St Mary the Virgin, Brightstone

Brighstone Church stands in the middle of the village at the side of the road from Shorwell, where the way to the coast turns off. It has stood there for close on eight hundred years, and its whole aspect is one of a sturdy strength and enduring quality which has outlasted the gales and storms of centuries.

Many generations of Brighstone people have cared for this church, and great has been their affection for it. This was never a rich parish and the building, enlargement, strengthening and repair of the fabric through many centuries have been carried
out by local men, men without special skill in the working and decoration of stone, and usually without much money with which to do it. The result is a certain rugged simplicity and beauty, but with many architectural imperfections. The Church has altered greatly through the years, and records of the changes are often few or non-existent; there are many gaps which can be filled only by conjecture, and dates and times must often
be approximate.

The setting is a peaceful rural scene, surrounded by woodland and pasture and overlooked by the chalk downs. It is close to the sea, and the spire, once painted white, was a landmark to ships that passed that way. The Rectory, standing close by, is
separated from the churchyard by a wall with a little wicket gate in it. This. too, is an ancient building, standing in an old garden where Thomas Ken wrote his hymns and William Wilberforce spent the closing years of his life.

The grey walls of the Church are of Island stone, much weathered, and supported by strong buttresses. The body of the building has nearly equal twin gables, and the tower is square and low, being surmounted by a short spire and weathercock. The main entrance is through a porch set in the south wall and leading from the churchyard. It is covered by heavy Dorset stone tiles of a type which it is believed at one time covered the whole roof of the Church, until their weight was found to be too great for it.

The porch is old and weathered, and above it is seen, outside, a sundial placed there in 1721. The figures and words on it can now scarcely be seen, the soft stone being worn by wind and weather. Canon Heygate, in his notes of 1891, tells us that round the figures was written: 'Go your way into His gates with thanksgiving'; over the finger was 'Reg Jones' (then Rector), and under it the date, 1721, and the initials of William
Jolliffe and Richard Woodford, churchwardens. Earl records that all the figures were present except XII. The inner door of the porch into the Church was made in the 15th century and above it is the site of a figure, possibly of the Virgin, with the remains of a canopy and the chisel-marks of its removal. The porch was added a little later than this south door.

Within the Church are three aisles, extending from west to east. The first reached on entering is the south aisle, comprising the Limerstone and Wayte's Court Chapels, the latter set along the side of the chancel. The central, main, aisle extends through the nave from the tower at the west to the chancel and Sanctuary. A third, the narrow northern aisle, is on the far side of the nave.

Through the centuries. The original Church was small and without a tower, and it dated from 1190 A.D. Its body was set with massive pillars and Norman arches on each side, with narrow north and south aisles outside these, and was built on a pattern then sometimes used. Of these arches, only those on the north side of the nave remain, and these form the oldest part of the Church as it stands today. The foundations of the original opposite pillars were found under the floor during work on a heating system in 1885. These (southern) pillars were removed towards the end of the 15th century, when the nave was widened and the present octagonal pillars with their Gothic
archways were built on that side. At this time the ancient narrow northern aisle was removed and the remaining Norman arches on that side filled up, to form for several centuries the outer wall of the Church. At this time, too, the Limerstone Chapel (a part of the present south aisle) was built, the whole Church being thus enlarged and widened. A doorway occupied the position of the centre arch in the north wall, and a porch was built over this in 1617. This porch was present in 1793, and can be seen in a print of that date, but was taken down in 1852 when the infilling of the arches was removed and the north aisle reconstructed.

The Nave. The massive Norman pillars have tilted over the years, owing to the weight of a heavy roof. They are now stable, and iron ties, to help to achieve this, may be seen
crossing the nave below the roof. The western Norman pillar shows the remains of 'dog-tooth' decoration at the springing of the two arches which arise from it, and this evidently extended, originally, along the whole length of the arcade of arches.

The Font is octagonal and probably of the 14th century or a little later. It is of generous dimensions to allow the complete immersion of an infant, as sometimes practised in those times, and there is panelling on each face of the shaft. Upon the southwestern pillar of the nave an ancient stone rectangle is seen, with canopy and moulding and a ledge. Here, it is believed, stood a small statue of the Virgin, the Font being in front of it
before its removal to its present position. The ledge may have been for a book.

The Pulpit is of blackened oak and is panelled and richly carved. It is Jacobean, having been placed in the Church in the time of James I; at one time a sounding board was suspended over it.

The Lectern was a gift of Edward Way of Limerstone, a churchwarden for nearly fifty years in the latter part of the 19th century.

The Tower. This was built in the 14th century. At first it reached only to the first course, the upper part and the external buttresses being added a little later. The west doorway is even older than the tower. It is thought to have been built originally into another part of the Church, and subsequently moved to its present position; possibly it formed the west door of the ancient building before the tower was put up. It is a small pointed doorway of the 13th century, and is best seen from the outside of the Church. Looking up into the tower from the vestry below, the floor of the bellchamber is seen to have been raised about four feet above the stone ledges on which it originally rested, being now supported at each corner by oaken timber from a wrecked ship. This was necessary when a new west window was inserted to commemorate the incumbency of
Samuel Wilberforce, 1830-40. A small .'squint' window is pierced high up through the wall of the tower into the nave. Through this was observed, in earlier days, the progress of the Mass, so that the Sanctus bell might be rung at the right moment in the service.

The spire is short and octagonal. The precise date of its building is uncertain, but the parish records of 1617 mention repairs to spire, and these are repeated in 1660. A strong oak supporting beam is seen within the tower, above the bells, and this bears the inscription 'W.I. 1720 I.H.' the initials being those of William Jolliffe and John Haywood, who were church- wardens at that time. To see this, it is necessary to mount the small staircase which ascends the tower, and this is reached through a little door at the back of the nave. This stairway leads up to a turret on the south side of the top of the tower.

The Chancel. The presence or absence of a chancel in the early Norman Church is unknown, and the date of its building is obscure. A chancel was certainly there in the 16th century, for the Wayte's Court Chapel was built alongside it. Supporting evidence, too, is the presence of bases to the pillars in the chancel similar to those on the south side of the nave. Old tombstones are seen in the floor, among them that of Thomas
Dingley, who became 'Minister' during the lime of Cromwells Commonwealth and who died in 1659. The Sanctuary tiles were a gift from Winchester College in commemoration of Bishop Ken, who had been Residentiary Canon at Winchester
before becoming Rector of Brighstone in 1666; similar tiles are seen round the Font.

An ancient altar-stone stands on the north side of the Sanctuary. Its origin is uncertain; it is believed to have come from the old Priory of Limerstone, situated about half a mile from Brighstone on the road to Shorwell. When this fell into disuse, it is thought that the stone was transferred to Brighstone, where it formed the altar in the original Limerstone Chape! in the Church. It was found, buried near the Church, at the time of the restorations in 1852, having lain there for close on three and a half centuries. The stone reredos behind the main Altar was carved by William Jackman, a village mason, and the two oak chairs on the south side of the Sanctuary were the gift of Charlotte Yonge, the authoress, in 1894.

A decorated memorial tablet on the north wall of the chancel commemorates three Rectors who became Bishops: Thomas Ken of Bath and Wells, Samuel Wilberforce of Oxford and later of Winchester, and John Moberley of Salisbury.

The South Aisle Chapels. The Limerstone Chapel forms the western portion of the present south aisle, which one reaches on entering. It was built towards the end of the 15th century, when the Church was enlarged and the nave widened, and at first it ended where it is now spanned by a large and somewhat asymmetric arch. A wall was here, and the old altar stone set against it. A piscina is to be seen on the south wall at about this point, set there for the washing of the priest's hands during the Mass.

The Wayte's Court Chapel is an extension of the south aisle eastward alongside the chancel and Sanctuary, and was added to the Church early in the 16th century by the owner of a nearby house of this name. The chancel was altered at this time by the
piercing of its south wall, and by the insertion of the slender pillars and pointed arches which now separate it from the Wayte's Court Chapel. A rood-screen and loft were built
across the chapel at about the position of the large arch which spans it, and the spiral stairway to this can be seen, partly buried in the wall where the massive buttress supports the Church outside. By this stairway, lights and decorations could
be placed round the Crucifix and the figures beside it, at times of special festival. It is not known when the rood-loft was removed, though a screen is said to have crossed this part of the Church as recently as 1852 (Earl).

The Roof. The oaken timbers of the roof of the nave and of the chapels of the south aisle were renewed between 1951 and 1955, to replace an earlier structure which was affected by Death-Watch beetle. This earlier roof was heavy, and is believed to be that which had been built on when the Church was enlarged in the 15th -16th centuries. The roof of the chancel is of pine, and dates from the latter part of last century. The old
decorated beams which span the roof of the Wayte's Court Chapel are believed to have come from a wreck, and carved on one of those crossing the Limerstone Chapel is to be seen the date, 1664, and the initials of the churchwardens of the time, Thomas Wavell and Joseph Bull.

The Windows. Little is known of earlier windows, those of today being all of comparatively recent date. They replaced the old square-headed windows of the 15th century, which were built in when the Church was first enlarged, and have been splayed to improve the lighting within. That above the vestry at the west end of the Church is the window of Samuel Wilberforce and was enlarged to its present size and form in 1840. One side shows our Lord raising the dead damsel to life, and the other the anointing of Christ's feet. The small window above the pulpit is a "Good Shepherd' window. The coloured glass in the chancel and in the east window of the Wayte's Court
Chapel is thick and clear, with only a little shading, and was put in in 1881. One of the windows in the south wall of the Church tells the story of the 'Good Samaritan', and the six panels should be read in sequence from the top.

Restoration in 1851-2. Edward McAlI was Rector of Brighstone from 1840-66 and was responsible for extensive restoration of the Church. The infilling of the ancient Norman
arches of the nave was removed, these having formed the outer wall of the Church for nearly four centuries. The small northern aisle was reconstructed, being built on the foundations of the original aisle of 1190. Thus the full beauty of the arcade of Norman arches and pillars was revealed. At this time a gallery was taken down from the west end of the nave, and a lath and plaster filling removed from the great tower arch. A lancet window was pierced behind the pulpit, improving the lighting there.

The original floor-line of the early Church building was found at some depth below the existing floor. This was dug out and the stone pavement of the Church lowered to its former level, with a considerable gain to the internal height of the building. The chancel, too, was restored, its floor lowered and its windows altered. At this time, also, the carved stone reredos was added. Finally, the removal of a plaster ceiling in the nave and south-aisle chapels revealed the old oak timbers of the roof.

Music in Brighstone Church. It is possible that the gallery which was removed from the west end of the Church had at one time been a musicians' gallery. William Day was a Brighstone man who was successively pupil and pupil-teacher at the school, and an organist at the Church. He was born in 1843 and spent his early years until 1861, in the village. In unpublished papers of the Brighstone of those times he tells of a
barrel-organ which had been placed in the gallery by Samuel Wilberforce, and of the children singing round it. This organ had been installed in about 1834, and had three interchangeable barrels, and in that year the first mention of a payment to an organist appears in the Church records. In 1852, during the restorations, the instrument was removed from the gallery and placed fir-st in the north aisle, and then on a platform at the back of the nave, when the gallery was taken down. Soon after, it was converted to a manual organ, but, having too few speaking tubes, only the keys of A, D and E could be played, and all music not so arranged had to be transposed. It remained at the
west end of the Church until replaced by a more modern instrument in 1865, after more than thirty years of use. Another organ, by Walker, was installed in the Wayte's Court Chapel in 1872 and this served there for almost one hundred years until
replaced in 1969 by the present Osmond instrument. The console is now near the choir, but the pipes have returned to the west end of the Church.

Early efforts to form a choir were not a success, but by Moberley's time, in 1868, a group of men and boys had learned to sing parts. From 1872 and onwards, the choir was better organised and appropriately dressed, and a few years later the choir seats were put in the chancel. From those days up to the present time, the service of the choir has been continuous, and today it has ladies as well as men and boys among its members, and its reputation in the Island stands deservedly high.

The Bells. Brighstone Church has a peal of six bells which may be heard across the fields on each Sunday throughout the year, and often on weekday evenings. The early Norman Church probably had one bell, hung externally over the west gable, and was used as an alarm bell, and for calling the people together. Earl tells us that the Archbishops' Constitution of 1305 required parishioners to provide bells for these purposes. In 1536 there were three bells and a Sanctus bell, as"recorded in the inventories compiled by the commissioners of Henry VIII. The Sanctus bell was for use during the Mass and was rung from the tower. References to this bell are to be found in the parish inventories until 1590 and then cease, and its ultimate fate is unknown.

The parish books of the time speak of the casting of a 'great bell' at Romsey in 1610, and a 'middle bell' at Newport in 1613. Certainly it would seem that several were recast and rehung in 1740, and the number was then, five, much attention being given to them in that year. The inscriptions on the bells, to be seen today, speak of those times:

1st. 'John Lore, zealous for the promotion of campanologias in that year, art caused me to be fabricated in Portsmouth and placed here in the year 1740. 40 years 1 led the peal, when 1 was unfortunately broken. In the year 18001 was cast into the furnace, refounded in London and returned to my former station. Reader, thou also shalt know a resurrection, may it be unto Eternal Life. William Chip, David Way, Churchwardens. Thomas Mears fecit.'

2nd. 'Success to the great Admiral Vernon.'

3rd. 'God preserve the British Arms, 1740.'

4th. 'Prosperity to the Parish of Brixton.'

5th. 'Mr. John Lord, Mr. Thomas Jolif, Churchwardens,

1740. Joseph Kipling fecit.'

In 1877, one bell was recast and all were rehung, and this was again carried out in 1960, when a sixth was added, the gift of Frank Cheverton in memory of his wife.

The Church bells rang out on great occasions, at the acces- sions of Kings and Queens and in times of jubilation. By old custom, the tenor bell was sounded at 8 and 10 a.m. on Sundays, and on other days to set the time of day. The Passing Bell, one stroke on the deep-toned bell for each year of a dead parishoners life, was the 'ringing of the knell'. For many years and up to recent times the local inn at Brighstone was the 'Five Bells'; it still stands, though the old thatched cottage is now a village store. In the mid-19th century a bell was hung from the nearby Rectory gable, and with this the curfew was rung nightly at eight o'clock.

Historical Notes. Following the Roman occupation and withdrawal, the Isle of Wight was over-run in turn by Angles, Saxons and Jutes, who seized and laid waste the land, with the virtual disappearance of the earliest Christian communities. As time went on, Christianity gradually returned to Britain and to the Island, and in pre-Norman times several churches were established there. One of these was at Calbourne. The Saxon
manor of Swainston, nearby, included this, and also the area we now know as Brighstone, in its boundaries. Thus the parish of Calbourne originally included Brighstone, and this continued until their eventual separation in 1320.

In 1190, however, with the increasing local community, the early chapel had been built on its present site in Brighstone, and part of this building is still seen today in the Norman arcade along the north side of the nave. From that time, the Church has gradually evolved over the centuries to the building which exists today. The origin of the name 'Brighstone' is Saxon, and many variations have been used in past times; up to the
beginning of the present century it was usually known as 'Brixton'.

From Norman times, French raids from across the Channel were of frequent occurrence, especially during the 100 Years War, and later during the reign of Henry VIII. The Island population was much reduced by the constant threat of incursion and the Church fell into considerable disrepair. The subsequent restoration work involved much effort on the part of the parishoners who remained, and reflects great credit upon them. Thereafter were added the dangers from Spanish and Dutch marauders up to the 18th century and the later threats of Napoleonic times. In 1588 the Spanish Armada was sighted off the south coast of the Island; in 1690 a French fleet anchored off Compton Bay before passing up the Channel.

A system of defence was needed to protect the settlements, and the early parish records speak of 'sheaves of arrowes', 'billes' and pikes kept at the Church, and a few men-at-arms and bowmen recruited in the village. In 1543 a brass gun was housed at Brighstone in a gunhouse built against the north wall of the tower. Repeated reference to ammunition for it, to repairs to its carriage, and to powder and arms, appear in the Church records, and the churchwardens were required to carry out exercises and musters of the men and gun from time to time. Brighstone once had a beacon on the Downs behind it and watchers on the shore. The gun was maintained for two hundred years and is believed to be incorporated in one of the bells recast in 1740. The gunhouse was rebuilt in 1625, and finally pulled down in 1843. A gap can still be seen in the coping of the churchyard wall, on the north side, intended to accommodate the barrel of the gun. There were three such embrasures in Canon Heygate's time, and probably others have been filled up. In later times than these, other guns were to be seen at Brighstone, and the anti-aircraft battery at Grange, during Hitler's war, saw frequent action and suffered sadly.

The Rectors of Brighstone. There have been many Rectors of Brighstone, the first known being Hugh le Brun, who was appointed shortly before 1282; since then the line has been continuous, with few interruptions, to the present time. The work of many of these men is unrecorded, but the Church as we see it today is a memorial to their devotion through the changing centuries.

The three Rectors whose distinctions are recorded on a tablet on the wall of the chancel should receive special
mention. Bishop Ken, of Bath and Wells, was Rector of Brighstone from 1666-70. He was one of the Bishops imprisoned in the Tower of London for refusing to read James II's Declaration of Indulgence from his pulpit; he wrote a number of well-known hymns in the Rectory garden, and by tradition these include 'Awake my soul, and with the sun', and 'Glory to Thee, my God this night'. Bishop Wilberforce, of Oxford and later of Winchester, was Rector from 1830-40. He was the son of William Wilberforce, famous for his part in the abolition of slavery in the British colonies, who lived in his last years at the Rectory. Bishop Moberley was at Brighstone from 1866-69 before his promotion to the See of Salisbury.

In addition to these, Hopton Sydenham (1647-53), Noel Digby (1780-1830). Edward McAll (1840-66) and William Heygate (1869-1902) are especially remembered. Hopton Sydenham had been both friend and chaplain to Charles I; he was forcibly ejected from the parish in 1653 and was replaced by Thomas Dingley who was more acceptable to the rulers of the Commonwealth. Noel •Digby founded and endowed the Church School in the village in 1814, this having been first at Brookside before being moved to its present site in
1836; today the Church may be justly proud of its happy and thriving school. Edward McAll was responsible for revealing for us much of the ancient building which was hidden until the 1850's, when his restorations were carried out; for these he used only local men working under his personal direction. To William Heygate, who brought about many improvements in the parish life of Brighstone, we are indebted for the historical notes concerning the village and its Church, which he wrote for his parishoners. He also kept a diary of local events for a number of years, but this record, unfortunately, ceases with his death.

The Lifeboat. Brighstone is situated less than a mile from the sea, at about the centre of a great sweep of coast extending from St. Catherine's Point to the Needles. This coast faces to the south-west and meets the full force of the gales which beat upon it. The rocks and submerged reefs are a constant menace, and especially was this so in the days of sail; many were the ships which were lost. Canon Heygate quotes in detail a log of the wrecks from 1746-1808, kept by one James Whiller. Little help could be given in those days from the shore and lives were frequently lost, but as time went on, rescue work became better organised and lifeboats were stationed at intervals along the coasts. These relied on oar and sail, and their launching from the open beach in the teeth of a south-west gale was a task which required courage, strength and skill.

A lifeboat was first stationed at Brighstone in 1860 and this was the first in the Isle of Wight; its crew and those who launched it were local volunteers who never stopped to count the cost. This was so on the night of 9th March, 1888, when, in severe weather, the lifeboat Worcester Cadet made three journeys to the American barque Syrenia of 1,588 tons, wrecked on the Atherfield Ledge. Though the lifeboat capsized on the first journey, it was righted and returned twice more to the wreck. The coxswain of the lifeboat, another member of its crew, and two seamen who had been rescued from the Syrenia, were lost. The record of this happening is seen on a stone in Brighstone churchyard by the path to the lower gate.

Such action was often called for during those years, and the lifeboat and its men were part of the life of the community and of its Church. The Brighstone lifeboat was disbanded in 1915; during its years of service, it saved 433 lives.

The history of Brighstone spans the centuries. From a tiny Saxon settlement it has grown to the present community of 1,250 people. At its centre stands its Church, the monument to the many generations to which it has ministered and which have cared for it. This splendid heritage belongs not only to Brighstone. but indeed to all of us, and as it lives today, so will its story and its work go on into the future.