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Freshwater, Isle of Wight
The name of this well-known village has changed very little through the centuries and means exactly what it says. The parish consisted of five “tuns”, or farms, Norton, Sutton, Easton, Weston, and Middleton; these names are still in use, except Sutton, which has become Freshwater Bay or “Gate”. Relics of prehistoric men, Roman coins, and a very curious kilns on Moon’s Hill, which may possibly be Tudor brick-kilns, show a continuity of habitation over thousands of years. The district was always important in the defence of the Island, having had beacons, watch-towers, and forts at different times; some of the latter were rebuilt and used during the two World Wars.
The church has been much altered and enlarged during its life. The Norman inner doorway of the north porch is believed to have been the chancel arch of the first building. The tower is 15th century, and there is a brass of similar date to the memory of Adam de Compton. The little thatched Church of St Agnes in Blackbridge Road has a venerable appearance, but in fact was only built in 1908 for the use of visitors; the stones came from an old farmhouse on Hooke Hill, and one bearing the date 1694 was used and is the cause of people misunderstanding the age of the building.
There were naturally, a great many smugglers in Freshwater, and their descendants can recall stories of the “runs” and the tricks used to deceive the authorities. Wrecking was also a local “industry”, and as late as 1918 hordes of people descended on the beach to gather the spoils from a ship which was mined off the coast; bacon, lard, oil and flour were among the cargo, and the wreck was nicknamed the “Bacon and Lard Special”.
The coming of Alfred, Lord Tennyson, to Farrington, brought many famous visitors including the Prince Consort, Swinburne, George Watts and Garibaldi, who planted a Wellingtonia tree in the gardens in 1864. The original house was L-shaped but Tennyson made a number of alterations for the benefit of his family, and the house has changed little. Originally the eighteenth century house was rented in 1853 and later purchased by them in 1856. The contents of Tennyson’s study have been removed to the museum at Carisbrooke Castle where they make an interesting group of exhibits. The poet was tormented, even in those days, by sight-seers, and built a little wooden bridge in his garden as an escape route. His favourite walk was over the Down, and it is on the highest point of what is now called Tennyson Down that a monument stands to his memory. His son, Hallam, presented 155 acres of downland to the National Trust.
Often overlooked is another famous native of Freshwater, Robert Hooke, born in 1635. He was poor and crippled, but was the most advanced scientist of his age, and many modern machines are the result of his ideas; he was the inventor of the watch-spring.
The centre of Freshwater village is called Moa Place, an unusual name which recalls the fact that most of the building in that area was done by a New Zealander. School Green is a picture in spring and summer, when the crocuses, daffodils and roses given by local Associations provide colour and beauty in their seasons.
Freshwater Bay on the southern coast, which is the chief resort for the area. The bay is a circular alcove carved out by the sea, and is overshadowed by the hump-shaped chalk downs of Afton to the east. The scenery is reminiscent of the Dorset Coast, with the gleaming chalk rocks on the east side of the bay and the reddish-golden cliffs of Compton far in the distance. The geology of the bay is interesting because the west cliffs clearly illustrate the banded chalk dripping steeply to the north, thus demonstrating the contortions to which the Island rocks were subjected during the Alpine mountain building phase.
On Afton Down there is a fine golf course by the sea. To the north of Freshwater Bay, the main coast road curves inland to Freshwater village. Come rain or shine Dimbola Lodge is one of the Isle of Wight's premier exhibition venues. The former home of Julia Margaret Cameron, one of this country's most influential photographic artists, Dimbola now holds a wide variety of her works including some of her most famous portraits (Tennyson, Darwin, Watts) as well as a regularly changing programme of contemporary exhibitions. You can also enjoy the Isle of Wight Festival exhibition and Jimi Hendrix garden and have a go at dressing up for a picture in our Victorian Studio.
The Cameron tearoom is open for freshly cooked food, tea and homemade cakes. Lunch is served 12pm to 2pm and Afternoon Teas from 2pm until a 1/2 hour before Dimbola closes.
Source:
IWFWI Isle of Wight Village Book. IW County Press (1974)
Collins Holiday Guides. Isle of Wight. Robin McInnes (1974)
www.dimbols.co.uk
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