The Corpus of ROMANESQUE SCULPTURE in Britain & Ireland
Isle of Wight (now)
Parish church
All Saints stands on the southern margin of a small village green in the centre of the nucleated village of Calbourne. The village lies to the north of the Island’s lateral chalk ridge in the west-central area of the Isle of Wight, on a NS route-way and just to the south of an EW route-way. The church consists of nave, chancel, S aisle, tower to the south of the nave and west of the aisle, a porch and chapel to the north of the nave and a small porch to the west. The base of the tower is of the 14thc. with the upper part rebuilt in 1752. The S aisle and chancel are of the mid-13thc. The church experienced ‘a vigorous restoration’ by A. F. Livesay in 1838–42. He was responsible for the neo-Norman north porch, the adjoining Simeon chapel, and the S arcade of the nave (Lloyd and Pevsner 2006, 101–2).
Parish church
Brading is a town on the Isle of Wight about three miles W of Bembridge, and St Mary’s church occupies a locally prominent site in the central E part of the island just NW of the Yar gap in the lateral chalk ridge. The lower Yar valley was formerly the site of Brading Haven. It is situated at the N end of the two row settlement of the medieval town of Brading. The church consists of an early 13thc tower, a nave with Transitional Norman arcades of five bays, N and S aisles, a S porch, a chancel which was extended in 1875-6 with flanking N and S chapels of the late 15th or early 16thc. The Romanesque features are the nave arcades and the piscina attached to the S wall of the chancel (Lloyd and Pevsner 2006, 91-2).
Parish church
St Mildred’s is situated in a relatively isolated position in the N of the Isle of Wight to the east of the Medina estuary. Whippingham church was entirely rebuilt between 1854 and 1862, replacing a structure which had been modified by John Nash in 1804-06, but which was essentially a medieval building (Lloyd and Pevsner 2006, 293). This church was illustrated by Tomkins in 1794 (reproduced in Cox 1911, 157). This view of the church from the S shows a nave with a blocked-up round headed arcade arch to the left of the porch and a rectangular three light window under a drip moulding below a small gable to the right, a long chancel lit by a triangular headed window and with what appears to be lancet window, the chancel being accessed by a square headed doorway, an un-buttressed western tower with a saddle-back roof, and a gabled south porch. Three remaining Romanesque features are built into the external walls of the Victorian S porch, a lintel, a chevron voussoir and a billet voussoir. Further Romanesque features are the two short lenghts of chevron reset in the external east elevation of the Victorian church: a voussoir above the window of the S chapel flanking the chancel, and a voussoir above the window of the N flanking chapel.
Parish church
Arreton is a small village in the central part of the Isle of Wight, about 3 miles SE of Newport. The church is situated to the S of the lateral chalk ridge, and adjoins the site of Arreton Manor. The structure consists of a chancel and an aisled nave, a W tower and a S porch. The nave and W two-thirds of the chancel N wall date to the 11thc or to the early 12thc, whilst the N arcade of the nave was built in the late 12thc and the S arcade was erected in the early 13thc. The masonry of the external walls of the N aisle can be dated to the early 13thc. The W tower was added in the late 13thc, and the S aisle external walls, the E third of chancel, and part of the chancel S arcade connecting with the contemporary S chapel can be referred to this phase. In the 15thc the tower was reinforced by the diagonal buttresses, and in the 16thc the S porch was added (Lloyd and Pevsner 2006, 73-5).
The Romanesque features of this site are the N arcade of the nave and a fragment of a dragon’s head attached to the E wall of the N aisle.
Parish church
Niton church consists of a nave with N and S arcades, a W tower, a S porch, a chancel with a vestry to the north and a continuation of the S aisle to its south. The nave N arcade of three bays is of a later 12thc date and the S arcade was constructed in the 13thc. The W tower may date from 17thc and the porch appears to have been built between the late 15th and early17thc (Lloyd and Pevsner 2016, 192). The vestry would appear to date from the restoration of 1864.
The Romanesque features are the cable-moulded font and the N arcade of the nave.
Parish church
St John’s church forms part of the hamlet of Northwood which is situated to the west of the Medina estuary. Northwood church consists of a W tower, nave, N and S aisles of four bays, and a chancel, with the vestry to the north and organ chamber to the south. The nave arcades have pointed arches, with the S aisle entered through a round-headed doorway with chevron around its head. The small W tower and spire were added in 1864 and the S porch is of a similar date (Lloyd and Pevsner 2006, 197). The Romanesque features are the S doorway and the nave arcades.
Parish church
St Mary’s church is situated on the N side of the historic core of Carisbrooke village near the centre of the island. This consisted mainly of a two-row settlement along a significant EW route-way associated with a gap in the island’s lateral chalk ridge. The church consists of a nave, a S aisle in two parts, a S porch and a W tower. The chancel was demolished c. 1565 (Lloyd and Pevsner 2006, 112-3). The S wall of the nave contains two single-splayed windows which were cut away with the insertion of the late 12th-c arcade of five bays. The part of the aisle corresponding to the two W bays of the arcade is much narrower than the E part, with the former probably representing the width of the late 12thc aisle. The wider part would appear to be a rebuilding of the early to mid-13thc. The porch dates from the 16thc. The tower is dated 1471 on a renewed stone (Lloyd and Pevsner 2006, 113). The priory buildings were situated immediately to the N of the church as indicated by two arched recesses in the external N wall of the nave and the weathering for the former cloister above, with Priory Farm to the N of the churchyard wall.
The Romanesque features are the S arcade, the smaller of the two recesses in the N wall of the nave, the nave N doorway and the incised slab set into the floor at the E end of the nave. The heads and jambs of the two single-splayed windows in the nave S wall are Romanesque but are devoid of any ornamentation.
Parish church
St Andrew’s church is situated adjoining a road junction in the core of the village of Chale. The village lies immediately to the W of the island’s southern chalk massif and is a short distance from the coast. The church consists of a nave with S aisle and porch, a chancel with a S chapel and a western tower. The arch between the chancel and the chapel is round-headed and plain. The S arcade has three varied bays, with the E bay dating from the later 12thc, with much of the structure to the W of this originating at a later date. The chancel was enlarged in 1872 to align with the S chapel. The tower dates from the 15thc (Lloyd and Pevsner 2006, 115-6).
Romanesque features are found in the eastern parts of the S arcade of the nave. The round-headed arch between the chancel and the S chapel is probably Romanesque.
Castle
Carisbrooke Castle occupies an elevated site near, the centre of the island adjoining the Medina gap in the lateral chalk ridge, and overlooks the village of Carisbrooke. It is a medieval castle site which originated as a castle between 1066 and 1086, with several phases of development culminating in the provision of the surrounding artillery fortifications in the late 16thc. The later medieval castle consisted of the curtain wall, the motte surmounted by a shell keep, an elaborate gate house and various internal buildings including the chapel of St Nicholas. The chapel was rebuilt between 1905 to 1906 on its medieval foundations. The core of the gatehouse originated in the 13thc and its existing form dates from 1335 to 1356. The outer artillery fortifications were the work of Gianibelli and were commissioned in 1597 (Lloyd and Pevsner 2006, 107-12).
The only surviving Romanesque sculpture is a capital now displayed in the museum.
Private house
Swainston Manor is situated in parkland in the west-central area of the Isle of Wight to the N of the island’s lateral chalk ridge. Swainston Manor is a large house dating from the 18thc. Adjoining this are substantial remains from the medieval period. There is a rectangular block of largely 13thc date with a main story lit by lancet and later windows above an undercroft . Attached to the N side of this structure is a smaller range which is also aligned E-W. This was altered in the 18thc but its E wall dates from the later 12thc, indicated by the twin light window high up in the external wall (Lloyd and Pevsner 2006, 278).