Holy Trinity Parish Church in Bembridge
Bembridge Windmill
Mill Farm, Bembridge Photos kindly submitted by Alice Benson, Lakeside, California, USA

Bembridge is tucked securely into the southeast corner of the island with a lovely little harbour with the downs acting as a backdrop, Here on the cliffs nearby is a school that was founded by Howard Whitehouse which has a chapel that has a splendid tower that became a well known landmark. Whitehouse was the first warden of Bembridge and was a friend of John Ruskin and his home on Lake Coniston has been preservered.  The Ruskin Galleries are housed in one of the school buildings and there are around 300 original drawings done by Ruskin in pencil and water colour.

The village was made up of five hamlets that were joined by large farms and in the past forty or so years these farms have been replaced by shops and schools as well as housing, bringing the population to about 4,500  which in the summer months is greatly increased due to the visitors

There are five pubs, three hotels, two sailing clubs, two supermarkets, three churches, a post office a maritime museum and all sorts of shops etc making this a thriving little village, and also one of the largest in Europe.

Bembridge Windmill was built from island stone in 1700 and used to make flour and animal feed. It was normally staffed by a man and a boy who worked a 15 hour day and much of the foodstuff produced was exported, convict ships would stock up with grain here en route to Australia and the mill was probably the last bit of England many of the convicts would see.
 

The Bembridge Monument and the inscription below photo courtesy of the Isle of Wight Index

Nearby can be found Culver Cliff which is a well known bird sanctuary and the poet Swinburne is said to have climbed these steep cliffs as a boy. Brading Harbour is said to be in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle along with at description of one of King Alfred's naval battle.