THROUGH MY LENS - Bonchurch and E. Cowes I.O.W (Part 1)

Last March when I was visiting my daughter Gillian on the Isle of Wight, she took me to Bonchurch, a quintessentially small quiet English village with quaint cottages and a small selection of village shops.  Bonchurch nestles below the stunning St. Boniface Down, the highest point on the Island and that is where my daughter said we were walking to the top of!  All this week I will be sharing the photographs I took on that morning. Let us start our walk from the village.

These were some of the properties we passed through the village.

This is the church rebuilt in 1070.

The nave and chancel dates from the 11th century, with the bell cote dating from the 16th century as does the bell. The south porch was added in the 19th century.  It was replaced by St. Boniface Church, Bonchurch in 1848 but despite contemporary discussions about demolition, survives. After the new church was built the old church went into a long sleep and wasn't used for decades.

The poet Algernon Charles Swinburne spent his boyhood in Bonchurch, at East Dene, and was buried in 1909 at Bonchurch New Church, his grave being the subject of a poem by Thomas Hardy. He had an atheist funeral which was picketted in protest by his relatives. In the 20th Century Henry De Vere Stacpoole lived in the village for over 40 years, and was buried here in 1951.

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. 

I hope you can read the above as it is quite interesting.

The presence of a water spring is believed to be the reason why humans first settled in the area where present-day Bonchurch is located. A prehistoric race lived in the are around the Undercliff, land which was wild forest. Evidence has also been found showing that men that lived during the Stone Age had lived near to the water spring.  Five burial mounds have been discovered at St. Boniface Down. Evidence has also been discovered showing that the Romans established a settlement in the area.  Read more about this place at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bonchurch

Now I think we will stop here for a break but look in tomorrow to see what birds I saw that morning and then on Wednesday be prepared for the climb. The good news is after we come down we find a very interesting cafe for lunch.

I am linking this post with THROUGH MY LENS.

Many thanks for visiting and walking along with me and also for the comments.