical freebooters,
king Alfred and his successors augmented their naval force. In the year 897,
a fleet of Danish pirates again approached the island, and after the inhabitants
had been cruelly plundered, sailed to the coast of
998—1001.] During the reign of Ethelred, the Danes again
appeared in the Channel, and after plundering the coast, carried their spoils
to the Isle of Wight, where they lived at discretion, no English force being
able to withstand them: and appear to have made this defenceless spot their
customary retreat whenever they had ravaged the neighbouring- counties, and
collected any considerable booty. On one occasion, after making an excursion
to the west, and setting fire to several towns in Devonshire and Somersetshire,
they revisited the island, and here also burned a number of villages, and a
town called Wealtham, which is conjectured to have been either Newtown, or Weri-ow
(a hamlet near Thorley, which has evident marks of its being once a populous
place). The last of these invasions
mentioned in history happened in 1066: still however the island remained exposed
to other occasional violence : for the outlawed Earl Godwin having been furnished
with a naval force by the Earl of Flanders, he made a descent on the Isle of
Wight and the peninsula of Portland, both of which he pillaged, and his son
joining him afterwards with nine ships, returned, and stripped the miserable
inha- bitants of all that had escaped his former depredations.
The island seems to have
enjoyed a state of tranquillity from the time of William the Conqueror to the
13th. of Edward III, when it was attacked by the French, who landed at St. Helen's
point, and marched forward till met by the islanders, who drove them back to
their ships'. About this time a variety of excellent regulations were made by
the inhabitants for their better security : the land-holders were by their tenures
bound to defend the castle of Carisbrooke for 40 days at their own charges:
the county of Devon sent for its defence 76 men-at-arms, and the city of London
300 slingers and bowmen.
Although invasions were
frequently menaced, the place continued unmolested till the first year of Richard
II, at which time the French, as Stowe relates it, "took that invincible
isle more by craft than force;" this he supposes could not have happened,
had the watches done their duty; but on what grounds he formed so high an opinion
of the strength of the island at that time, is not obvious, for it was exposed
to the insults of all invaders; there being then no forts to obstruct their
landing, and Carisbrooke Castle standing in the centre of the island, could
only serve for a retreat. In fact, this want of domestic security so discouraged
the natives, that many families withdrew, when an order was issued to the-wardens
to seize the lands of all such as refused to return.
1370.] The preparations
of the French having given timely notice of their hostile intentions, the militia
of the island, which then consisted of nine companies of 100 men each, were
reinforced both from Southampton and
called Noddies Hill, now covered
by Node-hill, the southern avenue to Newport.
The French, unable to subdue the castle, at length withdrew; but before
they re-embarked, obliged the natives to redeem their houses from being burned,
by a contribution of 1000 merks, and also bound them by oath not to resist,
should they revisit the island within a year.
Towards the latter end
of the reign of Henry V, a considerable body of Frenchmen landed, and boasted
that they would here keep their Christmas; but as near a thousand of them were
driving cattle towards their ships, they were suddenly attacked by the islanders,
who compelled them to leave not only their plunder, but also many of their men
behind. Not long after this, a large French fleet arrived: and demanding a subsidy,
were boldly answered, "that if they had any desire to try their prowess,
they should not only be permitted to land without molestation, but should be
allowed also six hours to refresh themselves, after which the islanders would
meet them in the field." This generous invitation however ttie enemy thought
it as well to decline, and accordingly retired.
While the rest of the
kingdom was ravaged alternately by the partizans of the houses of York and Lancaster,
the remote situation of the island procured it an exemption from the calamities
of civil war; nor was its tranquillity disturbed by tlie French, who at that
time were sufficiently employed with their own intestine troubles, till the
year 1545, when they again made a descent. Having landed about 2000 men, it
was proposed in a council of war to fortify and keep possession of the island
: but this being found impracticable, they began to pillage and burn the villages;
but were soon met by the natives, who repulsed them with the loss of their commanding
officer and many of his men.
To secure the coast from
the like insults, several forts were constructed in different places by order
of king Henry VIII: these, though at present of little estimation, were at that
time deemed of the first importance. But the island was afterwards more effectually
guarded by the naval strength of
At the time when the
peace of the nation was destroyed by the division between king Charles I. and
the parliament, its situation happily preserved it from scenes of hostility
between the troops; but so important a contest could not but interest all men
in the event. At first, the inhabitants
manifested a zeal in the king's favor: but the fickle populace changing, Carisbrooke
Castle and the other forts were seized by the opposite party; and on the arrival
of the Earl of Pembroke, the gentlemen and principal farmers assembled at Cowes,
and tendered their best services. The inhabitants having thus taken a decisive
step in closing with the prevailing power, they remained undisturbed spectators
of the ensuing commotions, until the king injudiciously sought here an asylum.
Nov. 12, 1647.] On the
first arrival of the king in the island, the governor, Colonel Hammond, lodged
him in Carisbrooke Castle, not as a prisoner, but as a guest: there appeared
not the least restraint on his actions; he rode out when and where he pleased;
his faithful servants were permitted to repair to him, and all who desired it
were admitted into his presence without distinction. His liberty however was soon abridged ; his
confidential servants removed, and himself confined to the walls of the castle. For his recreation the colonel converted a
parade into a bowling-green; and at one side was an agreeable summer-house,
where his majesty passed his vacant hours—exercising himself by walking on the
ramparts or in the bowling-green, but carefully observing stated hours for writing
and devotion. Several unsuccessful attempts were made to liberate him by a few
of his friends, and some of the gentlemen of the island,—which only served as
a pretext for increasing the rigor of his confinement: in the mean time he laid
aside all care of his person, suffering his hair and beard, grown to an extraordinary
length, to hang disheveled and neglected. During the time of the Treaty of Newport (Sept.
18—Nov. 25, 1648,) he was so far released as to be a prisoner at large on his
parole; till the army suddenly put an end to the negociation, by seizing and
imprisoning him in Hurst Castle: the final catastrophe of which affair is too
well known to require here a recital.————During the civil war the island enjoyed
a much happier state than any other part of the kingdom ; which invited many
of the inhabitants of the neighbouring counties to retire hither, a circumstance
that for the time rose the farm-rents in the proportion of 20 per cent. Subsequently,
the local history pre- sents nothing interesting.
The absolute lordship
of the Isle of Wight was given by William the Conqueror to one William Fitz-osborne,
as a reward for his services at the battle of
—EEE—