| On the high ground north of
Bembridge is St Helens with some lovely views over the harbour, a
small village that has some lovely greens where the tap of leather
against willow can be heard in the summer months and the thud of a
football in the winter months.
Just a short distance to the sea there
are some grassy dunes at the harbour entrance where there is a
lovely little sheltered beach,
St Helens originates around the
12th century when the Cluniac Priory and the church were built by
monks and also administered by them, until the crown took it in
1414.
The old church became unsafe due to
the rising sea levels and so a new church was built further
inland, and in 1720 the old church was destroyed by a large wave,
and all that remains to this day is the tower.
This must have been a busy and
large port during the 12th century but when Cowes started to
develop and expand its importance declined even though ships still
called there.
The tower of the old church is in a
small woodland and is supported by buttresses but no services are
ever held here and the side that faces the sea is painted white as
a navigational aid to sailors. |
