Newchurch Parish
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The Parish of Newchurch

"This is the very Garden of England, and we be privileged to work in it as Husbandmen......."

These words were written by Mr. Anthony Dillington of Knighton Gorges in 1574 about the Parish of Newchurch.

Mr. A. Dillington had  bought the Manor house, Knighton Gorges some years previously and he was writing to his eldest son, Robert to encourage him to return to the island to help run the estate. Knighton  is in the north of the Parish just off one of the roads which lead to the Downs.

 

 

 

 

 

Newchurch gets its name from the new church which was built in 1087 by the monks of Lyra in Normandy. The plans for the church had probably been drawn up bchurchO2.JPG (7434 bytes)y William Fitz-Osbourne who died in 1070. Fortunately he had granted the tithes of Newchurch to the Abbey of Lyra. One wall remains from that church - the north wall of the chancel, pierced by three lancet windows.

Today the church stands proud on top of the Shute with its white boarded tower being seen from miles around.

The Parish of Newchurch nestles in the heart of the Isle of Wight.

The Parish of Newchurch used to stretch from the north coast of the island to the south coast and it included Havenstreet, Ashey, Wroxall and Rew. Nowadays it covers Knighton and Mersley in the north down to Whiteley Bank in the south.

Click on the link to the Villages  at the top of this page to find out more about the Parish.